Laura Deming

Laura Deming (born 1994) is a venture capitalist. Her work focuses on life extension, and using biological research to reduce or reverse the effects of aging.

Laura Deming
Deming speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2018
Born1994
NationalityNew Zealander
Alma materMassachusetts Institute of Technology (dropped out)
AwardsThiel Fellowship
Forbes 30 Under 30
Scientific career
FieldsLife extension
InstitutionsThe Longevity Fund
Academic advisorsCynthia Kenyon

Education

Laura Deming is the daughter of John and Tabitha Deming;[1] she grew up in New Zealand.[2] Deming and her brother, Trey, were homeschooled; she says she taught herself "calculus and probability and statistics, and French literature and history." At age 8, Deming became interested in the biology of aging,[3] and at age 12 she joined the lab of Cynthia Kenyon at the University of California, San Francisco.[2][4] Kenyon successfully increased the lifespan of the worm C. elegans by a factor of ten through genetic engineering.[5] Deming was accepted to MIT at age 14 and studied physics,[4][6] but later dropped out to accept the $100,000 Thiel Fellowship and start a venture capital firm.[7] Deming was one of only two women in the 2011 initial class of Thiel Fellows.[8]

Career

Deming is a partner at and founder of The Longevity Fund, a venture capital firm focused on aging and life extension.[2][4] The firm raised $4 million in its first fund and $22 million for its second fund, in 2017.[6] The Longevity Fund investments include Unity Biotechnology, which develops senolytic drugs targeting diseases of aging, Navitor Pharmaceuticals, and Metacrine.

Deming believes that science can be used to create biological immortality in humans, and has said that ending aging "is a lot closer than you might think".[9] She has been featured in "30 Under 30" by Forbes magazine,[10] and was one of the stars of "The Age of Ageing", a documentary by National Geographic.[4] She also spoke at the 2012 Singularity Summit[11] and at the 2013 TEDMED conference.[12]

In 2018, Deming launched Age1, a four-month startup accelerator program focused on founders creating longevity companies.[13] The program graduated its first class of six on October 10, 2018, with companies including Fauna Bio, a startup using the biology of hibernation to aid in heart attack and stroke recovery, and Spring Discovery, focused on accelerating aging therapeutic research with machine learning.[14] [15] In August 2018, Deming also began advising the newly launched Pioneer, a fund designed to find talent and "lost Einsteins" around the world, for projects in longevity.[16]

See also

References
  1. Kelly, Caitlin (15 September 2012). "Forgoing College to Pursue Dreams". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  2. Jacobs, Vance. "Portraits of Silicon Valley". Storehouse. Archived from the original on 24 December 2015. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  3. Hedgecock, Sarah (10 June 2015). "Why Longevity Isn't Just A Numbers Game". Forbes. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  4. Mulkerrins, Jane (22 November 2015). "Could this pill be the key to eternal youth?". The Telegraph. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  5. DePuy, Larry. "Electric cars? Triple lifespans? Warp drive? Sign me up!" (February 13, 2015). Times Standard. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  6. "This 23-year-old just closed her second fund — which is focused on aging — with $22 million". TechCrunch. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  7. Leber, Jessica (3 February 2012). "Too Young to Fail". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  8. Henderson, J. Maureen (20 June 2011). "Meet The Teen Who Got Paid $100 000 To Drop Out Of School". Forbes. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  9. Segran, Elizabeth (25 August 2014). "The Eternal Problem Silicon Valley Can't Solve". Fast Company. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  10. "30 Under 30". Forbes. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  11. Popper, Ben (22 October 2012). "Rapture of the nerds: will the Singularity turn us into gods or end the human race?". The Verge. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  12. "How can science and business team up for the long (health) haul?". TEDMED. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  13. "One of the youngest fund managers in the U.S. just launched her own accelerator, too". TechCrunch. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  14. "A VC who dropped out of MIT at age 14 has invested in biotech companies that are now worth billions. Here's how's she's picking her next investments to help us live longer". Business Insider. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  15. "A new startup backed by an anti-aging wunderkind is taking cues from animal hibernation to help humans recover from heart attacks and strokes". Business Insider. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  16. "Wanted: 'Lost Einsteins.' Please Apply". Retrieved 12 October 2018.
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