Valter Longo

Valter D. Longo(born 1967) is an Italian-Americanbiogerontologistandcell biologistknown for his studies on the role offastingand nutrient response genes on cellular protection aging and diseases and for proposing that longevity is regulated by similar genes and mechanisms in manyeukaryotes. He is currently a professor at theUSC Davis School of Gerontologywith a joint appointment in the department of Biological Sciences as well as serving as the director of theUSC Longevity Institute.
Valter Longo was born into aCalabrianfamily in thenorthern Italian cityofGenoain 1967.As a child, he spent much of his time imitatingJimi Hendrix's guitar-playing style. At the age of 16, he moved toChicagoto study jazz guitar,and lived with extended relatives.While there, he observed that his relatives in the United States were genetically similar to his family back home, but many of them were suffering fromdiabetesandcardiovascular diseasedue to diets rich in fat, meat, and sugar.Three years later, he transferred to theUniversity of North Texas College of Musicto study jazz underJack Petersen.To pay for his tuition, he worked at a gas station, repaired roofs, sold water filtration equipment, and joined the army as a reserve tank driver, narrowly avoiding deployment to combat during the 1991Gulf War.During his second year of music, Longo was selected to direct the university's marching band—an assignment he considered humiliating for someone aspiring to be a rock star. Consequently, he decided to shift his focus to studying nutrition and longevity.He graduated from theUniversity of North Texasin 1992.
In 1992 he joined the laboratory ofcalorie restrictionpioneerRoy WalfordatUCLAwhere he studied calorie restriction and aging of theimmune system.While Longo sees Walford as a pioneer, he describes the extreme diet Walford advocated as a "little crazy,"as it severely restricted food intake during Walford’s time in the experimental habitat ofBiosphere 2. "When they exited Biosphere, they looked liked hell," Longo said. "Walford looked like a skeleton."He completed hisPhDwork in Biochemistry studyingantioxidantenzymesand anti-aging genes underJoan ValentineatUniversity of California, Los Angelesin 1997,and his postdoctoral training underCaleb Finchat theUniversity of Southern California.
Valter Longo is the Edna M. Jones Professor of Gerontology and Biological Sciences, as well as the director of the Longevity Institute at theLeonard Davis School of Gerontologyat theUniversity of Southern California,and the Longevity and Cancer Program at the IFOM Institute of Molecular Oncology inMilan, Italy.In 2018, Longo led a team of researchers from theUniversity of Southern CaliforniaandHarvard University, focusing on interventions to protect against aging and disease. The team received a new $10 million grant from theNational Institute on Aging.
Valter Longo is not married and has no children,he said: "I'm dedicated to what I do and involved in many clinical trials."
With regard to longevity, Longo promotes a mostlyplant-based dietand eats fish no more than two or three times per week.In addition, he suggests implementingtime-restricted eating, with daily eating windows of 11–12 hours.His research is focused on the fasting-mimicking diet (FMD). The FMD is a low-calorie, low-protein, moderate-carbohydrate, moderate-fatplant-based dietprogram,  that he argues mimics the effects of periodicfastingorwater fasting. The course lasts five days, while still aiming to provide the body with nutrition,and is considered a periodic fast.Longo stated that the purpose of creating FMD was not to promote weight loss but to help end the global medical culture centered on pill consumption. He described this system as "prehistoric, it’s expensive, and it’s making us all broke."Longo founded the biotechnology company L-Nutra and developed the ProLon fasting-mimicking diet.MIT Technology Reviewreported that while ProLon was a commercial success, Longo was concerned about its potential impact on his scientific reputation. In 2017, after a series of articles about the product—one of which described him as sounding like a "snake oil salesman"—he announced that he would no longer accept consulting fees and would donate his company shares to charity.
In 2011, Longo was profiled onThrough the Wormholefor his longevity-related research.A year later, he discussed his fasting research withMichael Mosleyin an episode of theBBCdocumentary series,Horizoncalled,Eat, Fast, and Live Longer.
His appearances and interviews in documentaries and TV series include the 2012 movieScience of Fasting,the 2020 seriesThe Goop Lab,andDown to Earth with Zac Efron.Longo's studies on fasting inspired the documentaryFasting and The Longevity Revolution, narrated byEdward Nortonand directed byAcademy Award-nominatedBarry Alexander Brown.
In 2018, Valter Longo was named one of the fifty most influential people in health care byTime,which called him "the fasting evangelist",and in 2021Sciencecalled him a pioneer in the nutrition and cancer field.Longo is also onClarivate's list ofHighly Cited Researchersfor 2021–24.