About the Study
The SuperAgers Family Study aims to collect data from a large group of individuals who have lived to age 95 or more. Our goal is to understand and uncover the biological factors contributing healthy aging and exceptional longevity shared among the SuperAgers and their families.
The SuperAgers Family Study will compare traits in SuperAgers and their children to traits in older adults whose parents were not SuperAgers. Through this research, we’re aiming to identify inherited and natural factors that protect against human aging and related diseases. The data from this study will be used to create a biorepository database for future research related to healthy aging.
Our Mission
Our mission is to understand and uncover the biological factors contributing to healthy aging and exceptional longevity shared among the SuperAgers.
(H4) Joining the Study
Joining the Study
Who is eligible to join?
- Individuals aged 95 years or older.
- Individuals whose parents are 95 or older, who are currently alive and willing to participate in the study.
- Individuals whose parents-in-laws are 95 or older, who are currently alive and willing to participate in the study.
Each participant needs to create their own account to participate in the study.
Why should I join?
Participants in the SuperAgers Family Study will have the opportunity to:
- Inform the research of age-related disease treatments for generations to come through their participation in scientific studies;
- Have the option to receive ancestry information; and
- Learn valuable information to help them live well longer
How can I join?
(H4) Joining the Study
What is involved?
Participants will be asked to complete an initial survey on general health information, qualified study participants will receive a saliva collection kit in the mail. The instructions are simple, and the process is user-friendly and non-invasive. Participants will have a choice of either filling a small tube with saliva or using a sponge for saliva collection.
The saliva collection kits will be returned in a postage-paid envelope to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine for processing and storage. Privacy of samples and information will be maintained by using a unique barcode rather than participants’ names, and the biobank holding the DNA records will be protected and maintained in compliance with federal medical privacy law (HIPAA).
Participants may choose to receive the results about their ancestry, or family origins. They will also have the option of sharing their electronic health records with the researchers. This is wholly voluntary, but it will give researchers valuable additional details about health history to allow more in-depth study.
Our Partners
The multi-year SuperAgers Initiative is an ambitious effort led by the American Federation for Aging Research and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, in collaboration with Boston University School of Medicine. The Initiative coalition thanks our funder, James Fickel and the Fickel Family Foundation, for their generous support and contributions to this critical research in advancing exceptional longevity.
Interested in becoming a Participant?