Dr. Tom Perls is the founding director of the New England Centenarian Study

New England Centenarian Study

The New England Centenarian Study is a study of persons aged 100 and over in the Boston area. It is one of the oldest, largest and most prestigious studies in the USA and the world....

. Once based at 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...

, the study is now based at Boston University

Boston University

Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...

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Perls is also the author of the online Living to 100 Life Expectancy Calculator. Perls is a prominent critic of the controversial medical group the "American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine

American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine

The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine is a United States registered 501 nonprofit organization that promotes the field of anti-aging medicine and trains and certifies physicians in this specialty. As of 2011, approximately 26,000 practitioners had been given certificates...

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Born in Palo Alto, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, Perls later moved to Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

and is now residing in Boston.