ARDD presentation addresses the need for consensus on the term we use to describe our industry.
The Aging Research & Drug Discovery (ARDD) 2025 conference in Copenhagen stands as the world’s largest event dedicated to advancing longevity science and drug development, drawing leading minds from academia, biotech, and the pharmaceutical industry to the historic Ceremonial Hall at the University of Copenhagen; the event started today and runs through to August 29, 2025.
Longevity.Technology: Longevity, healthspan, anti-aging, lifespan, biogerontology, rejuvenation, life extension, regeneration; all names that professionals, media and consumers use to describe our sector; some people are settled on longevity, others don’t consider the term reflects the rigor and diligence going on in labs and clinics around the world.
Nir Barzilai is President of the Academy for Health and Lifespan Research (AHLR) and an Executive of the Longevity Biotech Association (LBA). Barzilai and Risa Starr, Executive Director at Longevity Biotechnology Association and The Academy for Health and Lifespan Research, shared their work on developing an agreed nomenclature for the field. This effort is supported by LBA, AHLR, AFAR and the Healthy Longevity Medicine Society.
In a presentation titled ‘Rebranding Aging: How to Talk About—and Deliver—Geroscience to the World’, Starr and Barzilai shared the results of recent research undertaken in focus groups with contributors from around the world.
Barzilai opened the session by explaining that bringing together stakeholder groups is of paramount importance: scientists, researchers, academia, alongside policy makers, regulators, government, healthcare providers, health systems, to the wider healthcare industry and the public. He went on to share that the key message pillars for the new strategy include:
- Economic impact and systemic effect
- Equity, access and public good
- The potential for future generations
- Global resonance and societal impact
- Breakthrough impact for healthspan, and;
- Scientific rigor and credibility.
In her part of the presentation on the future direction of the field, Starr emphasized the importance of distinguishing geroscience from pseudoscience while consolidating efforts under a single, globally recognized term. The call for a consistent message, they argued, is not about reinventing ongoing research, policy, or public communication, but about ensuring clarity for external partners. Starting from the already accepted concept of geroscience, the aim is to build a unified definition encompassing a very wide field, while evolving its scope to reflect public health priorities and societal needs. The emphasis, Starr added, is on broad acceptability—across clinics, pharmaceutical development, and government—without oversimplifying the science.
“Geroscience” is the preferred term that this group will move forward with and scale.
The initiative is rolling out toolkits and a dedicated speakers bureau, supported by a new resource hub at geroscience.com. Plans are also underway for a 2026 roundtable with representatives from pharma, biotech, and the investor community. Starr described the effort as “incredibly exciting,” underscoring the intention to align with stakeholders around a shared mission, extend the field’s reach, and track measurable success. Central to this strategy is building a coalition of voices to make geroscience mainstream, with the potentially renamed (AHLR) Academy of Geroscience positioned as a core platform for coordination and visibility.
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