HealthSpan Explained: A Miniseries | Episode 1: The Future of Aging
What if the goal isn't simply to live longer—but to live better, for longer?
In this special kickoff episode of The Vitals Healthspan Miniseries, guest host Shruti Naik sits down with Mount Sinai experts Fiorina Kyritsi, MD, Miriam Merad, MD, PhD, and Zahi Fayad, PhD to explore the science of aging—and why the future of medicine may be less about extending lifespan and more about expanding health span.
Subscribe to and follow The Vitals as we continue this six-part exploration of the science that could reshape how we age.
Shruti Naik: Hi, welcome back to The Vitals, the Mount Sinai Health System's video podcast. I'm Shruti Naik, a scientist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and your guest host for the first episode in a new series on healthy aging. Aging is everywhere right now, and there's no shortage of supplements, protocols, and clinics promising dramatic results.
This series is different. We're talking to physicians and scientists advancing what medicine can actually do, grounded in evidence and emerging clinical tools. Today we start with the basics. What's aging biologically? What do these buzzwords really mean, and what can truly be changed? Joining me are the experts Dr.
Miriam Merad, Zahi Fayad, and longevity physician Fiorina Kyritsi, to connect aging biology to heart disease and cancer, translate prevention into real life, and share how Mount Sinai is turning longevity science into smarter screening and care. If you'd like to learn more about our lifespan clinical trial, scan the QR code on your screen or click the link in the description.
Panelists, welcome. Let's get into it.
Shruti Naik: I wanna start really from the bottom, right? We hear this word aging thrown around for a very long time. I think, uh, man has been in search of immortality since antiquity. Mm. Cleopatra, all of the kings of all- Mm ... everyone wants to live forever. Um, but I feel that science is now catching up to that, that chase, and I wanna hear from you, you know, how do you think about aging?
How do you define aging? What is aging to you, the experts? So our longevity physician, maybe you can kick it off.