William Mair
Advocacy & policy

Changing how policy makers think about aging.

Bringing healthy aging to all will take a preventative public-health approach, and that means policy makers, journalists and leaders need to understand what the biology of aging can and cannot do. I brief them directly.

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Legislators

Policy briefings.

  • Sep 2026Massachusetts State HouseStatehouse Aging Roundtable with Rep. Stanley, Sen. Jehlen and Sen. DiDomenico: briefing on the biology of aging.
  • Nov 2025Massachusetts State HouseBriefing on Aging Biology for the Joint Committee on Aging and Independence: opening talk, Introduction to Aging Biology, and expert panel.
  • 2022AFAR congressional advocacyThe sole Massachusetts academic representative in the American Federation for Aging Research’s meetings with the offices of Senator Edward Markey and Representative Katherine Clark, to increase federal investment in geroscience.
Journalists

Helping the press get it right.

  • Sep 2026Health Coverage FellowshipDinner panel for health journalists, Living Longer (and Better): Hype vs. Hope in Aging Research.
  • 2017Harvard Journalists’ ProgramIs Aging a Risk Factor We Can Reduce?

Before graduate school I worked in journalism myself. Interviews and commentary are on the Media page.

Leaders

Executive and public programs.

  • 2025–26Harvard Advanced Leadership InitiativeDesigned and led the Longevity and Healthy Aging Deep Dive at Harvard Business School; invited speaker, ALI Aging & Longevity Impact Group.
  • 2025Harvard Chan Department of Health Policy and Management Executive CouncilThe biology of aging and the Healthy Aging Initiative.
  • 2025Harvard Chan donor and alumni program, NantucketSolving the Puzzle of Healthy Aging.
  • 2023Harvard Institute for Learning in RetirementPublic lecture, Is Aging Inevitable?
  • 2020Boston Public LibraryMeet-the-Scientists panel.
Harvard

The Healthy Aging Initiative.

In 2024 I founded the Harvard Chan Healthy Aging Initiative, which I direct, to bring the biology of aging together with public health across the School. It has convened the inaugural Healthy Aging Symposium, From Cells to Society: The Science of Extending Healthspan (October 2026, with Danone Institute North America), and Aging Reframed, an interdisciplinary aging seminar (2026).

Healthy Aging Initiative ↗