Healthspan Lifespan and the New Science of Longevity. Nir Barzlai, M.D., founded the Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine over twenty years ago. His most fascinating study features a patient population of 600 centenarians - individuals who maintain active lives well into their 90s and 100s - and, more importantly, reached that milestone never having experienced the so-called big four cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and cognitive decline. Dr. Barzlai identified three clusters of genetic mutations - connected to levels of cholesterol, growth hormones and peptides produced in their cells mitochondria - that