Above (left to right): Co-founders Professor Denis Noble, Leslie Kenny, Sir Christopher Ball and Dr Paul Ch'en.
Below (left to right): Sir Muir Gray, Dr Paul Ch'en, Leslie Kenny, Sir Christopher Ball and Professor Denis Noble at the 2025 Smart Ageing Summit.
Welcome to the oxford longevity project
The Smart Ageing Summit
In 2023, OLP hosted its first in-person event, the Smart Ageing Summit, at Keble College. These summits offer the public rare opportunities to engage directly with pioneers in longevity science in a historic Oxford college setting. The 2024 summit at St Hilda’s College marked a major milestone: the release of the Global Longevity Survey, conducted in partnership with the Roundglass Foundation. The survey captured the attitudes of over 14,000 people in 25 countries toward ageing, longevity, and the roles of individuals and governments in extending healthy lifespan.
The 2025 summit at Rhodes House focused on mental health and mindset in ageing, with a keynote from Angela Rippon CBE. The 2026 summit explored diet and longevity, with a keynote from Professor Chris van Tulleken. The next Smart Ageing Summit will take place at St Catherine’s College on 17 April 2027, with a focus on the longevity of the brain and mind.
Our Board
In 2024, Sir Muir Gray, former Chief Knowledge Officer of the NHS and a leading advocate for evidence-based healthy ageing, joined OLP’s Board. Professor Ashok Handa, Director of the Collaborating Centre for Values-Based Practice in Health and Social Care, joined in September 2026, further strengthening the Board’s scientific and clinical expertise.
Our Vision
“The Oxford Longevity Project is more than a community—it’s a movement,” says co-founder Leslie Kenny. “Our vision is a future in which everyone understands that longevity isn’t luck. It’s a proactive choice, grounded in science and available to all.”
From public symposia to data-driven insights, OLP brings cutting-edge science to an engaged public. Its roots are in Oxford, and its reach is growing globally.
About the Oxford Longevity Project
The Oxford Longevity Project (OLP) is an Oxford-based non-profit organisation on a mission to amplify the latest breakthroughs in longevity lifestyle science and to guide, inspire, and advocate for action, starting in Oxford and reaching out to the world.
How It Began
OLP was founded during the 2021 lockdown by four long-time friends. They were Sir Christopher Ball, former Warden of Keble College; Professor Denis Noble, pioneering cardiovascular physiologist and systems biologist; Dr Paul Ch’en, College Doctor for Keble and Somerville Colleges; and Leslie Kenny, patient advocate and founder of Oxford Healthspan. OLP began with a question: what if the latest accessible lab discoveries in ageing could be shared directly with the public?
Their inaugural event was a virtual symposium titled “Autophagy & Ageing,” hosted by the Interdisciplinary Institute at Balliol College. It drew unexpected and overwhelming interest. Longevity scientists from the University of Osaka and the University of Oxford, together with leading healthspan clinicians, translated complex scientific breakthroughs into actionable health insights. London Business School Professor and ageing researcher Andrew Scott shared pre-publication research on the “Longevity Dividend”: the trillions of dollars to be reaped by countries that actively help their citizens to age more slowly. The response to the symposia was clear: the public is not only ready for real science, they’re hungry for it.
introducing prof ashok handa
We are delighted to welcome Professor Ashok Handa as the newest member of the OLP Board, following his appointment in September. Professor Handa brings a wealth of experience and expertise, and we are very pleased to have him join us. We look forward to his valuable contribution to the Board and to working together in the months and years ahead.
Find out more about him from his bio below.
What we are up to
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Doctor No Longer Knows Best? - Denis Noble at HowTheLightGetsIn 2026
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Times letters: Reducing social care for young and old alike
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How I reversed my health issues and reached a "biological age of 21" at 61: Longevity expert Leslie Kenny shares her morning rituals
The OLP Board
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sir Christopher Ball
is a British runner and academic, who served as Warden of Keble College, Oxford, from 1980 to 1988, and as the first Chancellor of the University of Derby, from 1995 to 2003.
After surviving a triple bypass surgery, he started running at the age of 67. At 72, he won a world long-distance running record for completing 10 marathons in 10 days and now he is preparing for his next big feat - to run 10 in 10 (10k for ten consecutive days).
Sir Christopher co-founded OLP and previously served as Board Chair. He now serves as an Advisor to OLP.
Learn more -
Dr Paul Ch’en
is a GP Partner at the Observatory Medical Practice in Jericho, Oxford, and the College Doctor for Keble and Somerville Colleges at the University of Oxford.
While he enjoys all aspects of General Practice, he has a particular interest in cancer care, lifestyle medicine, and mental health. With his background in cancer immunology, his understanding of chronic illnesses as a whole, and his unique cultural and educational experiences, he has a broad knowledge base that enables him to practice holistic medicine. He is passionate about driving changes in healthcare, emphasising prevention, the importance of self-care, and fostering a partnership between the doctor and the individual.
He recently launched OxCHIC, a holistic cancer care coaching service for cancer patients, and maintains his own website: https://cansurehealit.com. At the summit, he will be revealing his new blog, ‘The Doctor in You – Live Life Better & Smarter’ .
Learn more -
Sir Muir Gray
began his career in the NHS in 1972 and since then has made an indelible mark on it, developing screening programmes in the NHS for pregnant women, children, adults and older people. He has published numerous books and articles and was the first to identify the 'fitness gap' in the British Medical Journal. Sir Muir has held a number of NHS regional and national roles, latterly as the NHS's Chief Knowledge Officer, and he was the principal expert adviser to the European Union in the production of their report on Value Based Healthcare in 2019. His mission, of 50 years, is how to help people live longer better. He has authored or co-authored the popular health books, Sod70! and Sod60!, Sod Sitting, Get Moving and Sod It, Eat Well! Sir Muir has developed a new model to help people Live Longer and Better. In his model, morbidity at the end of life is compressed and the incidence of dementia and frailty and, therefore, the need for social care is reduced.
Sir Muir is now serving as Board Chair.
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PROFESSOR ASHOK HANDA
is Professor of Vascular Surgery at Oxford University and Honorary Consultant Vascular Surgeon at the John Radcliffe Hospital. He is Director of the Collaborating Centre for Values-Based Practice in Health and Social Care, based at St Catherine's College, Oxford.
As Director of Teaching in Surgery for Oxford University, he has been responsible for undergraduate surgical education for 25 years. At St Catherine's College, he is a Fellow by Special Election and Director of Studies for Clinical Medicine, and was Tutor for Graduates for over 20 years.
He has taught for the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine for 25 years, is Co-PI of the Oxford University Global Surgery Research Group, and is Co-Director of Graduate Studies for the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences.
In addition, he is Clinical Director for Specialist Surgery at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, responsible for over 550 staff and five surgical services.
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Leslie Kenny
is an autoimmune disease survivor, certified health coach, and founder of Oxford Healthspan, an Oxford, England based nutraceutical company bringing healthspan promoting molecules to market. She previously worked as a fundraiser for Oxford University regenerative medicine spinouts. Through her personal brand Leslie's New Prime, she shares her expertise via a comprehensive health and longevity guide, drawing from both her personal journey and professional knowledge. Her health journey and longevity expertise are often featured in print, including The Times and The Guardian, and she was a speaker at TEDx Oxford in February 2025.
Leslie has a Harvard MBA and a BA from Berkeley.
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Professor Denis Noble
is a British biologist who held the Burdon Sanderson Chair of Cardiovascular Physiology at the University of Oxford from 1984 to 2004 and was appointed Professor Emeritus and Co-Director of Computational Physiology. He developed the first mathematical model of cardiac cells in 1960 and is a pioneer in systems biology.
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Katsume Stoneham currently serves as Director of the Oxford Longevity Project, where she oversees various outreach projects, manages communications, and coordinates events whilst working with the board on strategic vision. She also works as a Communications Consultant, providing services to clients like Yas Alpaca and contributing to publications such as "21st Century Sports." She worked previously in health informatics and communications, notably as Communications & Marketing Coordinator at Citizens Advice Barnet and as a Health Informatics Analyst at Saban Community Clinic. Her education includes both an MBA from WHU-Otto Beisheim School of Management and an MPH from UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, positioning her at the intersection of healthcare management and communications strategy.