Speaker Profile
Ph.D., K99 Research Associate, Whitehead Inst./MIT
Biography
Yuancheng Ryan Lu is a leading early-career investigator in aging research. His research focuses on the genetic and epigenetic foundations of aging and its reversal, using the eye as a model system. During his PhD with David Sinclair at Harvard, he developed an AAV-based in vivo reprogramming approach that rejuvenated retinal neurons and restored vision in aging and glaucoma models (Nature, 2020). This work helped establish age reversal as a tractable therapeutic concept and provided experimental support for the theory that aging is reversible process driven by loss of epigenetic information (Nature Aging, 2023). In his postdoctoral work with Jonathan Weissman, he has advanced the field beyond reprogramming as a tool by integrating genome-scale perturbation screens to identify downstream causal effectors (bioRxiv, 2025), thereby clarifying underlying mechanisms while nominating safer and more precise rejuvenation therapies. He is also co-developing machine learningguided approaches to discover novel rejuvenation factors.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2026 Silicon Valley
Track Chair:
Michael Goldman, SFSU
PMWC Award Ceremony
• David Sinclair, Harvard
• Steve Horvath, UCLA
• Nir Barzilai, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
AI-Driven Biomarkers to Quantify Aging
• Chair: Alex Zhavoronkov, Insilico Medicine
• Luigi Ferrucci, NIH
• Sara Hägg, Karolinska Institutet
• Steve Horvath, UCLA
Epigenetic Aging Signatures in Large Human Cohorts
• Varun Dwaraka, Trudiagnostic
AI Systems for Personalized Longevity: How Biomarkers Translate into Actionable Interventions
• Sherry Zhang, Buck Institute
• Nathan Price, THORNE
• Ranjan Sinha, digbi Health
Epigenetic Rejuvenation & Delivery for Clinical Translation
• Ryan (Yuancheng) Lu, Whitehead Institute/MIT
• David Sinclair, Harvard
Clinical Trial Design & Functional Endpoints for Healthspan
• Nir Barzilai, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Precision Aging & Longevity: Limited Lifespan Evidence, Vanishing Blue Zones, and Payer ROI
• S. Jay Olshansky, University of Illinois
• Michael Gurven, UC Santa Barbara
