The Biology of Human Longevity

Dr. Finch’s major research interest is the study of basic mechanisms in human aging with a focus on inflammation. He has received numerous awards in biomedical gerontology, including the Robert W. Kleemeier Award of the Gerontological Society of America in 1985, the Sandoz Premier Prize by the International Geriatric Association in 1995, and the Irving Wright Award of AFAR and the Research Award of AGE in 1999. He was the founder of the NIA-funded Alzheimer Disease Research Center in 1984 and currently serves as co- Director. Dr. Finch became a University Distinguished Professor in 1989, an honor held by sixteen other professors at USC who contribute to multiple fields. He is a member of five editorial boards and has written four books including The Biology of Human Longevity (Academic Press 2007) as well as over 470 articles.

"Overall, this is a rich and timely book full of facts, figures, ideas and connections. Finch has generously referenced this work with 182 pages of literature citations, so it can also serve as an excellent reference volume. One wonders how he can keep producing such comprehensive books on so many diverse topics in aging research, and I hope he is not yet finished!" --Huber R. Warner, Associate Dean for Research University of Minnesota in The Gerontologist, March 2009"With the coupling of his expertise in neuroscience and clinical medicine to his keen interests in demography and comparative zoology, Finch arguably remains our most potent synthesizer of biology and gerontology. Here his writing conveys a sense of urgency not present in his classic Longevity, Senescence, and the Genome.... the intellectual framework Finch provides in it will be intensely stimulating to both experts and newcomers in the field of aging." --Donna J. Holmes, Washington State University, in SCIENCE Magazine, Vol 319, 22 Feb 2008"This is a monumental book, which reviews and discusses over 3,000 scientific publications on mechanisms of aging and longevity, with special emphasis on the role of inflammation in senescence and age-related degenerative diseases. The author is an internationally recognized leader in the field of biogerontology, and his volume could serve as a useful reference book for a wide readership including biomedical scientists, biogerontologists and clinicians in areas of vascular disease, diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, genetics of aging and longevity, animal models of aging, anthropology and primatology, evolutionary biology, demography and epidemiology." --Dr. Leonid Gavrilov and Natalia S. Gavrilova, Center on Aging, University of Chicago, in Quarterly Review of Biology (March 1, 2008)"Finch exemplifies the ideal of thorough scholarship, and we should be grateful for his comprehensive summary of ideas and data that bear upon the intriguing question of why humans live as long as they do." --TOM KIRKWOOD, Institute for Ageing and Health, Newcastle University in Age and Ageing 2009; 38: 636–637

• Chapter 1: Inflammation and oxidation in aging and chronic diseases.Chapter 2. Infections, Inflammogens, and Drugs.Chapter 3. Energy balance, inflammation, and aging.Chapter 4: Nutrition and Infection in the Developmental Influences on Aging.Chapter 5: Genetics.Chapter 6: The human the life span: present, past, and future.