Thursday, April 20, 2017

LLAMA podcast #09: Ned David

Imagine a future where we grow old but do not succumb to the diseases that typically define the aging process. Dr. Nathaniel “Ned” David, a molecular and cell biologist, wants to create a world where it does not hurt to grow old. The founder of multiple biotech companies, Ned is the President of UNITY, a San Francisco-based biotechnology company which aims to develop drugs that prevent, halt, or reverse age-related diseases. Named one of the Top 100 innovators in the world under 35, by the MIT Technology Review, Ned combines personal experience with a passion for changing the definition of old age. In this in-depth interview, he discusses his goal of producing a drug to target senescent cells that are linked to some of the diseases of old age. Ned also talks about his personal quest to avoid age-related cognitive decline and to overcome a debilitating condition, degenerative disc disease, which means he is no longer able to run.


I spoke to Ned David at TEDMED 2016 in California. 



Listen to the episode here.