Dr. David Sinclair’s Resveratrol Research at Harvard
Sinclair is a biologist and Professor of Pathology. Along with Paul F. Glenn, he runs the Laboratories for the Biological Mechanisms of Aging at Harvard Medical School. He obtained a Bachelors of Science, with Honors, at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. He is the co-founder of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Sinclair is best known for his investigations into how we grow old. In 2003 he discovered that an antioxidant called resveratrol, found in red wine and plants such as Japanese knotweed, can extend the life span of animals anywhere from 24 percent to as much as 59 percent. He is sure that resveratrol can be just as effective for humans.
Sinclair believes that resveratrol activates a gene called SIRT-1, which plays a fundamental role in regulating the life span of mammals. Scientists have proven that increasing the activity of the gene slows down aging and postpones or eliminates diseases associated with old age.
SIRT-1 is sometimes referred to as the “survival gene” since it also kicks in when mammals eat a calorie restricted diet. Studies of Rhesus monkeys have shown that thinner mammals live longer and have a healthier life than their flabbier friends.
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An Age-Defying Quest (Red Wine Included)
The research of David Sinclair has been an underpinning of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, the company he founded with Dr. Christoph Westphal.