What is The Longevity Study?

The Longevity Study at Harvard is a longitudinal multi-modal deep-profiling human health study, uniquely dedicated to understanding how aging affects us at molecular and functional levels. Leveraging community-based cohorts for collection of biological samples and functional data alongside state-of-the-art molecular and functional profiling, this study will contribute substantially to our understanding of how our bodies change as we age and which molecular changes drive functional decline.

This study is modeled after the long-standing successful Harvard Happiness Study and Stanford precision health Human Personal Omics Profiling (HPOP) study and will be conducted in collaboration between investigators at Harvard, Stanford, and the National Institute on Aging. The study has been piloted in 2024, coinciding with the 2024 Biomarkers of Aging Conference at Harvard Medical School where data and samples from the first 100 participants were collected, and will be continuously expanded over the years.

Study Objectives

Many biomarkers of aging have been developed. Such biomarkers have the potential to inform us about our biological age and assist in personalizing health monitoring, treatment selection, and checking whether longevity interventions work. However, few longitudinal studies exist that collect samples over several years and link longitudinal changes in molecular biomarkers to function and health.

The Longevity Study will provide new insights into how various molecular and functional biomarkers are influenced by aging. By tracking personalized omic profiles, our study’s biobank will enable a broad range of research questions related to aging biomarkers and longevity, including whether such biomarkers have the potential to predict future health outcomes and trajectories, and which biomarkers may be the most promising for clinical applications.

Study Timeline