An Interview with Professor David Sinclair from Harvard Medical School

Written by Perrin Braun | Jul 24, 2012

Dr. David Sinclair has spent the past 20 years trying to answer the question “Why do we grow old?” He is a renowned scientist best known for his research on lifespan extension and treatment of diseases related to aging, and his expertise on health and longevity make him an integral part of the InsideTracker team.

Dr. Sinclair studies genetics, aging, and how we can slow our internal clock

In his current position as Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Sinclair and his team of researchers are working to develop medicines that may one day both prevent and treat multiple common diseases. His ultimate goal is to allow people to live healthier, disease-free lives—an objective that is right in line with the work that

Sinclair moved to Boston after graduating from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia with a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular genetics, to conduct postdoctoral research on yeast aging at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). One of his earliest discoveries led his lab to identify important factors that cause yeast cells to age. After completing his research at MIT, Sinclair became a faculty member at Harvard Medical School. On a return visit to MIT, Sinclair fortuitously met InsideTracker founder Dr. Gil Blander, who was doing his postdoctoral research at the same MIT lab where Sinclair had worked.

Dr. Sinclair and InsideTracker: Worlds collide

Prior to meeting Blander, Dr. Sinclair had been working on a personalized nutrition project that was very similar to InsideTracker. “[Gil] was doing exactly what I wanted to do, but better,” said Sinclair. After opting not to continue with his own project, he enthusiastically agreed to chair Segterra’s Scientific Advisory Board and subsequently to join the Board of Directors. Sinclair particularly admired in the fact that InsideTracker could impact people’s health without having to rely on expensive pharmaceutical trials or waiting several years to discover meaningful research results. This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

After studying health and longevity for two decades, Sinclair realized that many people lacked concrete knowledge about what was going on inside of their bodies. Like many other health-conscious individuals, he wanted to know if his diet and exercise regimen was truly beneficial to his health. Sinclair became convinced that InsideTracker was hitting the mark after seeing the results of his own bloodwork.

Dr. Sinclair's opinions on getting his blood tested

Sinclair said that the bloodwork report had a “huge motivational impact” on his life, showing him the effects that periodic lapses in his eating and exercise habits had on his physiology. Prior to receiving his InsideTracker results, Sinclair wasn’t able to see exactly what gaining a pound or two of fat would do to his cholesterol, fatty acid, and inflammation levels. but his experience with InsideTracker proved to be something of a wakeup call.

“Without the ability to see scientifically what’s going on inside of your body, you can easily let your eating and exercise habits slip,” Sinclair said. “When you have the numbers right in front of you, you have to act.”

In his quest to develop drugs that battle chronic diseases, Sinclair has seen scientific advances that give people increasing amounts of control over what’s going on inside their bodies and how it affects their health. He is very grateful for new digital technology that enables anyone to receive scientifically proven data that reveals tremendous amounts of information about his or her health status.

“In my view, InsideTracker is one of the most important developments in that direction,” he explained. By empowering Sinclair to take charge of his fitness and well-being, InsideTracker made a significant impact on his health. We look forward to more exciting news from Dr. Sinclair!

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