Virtual Event: Coleen Murphy at York Festival of IdeasHow We Age

All of us would like to live longer, or to slow the debilitating effects of age.  Leading scholar of ageing Dr Coleen T Murphy will show how recent research on longevity and ageing may be bringing us closer to this goal.


Dr Murphy, author of How We Age, will explain that the study of model systems, particularly simple invertebrate animals, combined with breakthroughs in genomic methods, have allowed scientists to probe the molecular mechanisms of longevity and ageing. Understanding the fundamental biological rules that govern ageing in model systems provides clues about how we might slow human ageing, which could lead in turn to new therapeutics and treatments for age-related disease.

Drawing on work in her own lab at Princeton University, USA, as well as other recent research, Dr Murphy will chronicle the history and current state of the field, explaining longevity’s links to reproduction and mating, sensory and cognitive function, inheritances from our ancestors, and the gut microbiome.

Join Dr Murphy to learn what we know about ageing, how we know what we know, and what we can do with this new knowledge.

This event will take place live on Zoom Webinar. You will receive a link to join a couple of days before the event and a reminder an hour before. During the event, you can ask questions via a Q&A function, but audience cameras and microphones will remain muted throughout.