SECRETS OF THE CENTENARIANS: Lessons for Healthy Aging | BINGE THINKING BOS

Welcome to Binge Thinking. We invite professors and experts to give lectures in bars around Boston, NYC, and DC!In a world of AI slop, doomscrolling and brainrot, Binge Thinking brings real experts into real places for nights of learning, conversation, and community.Think Responsibly. TOPIC: Secrets of the Centenarians: Lessons for Healthy AgingSPEAKER: Dr. Stacy Andersen, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine Some people hit 100 and are still cracking jokes, walking daily, and remembering everyone's birthday. Meanwhile, the rest of us pulled a muscle getting out of bed this morning. So what exactly do they have that we don't? For over two decades, Dr. Stacy Andersen has been chasing that answer through the New England Centenarian Study, the largest study of centenarians and their families in the world. By digging into the biology, psychology, and daily habits of people who thrive past 100, her research is uncovering why some of us don't just live longer, but live better. In this talk, Dr. Andersen takes us inside the cutting edge science of aging and shares what the world's most seasoned humans are teaching researchers about staying sharp, strong, and resilient. Topics include: Why centenarians and their families are nature's own experiments in healthy aging How researchers use biomarkers, neuropsychology, brain imaging, and digital phenotyping to study longevity Why bouncing back from disease may matter just as much as avoiding it What today's science says about extending "healthspan," not just lifespan Spoiler: the goal isn't just more birthdays. It's more good years. About the Speaker Dr. Stacy Andersen is a behavioral neuroscientist and co-director of the New England Centenarian Study at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. She first joined the study as a college intern hoping to gain clinical research experience with older adults, then stayed on full-time before earning her doctorate in Behavioral Neuroscience at BU's School of Medicine. She holds a BS in Neuroscience from Brandeis University and a PhD from Boston University School of Medicine. She is a multiple PI of the Resilience/Resistance to Alzheimer's Disease in Centenarians and Their Offspring (RADCO) project and leads neurocognitive phenotyping across several longevity studies. Her research has shown that centenarians experienced a 17-year delay in cancer diagnoses compared with a national database, and that children of centenarians had 46% lower odds of baseline cognitive impairment and were 35% less likely to develop it over 8 years. Agenda7:00 PM - Doors Open (Grab a seat and drinks!)7:30 PM - Lecture Begins8:10 PM - Audience Q&A8:30 PM - Drinks & Conversation9:00 PM - Event Ends Join us and grab a drink as we crash the 100+ club. What do centenarians know about aging that the rest of us don't