David Gobel

David Gobel

David Gobel (born 1952 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American philanthropist, entrepreneur, inventor, and futurist. He is co-founder and CEO of the Methuselah Foundation, and among the first people to publicly advance the idea of longevity escape velocity or actuarial escape velocity.

David Gobel is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Methuselah Foundation, a medical charity based in Springfield, VA. To date, Methuselah has given more than $4 million to support research and development in regenerative medicine.

With co-founder Aubrey de Grey, Gobel established Methuselah in 2003 in order to "shed light on the processes of aging and finds ways to extend healthy life." That same year, he seed-funded the Methuselah Mouse Prize to encourage the development of new life extension therapies in mice, which are genetically similar to humans. So far, three Mouse Prizes have been awarded: one for breaking longevity records to Dr. Andrzej Bartke of Southern Illinois University; one for late-onset rejuvenation strategies to Dr. Stephen Spindler of the University of California; and one to Dr. Z. Dave Sharp for his work with the pharmaceutical rapamycin.

Through Methuselah, Gobel and de Grey established research programs focused on advanced human bioremedial biology at Rice University and Arizona State University—the world's first use of environmental remediation techniques to be directed at reversing "pollution" in human cells. They also established a Mitochondrial Research initiative at Cambridge University aimed at improving the error correction and repair capabilities of fundamental energy producing organelles in humans.

Methuselah has also provided funding and strategic support to companies developing breakthrough technologies and clinical interventions in regenerative medicine. These companies include Organovo (NYSE: ONVO), a pioneer in 3D tissue printing, and Silverstone Solutions, a maker of kidney-matching software that has enabled hospitals and transplant organizations to more quickly and accurately pair patients with compatible donors. In 2013, Methuselah announced a new $500,000 partnership with Organovo to place 3D bioprinters in several U.S. university research labs as springboards for cutting-edge research.

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