Eric Verdin spends his days thinking about something many of us would rather not: aging.
As president and CEO of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato, an independent nonprofit that studies the biology of aging and age-related disease, he leads one of the country’s premier research centers devoted to understanding why we grow old — and how to do it better.
The language around his field has evolved. “Aging” is considered a negative term, he says, so the conversation has shifted to “longevity.” But Verdin is quick to clarify that the goal isn’t simply squeezing out more years at any cost. It’s extending our “health span” — the years we remain active, independent and free of serious disease…