Speaker Profile
Ph.D., Professor, UC Santa Barbara
Biography
Professor Gurven's research links the evolved life history of humans with high levels of intragroup cooperation. He has conducted fieldwork for two decades with South American indigenous populations, and his work takes an evolutionary perspective on behavior, health, physiology and psychology. Since 2002, Gurven has co-directed the Tsimane Health and Life History Project to better understand how aspects of environment and lifestyle affect health and lifespan in subsistence-level societies. His research applies an evolutionary lens to help inform our understanding of todays complex diseases. His current research in biodemography and health disparities helps understand environmental and social impacts on growth, development and aging across the lifespan. He also focuses on how acculturation and market integration have impacted demographic and social patterns, and chronic disease risk (e. g. heart disease, diabetes, dementia) among indigenous populations.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2026 Silicon Valley
Track Chair:
Michael Goldman, SFSU
PMWC Award Ceremony
• David Sinclair, Harvard
• Steve Horvath, Altos Labs
• Nir Barzilai, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
AI-Driven Biomarkers to Quantify Aging
• Chair: Alex Zhavoronkov, Insilico Medicine
• Mahdi Moqri, Harvard
• Steve Horvath, Altos Labs
Epigenetic Aging Signatures in Large Human Cohorts
• Varun Dwaraka, TruDiagnostic
AI Systems for Personalized Longevity: How Biomarkers Translate into Actionable Interventions
• Chair: Nathan Price, Buck Institute
• Sherry Zhang, Buck Institute
• Ranjan Sinha, Digbi Health
Epigenetic Rejuvenation & Delivery for Clinical Translation
• Chair: Ryan (Yuancheng) Lu, Whitehead Institute/MIT
• David Sinclair, Harvard
Clinical Trial Design & Functional Endpoints for Healthspan
• Nir Barzilai, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
• Martin Jensen, Gordian Biotechnology
From Genome to an AI-Drive Longevity Platform/b>
• Wei-Wu He, Human Longevity
• Hussain Ahamed, Ultrahuman
Precision Aging & Longevity Focused on Limited Lifespan Evidence, Vanishing Blue Zones, and Payer ROI
• S. Jay Olshansky, University of Illinois
• Michael Gurven, UC Santa Barbara
