Dr Avi Roy PhD

Avi is the President of the Biogerontology Research Foundation (BGRF), a UK-based charity founded to support ageing research and address the challenges of a rapidly ageing population. Avi is an Oxford based biomedical scientist, and a Research Fellow at the Institute for Translational Medicine at the University of Buckingham (BITM). Avi's research team at BITM explores the rejuvenation of human skin using small molecules, and identifies accurate biomarkers of aging. His research has resulted in an advanced protocol for screening drugs that have geroprotective properties, which has identified twelve novel geroprotective molecules. Avi and his team at the BGRF are building the open-access infrastructure required to accelerate the translation of regenerative medicine from bench to bedside.

Avi Roy- Journey to 100

2018 - Gene Therapy, Gene Editing, and Genomics - Precision, Personalized, Preventive, and Effective Medicine Comes of Age

Biotechnology is at a critical point, comparable to the exponential growth of IT technology in past decades. If we grasp the opportunity, biotech offers a new, attractive engine of growth and vital solutions to today’s biggest challenges. Despite early setbacks, gene therapy and gene editing are finally achieving wider public interest and investment - offering a permanent cure for diseases once believed incurable. With CRISPR-Cas9 named the technological breakthrough of the year in 2017, gene editing technologies are now being used in a growing number of clinical trials worldwide.

As our technology matures, our approach to medicine must also mature; moving beyond treating individual diseases to a preventative, precise treatment model designed for each individual. Evolving diagnostic and prognostic technology is now expediting the clinical trial process by enabling affordable N=1 trials that provide us with essential safety and efficacy data, fast - helping treatment arrive at the clinic quicker than ever before. Treating age-related diseases such as cancer or cardiovascular disease alone is also an ineffective and inefficient use of resources. We must begin targeting the aging process itself. Gene therapy must evolve to become genomic therapy; creating a world in which we achieve precise control of our genome and optimise human health while ensuring healthy, productive longevity for all society.