The team.

William Mair, PhD

Will Mair is a molecular geneticist who studies how nutrient and energy sensing set the rate of aging, and why age is the greatest risk factor for chronic disease. His central hypothesis is that aging and age-related disease stem from a progressive loss of metabolic flexibility, the ability of cells, tissues and whole organisms to respond to changes in nutrient supply. He proposes that restoring this homeodynamic capacity can promote healthy aging.

His lab discovered that RNA splicing factors causally regulate longevity. It also defined how the nervous system coordinates AMPK and mTORC1 signaling to control aging across tissues, and showed that the plasticity of mitochondria and peroxisomes underlies the loss of metabolic flexibility with age. He trained at University College London (Ph.D., with Linda Partridge) and the Salk Institute (with Andrew Dillin). He is an elected member of the Academy of Geroscience, co-founding director of the MBL Biology of Aging course and organizer of the Cold Spring Harbor Mechanisms of Aging meeting.

• 2024–Professor of Molecular Metabolism (tenured) and Director, Harvard Chan Healthy Aging Initiative
• 2017–2024Associate Professor, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
• 2011–2017Assistant Professor, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
• 2006–2011Postdoctoral Fellow, Salk Institute (Andrew Dillin)
• 2005Ph.D. Biology, University College London (Linda Partridge)
• 2000B.Sc. Genetics, First Class, University College London

Selected honors

• 2025Elected Member, Academy of Geroscience
• 2019Armen H. Tashjian Jr. Award for Excellence in Endocrine Research
• 2017AFAR / Glenn Foundation Breakthroughs in Gerontology Award
• 2015Glenn Award
• 2012Ellison Medical Foundation New Scholar in Aging

For speaking, media and consulting, visit willmair.com.