Jamie Justice Is Running a $101 Million Longevity Science Fair

Justice led a gerontology lab at Wake Forest University before being recruited to lead XPRIZE Healthspan when it was created in 2023 by tech entrepreneur and physician Peter Diamandis 

 to make sense of the cacophony of voices in the field. Not surprisingly, efforts to understand how people can live better while living longer entice everyone from scientists parsing the biology of aging to entrepreneurs eager to cash in by hawking supplements, infusions, and services that aren’t necessarily supported by evidence. “There’s no shortage of brilliant science and quackery,” says Justice. “You need a filter, a strainer where everybody is welcome, but everyone is held to the same standard.” The teams are challenged to come up with a strategy to reduce the impact of aging on three key areas —muscle, brain, and immune function—by the equivalent of at least 10 years.

The 10 finalists, announced on August 11, include teams from China, Japan, South Korea, and the U.S., exploring everything from repurposed drugs to novel compounds and stem cell-derived approaches that have all met XPRIZE’s strict criteria of having early scientific data demonstrating that their approach would have an impact on extending lives in not just animals but in people as well. “It wasn’t a popularity contest,” says Justice, and the ideas weren’t necessarily traditional or expected. Teams from Japan focused on an age-addressing strategy popular in Asia now: supplements that use exosomes, tiny vesicles that deliver enzymes, proteins, lipids, and other compounds that are important for keeping cells healthy. One team earned the funding prize by providing exosomes from parsley that, in a small group of people, seem to improve how cells communicate and lower signs of aging, including inflammation. Another uses the latest stem cell technology to generate exosomes made from human cells. The U.S. team focused on a combination of more traditional strategies, including exercise and supplements. “We have a lot of upsets, and so many people are angry because some of the safe stuff and the big names didn’t make it,” Justice says. 

Now, the teams will continue to test and refine their strategies, and compete for the $81 million grand prize, which will be awarded to the team showing the strongest clinical benefits in improving muscle, immune and cognitive functions. This, says Justice, is where the fun really begins, as innovative ideas are stress tested and the ones that prove themselves embark on the exciting journey of potentially providing at least one way to live well for longer.