Preston Estep
Encyclopedia
Preston W. Estep III is an American biologist and science and technology advocate. He is a graduate of Cornell University
, where he did neuroscience
research, and he earned a Ph.D. in Genetics from Harvard University
. He did his doctoral research in the laboratory of genomics pioneer Professor George Church
at Harvard Medical School
.
Dr. Estep is an inventor of several technologies including DNA chip-based readout of transposon-based selections and universal DNA protein-binding microarrays (PBMs). He is an advisor to the Personal Genome Project
, the first "open-source" genome project spearheaded by George Church and based at Harvard Medical School
. Dr. Estep founded and is the former Chairman and Chief Science Officer of the Innerspace Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on neuroengineering.
. Longenity has since folded but the company published research showing that a calorie restricted diet
feminizes gene expression (in mice) and that it regulates both sirtuin and TOR aging regulatory pathways. He has been highly critical of Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS
), a plan to reverse and repair the damage of aging. In mid-2006 he was the lead author of a submission by a group of nine scientists to the MIT Technology Review
SENS Challenge. The SENS Challenge panel of judges selected this submission as the best but concluded that it failed to meet the burden of proof established by the challenge: to show that "SENS is not worthy of learned debate." Some commentators have been critical of this requirement, saying that virtually any idea is worthy of some level of learned debate, though the terms of the prize were known in advance to all participants. Estep and colleagues failed to win the $20,000 prize on offer, but Technology Review's editor, Jason Pontin
, nevertheless awarded them $10,000 for their "careful scholarship". (See the "De Grey Technology Review controversy" entry for more details.) Their submission criticized the SENS plan as essentially bringing Lysenkoism
to modern aging research. Estep and colleagues donated the $10,000 award to the American Federation for Aging Research
(AFAR).
Estep has been openly critical of SENS
and of Aubrey de Grey
for alleged misrepresentation of scientific evidence, and he suggests that the SENS plan does not address some of the most challenging aspects of aging including unrepaired DNA damage, noncancerous mutation and epimutation of the nuclear genome, and drift of cell and tissue-specific chromatin states. This latter damage type is generally considered a primary cause of cellular dysdifferentiation and transdifferentiation, which degrade organismal function.
While critical of SENS and other anti-aging proposals, Estep is equally critical of the claim made by some in mainstream biogerontology that aging and/or death are incurable. He has challenged claimants to provide evidence for this assertion and points out the absence of evidence or physical law that might stand as a barrier to curing aging. He appears to advocate mind uploading more strongly than attempting to conquer aging.
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, where he did neuroscience
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. Traditionally, neuroscience has been seen as a branch of biology. However, it is currently an interdisciplinary science that collaborates with other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics,...
research, and he earned a Ph.D. in Genetics from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. He did his doctoral research in the laboratory of genomics pioneer Professor George Church
George Church
George Church is an American molecular geneticist. He is currently Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, Professor of Health Sciences and Technology at Harvard and MIT, and a core faculty member at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University.With...
at Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
.
Dr. Estep is an inventor of several technologies including DNA chip-based readout of transposon-based selections and universal DNA protein-binding microarrays (PBMs). He is an advisor to the Personal Genome Project
Personal Genome Project
The Personal Genome Project is a long term, large cohort study which aims to sequence and publicize the complete genomes and medical records of 100,000 volunteers, in order to enable research into personalized medicine. It was initiated by Harvard University's George Church and announced in...
, the first "open-source" genome project spearheaded by George Church and based at Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
. Dr. Estep founded and is the former Chairman and Chief Science Officer of the Innerspace Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on neuroengineering.
Longevity Research
Dr. Estep is active in aging research and in criticizing anti-aging claims he suggests are unrealistic or poorly supported. He is the former CEO of the human longevity research biotech company Longenity, Inc., which he founded with Matt KaeberleinMatt Kaeberlein
Dr. Matt Kaeberlein is an American biologist and biogerontologist best known for his research on evolutionarily conserved mechanisms of aging...
. Longenity has since folded but the company published research showing that a calorie restricted diet
Calorie restriction
Caloric restriction , or calorie restriction, is a dietary regimen that restricts calorie intake, where the baseline for the restriction varies, usually being the previous, unrestricted, intake of the subjects...
feminizes gene expression (in mice) and that it regulates both sirtuin and TOR aging regulatory pathways. He has been highly critical of Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS
Sens
Sens is a commune in the Yonne department in Burgundy in north-central France.Sens is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is crossed by the Yonne and the Vanne, which empties into the Yonne here.-History:...
), a plan to reverse and repair the damage of aging. In mid-2006 he was the lead author of a submission by a group of nine scientists to the MIT Technology Review
Technology Review
Technology Review is a magazine published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was founded in 1899 as "The Technology Review", and was re-launched without the "The" in its name on April 23, 1998 under then publisher R. Bruce Journey...
SENS Challenge. The SENS Challenge panel of judges selected this submission as the best but concluded that it failed to meet the burden of proof established by the challenge: to show that "SENS is not worthy of learned debate." Some commentators have been critical of this requirement, saying that virtually any idea is worthy of some level of learned debate, though the terms of the prize were known in advance to all participants. Estep and colleagues failed to win the $20,000 prize on offer, but Technology Review's editor, Jason Pontin
Jason Pontin
-Biography:Pontin was born on May 11, 1967 in London, and raised in Northern California. He was educated in England, at Harrow School and Oxford University....
, nevertheless awarded them $10,000 for their "careful scholarship". (See the "De Grey Technology Review controversy" entry for more details.) Their submission criticized the SENS plan as essentially bringing Lysenkoism
Lysenkoism
Lysenkoism, or Lysenko-Michurinism, also denotes the biological inheritance principle which Trofim Lysenko subscribed to and which derive from theories of the heritability of acquired characteristics, a body of biological inheritance theory which departs from Mendelism and that Lysenko named...
to modern aging research. Estep and colleagues donated the $10,000 award to the American Federation for Aging Research
American Federation for Aging Research
The American Federation for Aging Research is a private, charitable, 501, organization whose mission is to provide funding for biomedical research on aging.- Grant programs :...
(AFAR).
Estep has been openly critical of SENS
Sens
Sens is a commune in the Yonne department in Burgundy in north-central France.Sens is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is crossed by the Yonne and the Vanne, which empties into the Yonne here.-History:...
and of Aubrey de Grey
Aubrey de Grey
Aubrey David Nicholas Jasper de Grey is an English author and theoretician in the field of gerontology, and the Chief Science Officer of the SENS Foundation. He is editor-in-chief of the academic journal Rejuvenation Research, author of The Mitochondrial Free Radical Theory of Aging and co-author...
for alleged misrepresentation of scientific evidence, and he suggests that the SENS plan does not address some of the most challenging aspects of aging including unrepaired DNA damage, noncancerous mutation and epimutation of the nuclear genome, and drift of cell and tissue-specific chromatin states. This latter damage type is generally considered a primary cause of cellular dysdifferentiation and transdifferentiation, which degrade organismal function.
While critical of SENS and other anti-aging proposals, Estep is equally critical of the claim made by some in mainstream biogerontology that aging and/or death are incurable. He has challenged claimants to provide evidence for this assertion and points out the absence of evidence or physical law that might stand as a barrier to curing aging. He appears to advocate mind uploading more strongly than attempting to conquer aging.