Issue 42 / May 2022
The Banyan Tree
Healthy Longevity Webinar Series:
Live Healthily, Learn Happily
This column is dedicated to the pursuit of continuous learning and development and takes its name from the banyan tree. It has roots that grow deep, anchoring it firmly in the soil. The tree spreads its shade wide and far and provides space for reflection and discussion. We invite you to come and take a seat under its shade.
It is a global trend that human life expectancy has increased significantly, meaning that we are expected to live longer than our grandparents. However, living long is not quite the same as living well.
Recent data show that although our ‘lifespan’ has expanded substantially (i.e. 26 years over the past seven decades), our ‘healthspan’—the length of time living in good health—did not catch up at the same rate. In other words, we may live longer but we also suffer from illnesses longer. The rising number of unhealthy elderlies is costly, both socially and economically, unless we do something to change this trend.
At the Healthy Longevity Translational Research Programme here at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, we believe that “To live longer is a plus, but to live healthily longer is a must.” Using multidisciplinary approaches, from basic to clinical studies, our researchers are working hard to find ways to extend human healthspan. Success means that individuals will have more time in life to do what they love, allowing them to contribute meaningfully to the society in their older years.
This mission requires multiple stakeholders to act together. To provide a platform for scientists, physicians, investors, and policymakers to discuss the latest advancements each has made and to keep the public well informed, we organise the weekly Healthy Longevity Webinar Series. In each one-hour episode, we invite an internationally renowned expert, based anywhere in the world, to give a lecture which is then followed by in-depth discussion facilitated by Professor Brian Kennedy or Professor Andrea Maier. Both Prof Kennedy and Prof Maier are co-directing the Centre for Healthy Longevity at National University Health System (NUHS). Prof Kennedy is also Director of the Healthy Longevity Translational Research Programme at NUS.
We invite anyone and everyone who cares about healthy longevity issues to attend this webinar series, which takes place every first, second, and third Thursday of each month at 7 pm. Whether you are an expert in the field or the general public, you are encouraged to sign up to stay updated on the latest developments in healthy ageing research and exchange perspectives with guest speakers and other attendees. After all, what could be more fulfilling than a healthy life that is characterised by happy learning?
- Garmany A, Yamada S, and Terzic A. Longevity leap: mind the healthspan gap. npj Regenerative Medicine (2021) 6:57; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41536-021-00169-5.
