Who is David Sinclair?
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A Hungarian-Australian American
If you already know that ageing can be combated, chances are high that you’ve somehow learned this through a man named David Sinclair. He is a Professor in the Department of Genetics at the Harvard Medical School in the US. In basketball terms, you could call Sinclair the Michael Jordan of longevity science. Through his efforts and his charismatic personality he has captured the world’s attention for ageing. But who is David Sinclair actually? How did he and his message get so popular and how has he slam-dunked his way through his career?
David Sinclair was born on 26 June 1969 in Sydney, Australia. Chronologically, that makes him 53 years old at the time of writing. The term biological age is used in the longevity space to refer to your age according to your cellular health. By this standard, he considers his age to be in his mid-30s.
While David Sinclair was born and raised in Australia, his father András is the son of Hungarian refugees. The Hungarian heritage is less obvious as András anglicised the family surname from Szigeti into Sinclair.
Sinclair speaks fondly of his childhood, especially about his grandma, who fled Hungary during the 1956 Hungarian revolution. After all the hardship she went through in her life, she used to say to him: “David, always stay young and innocent, wonder about the world and then do your best to make humanity the best it can be.”
Sinclair’s road to becoming a professor
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In the early 90s, David Sinclair was studying gene control in yeast at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. In 1993 David Sinclair attended a lecture in Australia from Leonard Guarente, a professor from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who studied genes involved in the regulation of ageing. This sparked Sinclair’s interest in the longevity space and he applied for a postdoc position in Guarente’s lab in the US, where he started to further study ageing in yeast.
At this point, most people believed ageing was a complicated process that could not be influenced. but Sinclair was determined to change that mindset. Three years later, Sinclair made a groundbreaking discovery that explained why yeast was ageing. But if you know why something’s happening, you might also be able to do something about it! This discovery propelled his career and in 1999 he was hired as a professor to run his own ageing lab at Harvard Medical School.
Reveratrol
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In 2003, Sinclair published a paper that showed evidence that a compound that is present in red wine, resveratrol, extended the life of yeast by 70%. A few years later in 2006, he replicated similar results in mice. In the meantime (in 2004) he had also co-founded a company called Sirtris Pharmaceuticals that was going to commercialise the discoveries around resveratrol for humans. Sirtris went public in 2007 and GSK bought the company in 2008 for a whooping US$720m. When Sirtris went public, Sinclair owned a little less than 1% of the shares, but the GSK takeover has probably still gained him around US$5m in cash. David Sinclair continues to promote resveratrol as of this date.
NMN, his next big thing
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Another anti-ageing compound that people associate with David Sinclair is NMN, or Nicotinamide Mononucleotide. Building on research from his former colleagues at MIT, Sinclair started doing experiments with NMN in yeast and mice. Sinclair and colleagues found that when aged mice drank NMN-infused water, their running endurance almost doubled. The mice that were on NMN also seemed to appear much younger with darker hair.
Why did David Sinclair get so famous?
David Sinclair is an excellent storyteller and salesman. He knows how to simplify the complicated science behind longevity and does that in a captivating way. These skills have helped him secure money from investors in the many companies he plays a part in, but have also resulted in him getting known by the general public.
His fame started to rise in the early 2000s with his discoveries around resveratrol. As red wine also contains resveratrol, it made longevity seem attainable to anyone. Sinclair became the topic of many news articles about longevity and he is also a regular guest on famous podcasts, such as The Joe Rogan Experience and the Led Fridman Podcast. In 2019, he published his bestseller book called “Lifespan: why we age and why we don’t have to”. Besides positive reviews, there are also mixed opinions as some of Sinclair’s colleagues in the scientific community are sceptical of the claims he made in the book. Whether that’s envy or not has to be proven in due time. As a sequel to his book, David Sinclair also launched a podcast called “Lifespan” early 2022.
What does David Sinclair do to combat ageing?
What makes Sinclair an interesting character to follow is that he is also trying out many longevity interventions himself.
In terms of lifestyle he follows intermittent fasting diets, doesn’t drink much alcohol, doesn’t eat much red meat. He exercises around 4 times per week and uses various health tracking methods, such as blood biomarker analyses and biological age tests.
The list people are interested in the most is the list of supplements David Sinclair takes. We based the list the episode #4 of the Lifespan podcast:
Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN): 1g per day, in the morning
Resveratrol: 1g per day, in the morning with some yoghurt or olive oil
Spermidine: 1 mg per day, in the morning
Quercetin and fisetin: 500 mg each per day, in the morning with some yoghurt
David Sinclair believes that resveratrol and NMN are the perfect combination. Resveratrol is needed to activate certain genes (the so-called sirtuins) that protect our DNA and epigenome, while NMN is needed to fuel these genes.
David Sinclair is also taking the prescription drug metformin off and on in the evenings. In the past he had reported taking Vitamin D3, Vitamin K2, ALA, coQ10, TMG and statins and aspirin. He didn’t mention taking these products in his latest overview anymore.
FAQ:
Who is David Sinclair?
What is David Sinclair known for?
David Sinclair is a prominent Australian biologist known for his groundbreaking research in the field of genetics and aging. He is particularly recognized for his work on understanding the aging process and how to slow it down, focusing notably on the roles of sirtuins and NAD+ metabolism.
What is David Sinclair's professional background?
David Sinclair earned his Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, in 1991 and completed a Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics at the same institution in 1995. He is currently a Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and co-Director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging at Harvard.
What are some significant contributions of David Sinclair to science?
Sinclair has made several critical contributions to the field of aging. He is best known for his work on sirtuins, a class of proteins that are believed to play key roles in longevity and metabolism. His research has also extensively covered the anti-aging effects of NAD+ and its precursors, positioning these molecules as potential therapeutic targets for age-related diseases.
Has David Sinclair published any books or articles?
Yes, David Sinclair has published numerous scientific articles in prestigious journals. Additionally, he is the author of the popular science book "Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don't Have To," which outlines his research and theories on aging and longevity, proposing lifestyle and pharmacological methods to extend human health span.
What awards or recognition has David Sinclair received?
Throughout his career, David Sinclair has been recognized with various awards and honors for his contributions to genetics and aging research. Some notable accolades include the Australian Commonwealth Prize, a Fellowship at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and being listed by Time Magazine as one of the "100 most influential people in the world" in 2014 and one of the "50 most influential people in healthcare" in 2018.
Is David Sinclair associated with any companies or products?
David Sinclair has co-founded several biotechnology companies focused on developing therapies to combat age-related diseases. He is also publicly associated with various dietary supplements and products purported to enhance longevity, often discussing NAD+ boosters like NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide) and resveratrol as part of his personal and research interest in anti-aging interventions.
How has David Sinclair's work been received by the scientific community?
While David Sinclair's research has been highly influential and has garnered widespread media attention, it has also sparked debate and scrutiny within the scientific community. Critics argue that the efficacy and safety of anti-aging interventions, like those Sinclair advocates for, require further research and validation in human studies. Nonetheless, Sinclair's work continues to push the boundaries of aging research and has inspired ongoing scientific investigation into how humans age and how we might extend our health span.
