Wyss Institute launches Healthy Aging Fund with a gift from The Colossal Foundation

The Healthy Aging Fund will explore the intricate connection between human and planetary health, aiming to unlock the secrets of aging and extend lifespans

By Alexandra Jirstrand

(BOSTON, MA and DALLAS, TX) – The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University is proud to announce the establishment of the Healthy Aging Fund, a transformative initiative aimed at unlocking the mysteries of aging. The Colossal Foundation has contributed $1.5 million to the Wyss Institute to launch this pioneering Fund, designed to drive groundbreaking research into the biological mechanisms of aging.

The Healthy Aging Fund at the Wyss Institute will provide research funding to scientists and engineers across the Wyss Institute and throughout our ecosystem of 11 Boston area institutions to advance research into all facets of aging. The Fund will unravel fundamental scientific mysteries and leverage the Institute’s unique translation model to drive the development of breakthrough therapies with the goal of delivering innovations that delay, or even reverse, aging-related conditions.

The Healthy Aging Fund envisions a future where human healthspans match lifespans, empowering people to live vibrant and fulfilling lives for as long as possible, by addressing the factors that contribute directly to age-related disease and decline and indirectly by devising ways to enhance the health of the environment in which we live. By reducing biodiversity loss, for example, we can develop more robust ecosystems which, in turn, enhance human health and longevity.

By launching the Healthy Aging Fund, the Wyss is bringing to bear its powers of collaboration, innovation, translation, and scientific excellence – it is a commitment to a future where aging no longer means decline.

A Colossal gift: the groundbreaking start

The Colossal Foundation’s landmark $1.5 million philanthropic contribution is the first donation to the Fund and embodies a new way of giving – deploying capital to reshape our understanding of aging, our interconnectivity, and biodiversity, which can lead to the development of disruptive anti-aging and pro-biodiversity innovations.

“The Colossal Foundation’s mission is to merge cutting-edge technology with conservation science to restore ecosystems and address biodiversity loss,” said Ben Lamm, Co-Founder and CEO of Colossal Biosciences. “By aligning the Wyss Institute’s mission of developing groundbreaking innovations with our dedication to conservation-focused solutions, we are redefining the possibilities for preserving, reviving, and extending the lifespan of all species. This collaboration represents a bold step toward a sustainable and thriving future for all.”

Visionary gifts like the one from The Colossal Foundation allow us to pursue bold ideas that could revolutionize our understanding of aging and health, and lead to interventions to reverse many diseases that afflict us as we get older, as well as create a more sustainable world for all of us. Our hope is to eventually significantly extend the healthspans of future generations to come.

A bold vision for the future

The Wyss’ efforts to decode the biology of aging and engineer novel solutions to address age-related disease are built on its legacy of interdisciplinary excellence and translational success. Through partnerships and philanthropy, the Institute is committed to driving innovations that address the global challenges of an aging human population.

“Visionary gifts like the one from The Colossal Foundation allow us to pursue bold ideas that could revolutionize our understanding of aging and health, and lead to interventions to reverse many diseases that afflict us as we get older, as well as create a more sustainable world for all of us. Our hope is to eventually significantly extend the healthspans of future generations to come,” said Wyss Institute Founding Director Don Ingber, M.D., Ph.D., who is also the Judah Folkman Professor of Vascular Biology at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital, and the Hansjörg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

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Taking on the grand challenge of devising ways to enhance human and planetary health

This first gift from The Colossal Foundation will enable Wyss Core Faculty member George Church, Ph.D., a globally recognized geneticist and science innovator, and his team to take on the grand challenge of devising ways to enhance human and planetary health in collaboration with other teams working across disciplines at the Wyss. One of the first programs will focus on developing scalable “artificial womb” technologies that harness cutting-edge genome, synthetic biology, and tissue engineering capabilities pioneered in the Church lab. In essence, artificial wombs could become safe and controllable environments for embryos to develop in outside the natural womb and thus be key instruments in the preservation of endangered species. This technology could potentially bring extinct species back to life, ensuring a more resilient and biodiverse future.

“This contribution from The Colossal Foundation will propel our efforts to create artificial womb technologies that not only facilitate de-extinction but also hold the potential to revolutionize reproductive biology for all species,” said Church, who is also the Robert Winthrop Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Bioengineering at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Renowned for its interdisciplinary approach to solving complex challenges, the Wyss will use the gift to support programs that confront challenges related to aging in humans and other species that can enhance the quality of life for all. This initiative presents an exciting opportunity for scientists to collaborate, draw inspiration from the vitality of our ecosystems, and develop innovative methods to enhance the health and well-being of aging communities worldwide.

By fostering groundbreaking collaborations and supporting innovative solutions, the Healthy Aging Fund is a promising mechanism to pave the way for a world where health and vitality are universal, no matter the number of candles on the species birthday cake.

• WYSS TECHNOLGY - Biotechnology for Conservation and De-Extinction