We are pleased to announce the formation of the Business Advisory Board with Stephen G. Franklin Sr., Ph.D., as its first member. Dr. Franklin is the Chief of New Business Development at Wells Real Estate Funds in Norcross, GA. He is the former Associate Dean of the Goizueta Business School at Emory University, and is a member of the Board of Regents for Oxford University's Harris Manchester College in England. He is also Chairman of the Governing Board of the American University in Dubai. We welcome Dr. Franklin to the Supercentenarian Research Foundation and value him as a partner in our shared goal of ameliorating the effects of aging.

For the latest Table of Validated Living Supercentenarians as compiled by the Gerontology Research Group, click on Table E.

The Supercentenarian Research Foundation (SRF) has been formed as an international non-profit organization to accept tax deductible donations that will be utilized to fund research into the biology of aging. The initial focus will be on supercentenarians (those who are at least 110 years old), their siblings, and offspring, but successively younger age groups will eventually also be investigated.

Before research into methods of intervening in aging are conducted, diagnosis of the causes and effects of aging as exhibited in supercentenarians will be studied in order to determine 1) why they live longer than most, and 2) what limits their life span. Consideration will be given to all reasonable theories of aging to answer these questions, but none will be adopted a priori. Following the diagnostic phase, research will be supported in an intervention phase to attempt to prevent, ameliorate, and reverse the causes and effects of aging. The products of this research will be directed at providing longer and healthier lives for both supercentenarians and those who would otherwise not live as long.

A comprehensive Research Plan will be developed with the participation of leading gerontologists. This plan will then be presented to potential donors to request their financial support. Our vision is that the Supercentenarian Research Foundation will become a significant source of grants for aging research.

[Last Updated: Sunday, January 31, 2016; 3:00 PM EST]