Stuart Jay Olshansky (born February 22, 1954) is a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...

in the School of Public Health at the

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the University of Illinois s ...

concentrating on

biodemography Biodemography is the science dealing with the integration of biological theory and demography. Overview Biodemography is a new branch of human (classical) demography concerned with understanding the complementary biological and demographic deter ...

and

gerontology Gerontology ( ) is the study of the social, cultural, psychological, cognitive, and biological aspects of aging. The word was coined by Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov in 1903, from the Greek , ''geron'', "old man" and , ''-logia'', "study of". The fiel ...

and is co-founder and Chief Scientist at Lapetus Solutions, Inc. He is also a research associate at the Center on Aging (University of Chicago) and at the

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a member institution of the University of London that specialises in public health and tropical medicine. The inst ...

. Olshansky is an

associate editor An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of the '' Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences and Biogerontology'' and is a member of the

editorial board The editorial board is a group of experts, usually at a publication, who dictate the tone and direction the publication's editorial policy will take. Mass media At a newspaper, the editorial board usually consists of the editorial page editor, ...

s of several other

scientific journal In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. Content Articles in scientific journals are mostly written by active scientists such ...

s. Olshansky has been working with colleagues in the biological sciences to develop the modern "biodemographic paradigm" of mortality – an effort to understand the biological nature of the survival and dying out processes of living organisms. The focus of his research has been on estimates of the upper limits to human

longevity The word " longevity" is sometimes used as a synonym for "life expectancy" in demography. However, the term ''longevity'' is sometimes meant to refer only to especially long-lived members of a population, whereas ''life expectancy'' is always d ...

, exploring the health and public policy implications associated with individual and population

aging Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. In ...

, forecasts of the size, survival, and age structure of the population, pursuit of the scientific means to slow aging in people (The Longevity Dividend), and global implications of the re-emergence of infectious and

parasitic diseases A parasitic disease, also known as parasitosis, is an infectious disease caused by parasites. Parasites are organisms which derive sustenance from its host while causing it harm. The study of parasites and parasitic diseases is known as parasitol ...

, and insurance linked securities.

Biography

Olshansky was born on February 22, 1954. He attended

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

and was awarded a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in psychology in 1975. He then attended the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

and was awarded a

M.S. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...

in 1982. He received his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

in sociology at the

in 1984. His work on

has been funded by a Special Emphasis Research Career Award and an Independent Scientist Award from the

National Institute on Aging The National Institute on Aging (NIA) is a division of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), located in Bethesda, Maryland. The NIA itself is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. The NIA leads a broad scientific effort to understand the ...

and a research grant from the U.S. Social Security Administration starting in 1991. In 2011 he published an article on the longevity of United States presidents in the ''

Journal of the American Medical Association ''The Journal of the American Medical Association'' (''JAMA'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of bio ...

''. Olshansky was the recipient of a 2005/2006 Senior

Fulbright Award The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

to lecture in France. In 2010 he was made

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

Gerontological Society of America The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) is a multidisciplinary organization devoted to research and education in all aspects of gerontology: medical, biological, psychological and social. History and organization The Gerontological Society o ...

; and in 2016 he received the Irving S. Wright Award from the American Federation for Aging Researc

and the Kent Award from the Gerontological Society of America. Olshansky has been a vocal supporter of scientific attempts to increase the human healthspan. He is an advocate for prolonging the ''healthy'' life-span compared to increasing the ''overall'' length of life as such. In an interview he advocated for further study of

calorie restriction Calorie restriction (caloric restriction or energy restriction) is a dietary regimen that reduces intake of energy from caloric foods & beverages without incurring malnutrition. "Reduce" can be defined relative to the subject's previous intake be ...

, genetic study of humans

centenarian A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies worldwide are below 100 years, the term is invariably associated with longevity. In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living cente ...

s, and for further study on

life extension Life extension is the concept of extending the human lifespan, either modestly through improvements in medicine or dramatically by increasing the maximum lifespan beyond its generally-settled limit of 125 years. Several researchers in the area ...

and

senescence Senescence () or biological aging is the gradual deterioration of functional characteristics in living organisms. The word ''senescence'' can refer to either cellular senescence or to senescence of the whole organism. Organismal senescence inv ...

. He is co-author with Bruce A Carnes of ''The Quest for Immortality: Science at the Frontiers of Aging'' (Norton, 2001) and with Jim Kirkland and George Martin he co-edited "Aging: The Longevity Dividend", published in 2015.WorldCat author listing
/ref>

Lifespan Bet

On Sept. 15, 2000 after American biologist

Steven N. Austad Steven N. Austad is the Protective Life Endowed Chair in Health Aging Research, a Distinguished professor and Chair of the Department of Biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham from 2014 to 2022. After earning a BA in English literatur ...

was quoted in ''Scientific American'' as saying "The first 150-year old person is probably alive right now", he and Olshansky made their famous Lifespan Bet on whether someone born before the year 2000 will still be living and be of sound mind on January 1, 2150. Austad bet in favor. Olshansky took the view that it was unlikely anyone would live past 130.A Long-Lived Bet
/ref> Austad and Olshansky put $150 each into an investment fund, with the money and interest to go to the winner, or his descendants, in 2150. They later staked another $150 each.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olshansky, S. Jay 1954 births American sociologists Biogerontologists American demographers Life extensionists Living people University of Illinois Chicago faculty University of Illinois Chicago alumni Michigan State University alumni