Valter Longo

Valter D. Longo
Born (1967-10-09) October 9, 1967
Genoa, Italy
Nationality Italian American
Alma mater University of California, Los Angeles
Scientific career
Fields Cell biology
Biogerontology
Institutions USC Davis School of Gerontology
Doctoral advisor Joan Valentine

Valter D. Longo (born October 9, 1967) is an Italian-American biogerontologist and cell biologist known for his studies on the role of fasting and nutrient response genes on cellular protection aging and diseases and for proposing that longevity is regulated by similar genes and mechanisms in many eukaryotes. He is currently a professor at the USC Davis School of Gerontology with a joint appointment in the department of Biological Sciences as well as serving as the director of the USC Longevity Institute.

Career

Born in Genoa, Italy, from Calabrian parents[1], Valter Longo attended the University of North Texas[2] majoring in Biochemistry.

In 1992 he joined the laboratory of "calorie restriction" pioneer Roy Walford at UCLA where he studied calorie restriction and aging of the immune system. He completed his PhD work in Biochemistry studying antioxidant enzymes and anti-aging genes under Joan Valentine at UCLA in 1997 and his postdoctoral training in the neurobiology of Alzheimer's Disease under Caleb Finch at the University of Southern California. Since 1997 he has been a faculty member at the USC Davis School of Gerontology and Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center.

Longo is a member of the formation of USC's Biology of Aging program as well as the director of the USC Longevity Institute,[3] also launched the USC Davis School of Gerontology's first study-abroad program, a summer class in the nutrition and genetics of aging in Italy.[4]

In 2011, he was profiled on Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman for his longevity-related research.[5]

Fasting mimicking diet

Longo's fasting-mimicking diet is a low-calorie, low-protein, low-carbohydrate, high-fat meal program that is claimed to mimic the effects of periodic fasting or water fasting over the course of five days, while still aiming to provide the body with nutrition.[6][7] FMD is considered a periodic fast.[8]

Longo developed the diet at the University of Southern California. Longo believes that it is possible to mimic the effects of fasting with a meal program that is designed to inhibit the same metabolic pathways fasting would, thereby providing the body with nutrients that do not trigger the body’s growth responses.[9]

Longo sells the diet through ProLon.[10] Fasting mimicking diet is trademarked by L-Nutra, a company owned by Longo with financial interest by USC, though Longo does not receive financial benefit from the company.[11][12]

Honors

  • Nathan Shock Lecture Award, National Institute on Aging, NIH, 2010[13]

Potential conflicts of interest

Valter Longo is a founder of a L-Nutra Inc., a company that markets food supplements.[14] However he has stated that he receives no profit from this company, and his goal is to be able to distribute these products at as low cost as possible to patients.[15] He has declared to Italian TV to have donated his quota to charity organizations (Italia 1 channel, Le Iene, October 9, 2016).

References

  1. ↑ Longo, Valter, during XII Premio Simpatia della Calabria, Reggio di C, 4 September 2018
  2. ↑ "Faculty Profile: Valter Longo". USC Davis School of Gerontology. Archived from the original on 26 May 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  3. ↑ "USC Longevity Institute". USC. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  4. ↑ Riggs, Jonathan. "Gerontology and Genoa's Lifestyle". USC News. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  5. ↑ "USC in the News". USC Media and Public Relations. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  6. ↑ University of Southern California (February 16, 2017). "Scientifically-designed fasting diet lowers risks for major diseases". ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  7. ↑ King, Jennifer (June 19, 2015). "Fasting diets and longer life may go hand-in-hand, new research finds". ABC. ABC Health. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  8. ↑ Landro, Laura (April 11, 2017). "Can Different Forms of Fasting Make You Healthier?". Dow Jones & Company. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  9. ↑ Brandhorst, Sebastian; Choi, In Young; Wei, Min; Cheng, Chia Wei; Sedrakyan, Sargis; Navarrete, Gerardo; Dubeau, Louis; Yap, Li Peng; Park, Ryan; Vinciguerra, Manlio; Di Biase, Stefano; Mirzaei, Hamed; Mirisola, Mario G.; Childress, Patra; Ji, Lingyun; Groshen, Susan; Penna, Fabio; Odetti, Patrizio; Perin, Laura; Conti, Peter S.; Ikeno, Yuji; Kennedy, Brian K.; Cohen, Pinchas; Morgan, Todd E.; Dorff, Tanya B.; Longo, Valter D. (June 18, 2015). "Switch to Standard View A Periodic Diet that Mimics Fasting Promotes Multi-System Regeneration, Enhanced Cognitive Performance, and Healthspan". Cell Metabolism. 22 (1): 86. doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2015.05.012. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  10. ↑ Smith, Dana G. (March 15, 2017). "The Business of Fasting". Fast Company & Inc., Mansuetto Ventures, LLC. Fast Company. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  11. ↑ "FASTING MIMICKING DIET - Trademark Details". Justia. Justia. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  12. ↑ Walton, Alice G. (February 16, 2017). "Could A Little Bit Of Fasting Bring A Lot Of Health Benefits?". Forbes Media LLC. Forbes. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Nathan W. Shock Memorial Lecture Award Winners". National Institute on Aging. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  14. ↑ "L-Nutra Team". L-Nutra Inc. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  15. ↑ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6PyyatqJSE". External link in |title= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
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