Woman behind world’s largest longevity competition

Jamie Justice left her tenure-track position at Wake Forest University to join entrepreneur Peter Diamandis on XPRIZE Healthspan — a $101 million competition targeting therapies that restore muscle, cognition, and immune function in older adults. The initiative aims to close a gap in the longevity field: a lack of reliable methods to assess whether aging treatments actually work. Justice, who serves as executive director, presented the project at the Vitalist Bay conference in Berkeley, Calif., where she outlined the selected teams’ approaches to extending healthy lifespan.

XPRIZE Healthspan’s 10 finalists — chosen from 40 applicants — must conduct yearlong randomized controlled trials to prove their therapies’ effectiveness. The winner will be announced in 2030. Justice described the competition’s focus on diverse strategies, including exercise regimens, senolytics (drugs targeting aging “zombie” cells), and personalized medicine targeting biomarkers. These approaches reflect the field’s broad scope, though Justice emphasized the need for scientific rigor amid the sector’s tendency to attract outlandish claims.

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The longevity industry is known for its eccentric figures, from purple-caped attendees at events like Vitalist Bay to companies that critics call “purely scammy.” Justice, however, maintains ties to academia as an adjunct professor at Wake Forest. She advocates for an inclusive approach to anti-aging research, warning against gatekeeping by scientists. “We need to avoid becoming too rigid,” she told STAT during an interview. “Innovation often comes from unexpected places.”

Justice highlighted the competition’s role in addressing a critical question: What do older adults truly want from longevity treatments? Her work explores preferences beyond mere lifespan extension, focusing on quality of life. The XPRIZE Healthspan teams must demonstrate tangible benefits, such as improved mobility or cognitive function, rather than vague promises. This focus on measurable outcomes contrasts with the hype that often surrounds anti-aging research.

The 10 teams will face strict evaluation criteria. Their trials must adhere to rigorous standards, ensuring results are replicable and clinically relevant. Justice declined to name specific competitors, citing the competition’s ongoing nature. However, she noted that the selected projects span multiple disciplines, from pharmacology to biotechnology. The goal is not to promote a single solution but to accelerate progress across the field.

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Despite the competition’s ambitious scale, Justice remains cautious. “There’s a lot of noise in this space,” she said. “We’re trying to filter out the hype and focus on what’s scientifically sound.” The XPRIZE Healthspan prize, she added, is less about crowning a winner than about creating a benchmark for future research. The 2030 deadline adds urgency, but the emphasis is on long-term impact rather than immediate breakthroughs.

The event in Berkeley showed the tension between innovation and skepticism in longevity research. While some see XPRIZE Healthspan as a turning point, others remain wary of its ability to deliver on promises. Justice, though, remains committed to the mission. “We’re not here to sell hope,” she said. “We’re here to build evidence.” The competition’s success will depend on whether its winners can prove their therapies work — not just in theory, but in practice.