2023 End-of-Year Fundraiser
Campaign Completed!
Total Raised: $323,060
The End-of-Year campaign has now concluded, but every dollar donated still brings us another step closer to consigning age-related disease to history!
If you donated $100 or more and didn’t receive a copy of the Reward Selection Form mailed out earlier this month, please download a copy now and send it to us before the end of January to claim your reward.
“The LEV Foundation team is the strongest I've ever led, and I'm frankly amazed by what we've already accomplished.
Please give whatever you can to enable us to keep up this momentum in 2024.
Thank you so much!”
- Dr. Aubrey de Grey
It’s hard to believe that LEV Foundation has existed for little more than one year.
Our team and collaborators have been working hard to realize the ambitious goal for which the Foundation was established — to facilitate progress in the development, approval, and widespread availability of treatments to comprehensively target aging and its diseases.
We’re proud of what we’ve achieved in our first year of operation, and we hope you’ll agree. Scroll down or click here for a summary of our biggest news from 2023.
LEV Foundation’s story has just begun. In 2024, with your support, we’re planning to:
Initiate the second study in the Robust Mouse Rejuvenation program. Building on the success of the ongoing first experiment, RMR-2 will shed light on the interactions between a new panel of therapies. Take a look at Dr. de Grey’s presentation at Longevity Summit Dublin 2023 or read the summary plan for the second study to learn more.
Bring the Dublin Longevity Declaration’s message of hope to a global audience, through a major media campaign including translations into most widely-spoken languages. We’ll recruit more renowned signatories - and even more importantly, build on the foundation the Declaration has provided to engage with policymakers and leaders around the world, seeking concrete action on its fundamental recommendation: to immediately expand research on extending healthy lifespans.
Organize and support the next Longevity Summit Dublin, scheduled to take place on June 13-16, 2024. Speakers will be announced over the coming months, but we’re already very confident that the third edition of the Summit will be just as unmissable as the first two events. (Early bird tickets are now available!)
Continue enabling our partners at the Healthspan Action Coalition, Alliance for Longevity Initiatives (A4LI), and AfroLongevity, to build stronger connections with established public- and private-sector organizations, enhancing awareness of the potential of longevity research amongst those who set priorities for healthcare and research funding at all levels. A4LI’s goals for the coming year include establishing an annual legislative briefing for longevity science in the US House of Representatives, and promoting passage of the Advanced Approval Pathway for Longevity Medicines.
… and that’s not all: we’re working on several entirely new research and outreach initiatives, subject only to sufficient resources to set them in motion. Stay tuned for more details!
Our Year in Review
We’ve designed and launched the first study in our flagship Robust Mouse Rejuvenation program: the world’s most ambitious investigation into the extension of healthy lifespan in mammals, and the first attempt to experimentally validate the fundamental divide-and-conquer approach to preventing and treating age-related disease.
By testing combinations of four different treatments - each individually shown in prior work by other researchers to extend life expectancy - we aim to discover which therapies produce a benefit greater than the sum of their parts, as well as learning which pairings may be wiser to avoid in future clinical applications.
Meanwhile, the scale of the study - with 1,000 mice enrolled, a feat made possible by the expertise of our partners at Ichor Life Sciences - is such that our results will add significant confidence to previous estimates of the longevity benefits of each individual technique.
You can discover much more detail about RMR-1 on the study’s homepage, where you’ll also find regular updates from LEV Foundation’s Chief Science Officer, Dr. Aubrey de Grey.
An increase in healthy lifespans, through much better treatment of age-related diseases (dementia, heart disease, cancer, frailty, and many more), would deliver extraordinary benefits - including savings of literally trillions of dollars per year in healthcare costs.
Yet the majority of the world’s population remain convinced that aging, along with the disease and death it brings, is inevitable - and by extension, that attempts to combat it are unworthy of serious recognition or support.
We’ve assembled over 100 of the world’s foremost experts on the science of aging to argue instead that much better control of age-related disease is now potentially within reach - and that efforts to achieve it should be immediately and greatly expanded.
Read the Dublin Longevity Declaration, and add your name in support of their message!
Despite the phenomenal pace of research in the longevity field, it's widely acknowledged that the range of therapies required to rejuvenate aging bodies at the cellular and molecular level are still some way off from clinical availability. However, the production of biologically youthful whole organs, through tissue engineering, may be feasible considerably sooner.
We've provided seed funding for proof-of-concept work at Keinice Bio, whose groundbreaking persufflation technology employs ultra-cold helium gas to vitrify tissues so rapidly that no hazardous ice crystal formation occurs - and thus stands to enable true "off-the-shelf" organ replacement.
We firmly believe that responsible governance is crucial to effectively delivering on our mission, and as such we were delighted to welcome Melissa King as the new Chair of LEV Foundation’s Board of Directors.
Melissa served as a senior member of the campaign for California’s Proposition 71, which created the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) with $3 billion in funding and the California stem cell program. Later, as Executive Director of Americans for Cures and Head of Field Operations for the Prop 14 campaign, she built and led the coalition that secured an additional $5.5 billion for CIRM.
Melissa played a central role in the formation of CIRM over its first seven years of existence, working hand-in-hand with the agency Chair and its founding Board to set the strategic vision for the agency, as well as developing the processes and policies by which CIRM still operates.
Melissa is now focused on the vision of longevity and improved healthspan for all. She is working to support the continued success of our research, ensuring that access and affordability of treatments is fully addressed, and promoting the need for more diversity in science, medical research and clinical trials.
In partnership with Longevity Events Ltd, LEV Foundation hosted the global longevity and rejuvenation community at the second Longevity Summit Dublin this August.
With a roster of world-class speakers including George Church, Brian Kennedy, Steve Horvath, David Sinclair and many more, it’s no exaggeration to state that the Summit was the most important longevity event to take place in the EU this year.
Attendees networked with leading figures around the world, built relationships with the longevity science industry and community, and learned about the latest emerging research.
Couldn’t attend? You can now catch up on many of the presentations via the Summit’s YouTube channel.
We’ve funded the growth of the Healthspan Action Coalition (HSAC) since its launch during the inaugural Longevity Summit Dublin in the fall of 2022. Central to HSAC’s formation is the recognition that the underlying cause of most widespread diseases is the aging process itself.
Building upon a foundation of trusted and matured connections and networks, HSAC is driving a wide spectrum of collaborative efforts and outreach initiatives promoting favorable policy and funding for scientific research, innovations and patient engagement.
We’re delighted to confirm that more than 120 organizations - including patient advocacy groups, nonprofits, research institutions, investment funds, cutting-edge biotech companies, media channels, and peer-reviewed journals - have now joined this growing movement!
LEV Foundation helped to launch the Alliance for Longevity Initiatives, the first and only 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization founded with the goal of creating social and political action around the issues of combating age-related chronic conditions and increasing our number of healthy, disease-free years.
A4LI works with healthcare leaders and experts in the geroscience and regenerative medicine fields to drive awareness of the potential of longevity research amongst US government officials, and promote nation-wide support for the extension of healthy lifespans. Their efforts were central to the formation of the bipartisan Congressional Caucus for Longevity Science in February of this year, as well as a major expansion of Right to Try legislation for patients in Montana.
Aging and age-related disease are global issues, which need global solutions - and yet to date, the overwhelming majority of research and development in the longevity field has taken place in Europe and North America.
We’re proud supporters of AfroLongevity, a new nonprofit organization working in Africa “to unleash entrepreneurs and exponential technologies, extend the healthy lives of Africans, approach ageing as a treatable condition, and promote and support the implementation of appropriate empowering public policies”.
LEV Foundation was a key sponsor of the first International Longevity Summit in South Africa, and we’re actively working to assist AfroLongevity in expanding their operations going forward.
Of course, none of the projects we’ve initiated would have been possible without the unfaltering belief and generosity of our donors. We’re tremendously grateful to each and every person who has enabled our vital work to progress over the last year.
Donor Rewards
As a token of appreciation, we’ll be issuing rewards to all donors who contributed just $100 or more to the campaign - including the chance to name a mouse, limited edition Robust Mouse Rejuvenation goodies, opportunities to meet the teams at LEV Foundation and Ichor Life Sciences, complimentary tickets to Longevity Summit Dublin 2024 - and even the chance to meet the mice themselves!
Take a look at the table below to see the rewards that were available.
All donors who contributed $100+ to the campaign have been sent a form to specify your preferred reward. If you didn’t receive that message, please download a copy of the Reward Selection Form to complete and email it back to us.
Please note that rewards must be claimed by the end of January!
$100+ (Option 1)
Leave your mark on the first Robust Mouse Rejuvenation study with the chance to choose a name for one of the mice.
$100+ (Option 2)
Receive one item of the first ever official Robust Mouse Rejuvenation merchandise.
This design is exclusive to the 2023 End-of-Year Campaign, and will never be re-issued!
$200+
All donors contributing at least $200 during the campaign will be entered into a prize draw for a complimentary ticket to Longevity Summit Dublin 2024, in addition to any other rewards.
$250+
Name a mouse and receive two items of exclusive Robust Mouse Rejuvenation merchandise.
$500+
Get to know some of the LEV Foundation team during a group video chat with us, including a guest participant from Ichor Life Sciences; plus your choice of either of the $100 reward options.
(We’ll limit the maximum number of supporters in each chat, to ensure everyone has a chance to take part.)
$1,000+
A one hour, 1:1 video call to discuss any topics you wish in robust detail with LEV Foundation’s Chief Science Officer, Dr. Aubrey de Grey; plus both of the $100 reward options.
$1,500+
Join LEV Foundation in Ireland and hear about the latest research in longevity from a world-class roster of speakers with a complimentary ticket to Longevity Summit Dublin 2024; plus both of the $100 reward options.
$10,000+
Get to know the Robust Mouse Rejuvenation mice themselves, on an in-person VIP tour of Ichor Life Sciences’ facility in Syracuse, New York - including meetings with Ichor CEO Dr. Kelsey Moody, RMR study lead veterinarian Dr. Danique Wortel, and LEV Foundation CSO Dr. Aubrey de Grey. Also includes the $250 reward.
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Reward eligibility will be determined after the campaign concludes (at midnight Pacific Time on December 31st, 2023) based on the total donated by each individual during the entire campaign. Rewards are not cumulative, except where stated; donors will be assigned the highest-tier reward for which they qualify, although may elect to receive a lower-tier reward instead.
Eligible donors will be contacted in early January 2024 to arrange reward fulfillment. Rewards must be claimed by the end of January 2024. Anonymous donors are eligible to receive rewards, but will need to contact us with details of their donation to enable us to confirm it.
Donors qualifying for the prize draw to win a complimentary ticket to Longevity Summit Dublin 2024 will receive one entry per person, regardless of donation amount. Donors who do not claim their rewards by the end of January 2024 will not be entered into the draw. The draw will be conducted and the winner announced at the beginning of February 2024.
Physical rewards will be posted in February 2024. Video meetings will be scheduled during the first half of 2024; we will endeavor to arrange these at a time to suit participating donors, subject to availability of the specific LEVF/Ichor team members involved. Ichor Life Sciences facility tours will be arranged during 2024 at times agreed with participating donors. Travel to, or accommodation in, Dublin or Syracuse is not included with any reward.
Some rewards have limited availability. In the event that a particular reward is over-subscribed, priority will be given to donors who contributed earlier in the campaign (except as noted below). If limited availability prevents us from fulfilling a reward, donors will be offered their choice of a combination of lower-tier rewards as an alternative.
“Name a mouse” rewards are strictly limited to one per donor, and first priority in the event of over-subscription will be given to donors who qualify for the $1,000 reward tier or higher. Only mice still alive at the time of reward fulfillment will be available to name, and will be allocated randomly to eligible donors. Name proposals are subject to review by our team and egregiously inappropriate choices will not be accepted. LEV Foundation does not commit to provide donors with individual updates on their named mouse during the study, but will publish a table reporting on the outcomes for all named mice at the conclusion of the work..
Images of physical rewards are representative, although the graphic shown is final. The exact range of items available may vary, but will include options similar to those depicted.
Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to the End-of-Year campaign!