Dr. Andrea Maier, Director of the Academy for Healthy Longevity at the National University of Singapore, is dedicated to addressing a critical gap in longevity medicine: the need for robust clinical evidence. She aims to build a solid scientific foundation for the field by conducting rigorous trials on interventions that could extend human health span.
Maier's research focuses on translating findings from studies on animals, such as those involving supplements like nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) and alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG), into human applications. She established a new clinical trial center at the National University of Singapore in 2025, which is already accommodating a large number of long-term trials. These trials assess the effects of various lifestyle interventions, including supplements and exercise routines, on health span.
Tailored Approach to Longevity
A key aspect of Maier's strategy is her selection of trial participants. Instead of recruiting from the general population, her trials primarily enroll individuals whose biological age, as determined by age-linked alterations in tissues and organs, is older than their chronological age. This approach is designed to increase the likelihood of detecting positive effects if an intervention is beneficial to a specific subset of people. Maier likens this precision approach to personalized medicine, stating that aging is highly varied and a one-size-fits-all strategy for interventions would be akin to administering the same chemotherapy to all cancer patients or distributing insulin indiscriminately.
PROMETHEUS Trial and Future Directions
Maier's PROMETHEUS trial exemplified this individualized strategy, incorporating specialized dietary and exercise advice, supplements, and cognitive behavioral therapy. An initial 8-week pilot protocol, which evaluated markers of muscle, cognitive, and immune function in 20 participants, yielded promising results. The team is now planning a randomized controlled trial to further investigate whether these interventions positively impact health over a one-year period.