The word ‘longevity’ is more than just a trending topic at The Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato, CA. Helping older adults live longer, but more importantly healthier, lives is the goal of this biomedical research institute. In their words: “Our mission is to end the threat of age-related disease for this and future generations.”

Founded in 1999, the Buck Institute was named in recognition of late philanthropist Beryl Hamilton Buck, who specified she wanted to “extend help towards the problems of the aged” in Marin County. When “The Buck” as it’s called, first opened, it was the first independent research center in the United States, meeting the challenge of a report from the National Academy of Medicine (in 1991) to open ten centers across the country focused solely on ageing research. Since then, the Buck has become a global hub, its campus designed by world-famous architect I.M.Pei, with over 250 scientists from 37 countries.

Brian Van Weele, vice president of strategic partnerships at the Buck Institute, spoke with the Global Ageing Network recently about a new initiative the Buck recently launched at 60 Life Plan communities across the country: the LIVE (Longevity Inspired Vitality Education) program. He will be speaking about LIVE at the Global Ageing Network Summit on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 9:15 a.m., as part of the LeadingAge Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA.

“Part of the core research at the Buck focuses on the fact that the process of ageing itself is the number one risk factor for every chronic condition,” Van Weele said. “The geroscience hypothesis: rather than targeting chronic illness and chronic conditions in a siloed way, by going upstream and understanding how the ageing biology is leading to these conditions and  intervening, you could potentially address or help mitigate all these chronic conditions simultaneously. That’s our big moonshot.”

Sharing Research on Ageing

While researchers at the Buck continue to dive more deeply into their research on ageing, Van Weele said sharing this information with the population, especially older adults, through LIVE has emerged as a significant opportunity.

Traditionally, the Buck, as a non-profit research institute, shares its research and science with scientists worldwide through journals and publications. “That’s part of the beauty of the scientific field—everything is shared. And we’re in probably about 100 to 150 global partnerships right now with universities and research labs all across the world,” noted Van Weele.

As an example, The Buck Institute is currently partnering with the University of Toulouse, France on the concept of intrinsic capacity —the composite of all physical and mental health capacities, measured across cognition, psychological well-being, sensory capacity and vitality/nutrition — which can be tracked. “We’re also partnering with the government to develop a national implementation of intrinsic capacity that hopefully will be approved by the FDA,” he said, “What that would mean is that if I’m low on a particular domain, my doctor could prescribe an intervention for me.” This is currently available in Europe, but not yet in the United States.

Bringing LIVE to Life Plan Communities

It was after connecting with Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge and executive director of the Global Ageing Network, that Van Weele and his colleagues at the Buck began considering Life Plan communities and Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs) in the United States as resource centers where they could share the latest research with older adults.

“We thought: we can bring this science to people and help people in these unique communities,” he said. “There are all of these amazing seniors together, sharing space, programming and community. We could help support a culture of healthy ageing with research-based, scientific information.”

Recognizing that older adults want to do everything they can to remain strong, independent, cognitively healthy and engaged, Van Weele said this population also tends to be surrounded by “an enormous amount of conflicting information about nutrition, exercise, sleep, diet, brain health, longevity, and they don’t know how to make sense of it all.”

By providing trusted information, in ways that are relevant and actionable, Van Weele said the Buck believes they can help create cultures of greater health span for older adults and their communities.

LIVE is available now as an online resource. “Communities can subscribe to LIVE and make it available to all residents,” said Van Weele. “Our goal is not to provide curriculum, it’s to provide resources for community leaders, to help with programming, using the latest and greatest insights on the science of ageing.”

Topics covered include, but are not limited to, sleep, nutrition, metabolic health, brain health and cardiovascular health. The Buck produces what Van Weele called “fireside chat seminars” each month to spark interest on various subjects. They also offer master classes, meant to deepen understanding of health subject matter.

Another component of LIVE is resource guides– comprehensive guides for staff and more basic guides for residents. “The idea behind that is the content can be used in group settings, with conversations led by staff — the content is also available to residents’ families,” he said. To date, LIVE is being implemented in 60 communities, including LeadingAge members Human Good, Kendal, and Sequoia Living.

“The good news about our science,” Van Weele continued, “borne out in research study after research study, is that it’s never too late to affect your health positively – at 70, 80, 90, even 100.” One of the Buck’s major findings is that “ageing is not fixed, it’s plastic and malleable — we have agency over it,” he said.

By implementing the LIVE program, Van Weele said wellness and enrichment directors don’t have to be ageing experts. “This is an educational resource, vetted by our scientists, that can be used to create a culture of health and vitality and help older adults,” he said. “None of us wants to live forever, but we want to live healthy for as long as possible.”

Van Weele’s session will be among more than 140 education sessions happening at the Global Ageing Network Summit and LeadingAge Annual Meeting 24–28 October in Philadelphia. Registration is open now.