A LETTER FROM
DILIP V. JESTE, MD
Why are
some people
aging more
successfully
than others?
What can we
do to promote
healthy aging
and prevent
disability and
disease later in
life? How can
we ensure that
longevity is
a norm? 
As a supporter of the UC San Diego Center
for Healthy Aging and the Stein Institute
for Research on Aging, you are helping us
answer these questions and more through a
broad range of innovative research, training,
and education programs that touch the lives
of countless older adults—locally and all over
the world.
With life expectancy on the rise, we are
also increasingly battling chronic illnesses
and making decisions about our health for
which we are not prepared. With adequate
knowledge and education, we could make
successful aging a norm for everyone.
From genetics to mental health, our researchers
have been pushing the envelope and
driving innovation to the field of aging over
the past decades. This includes groundbreaking
studies in accelerated and successful aging, cutting-edge robotics, and much needed
work improving senior housing.
There are a number of ways through
which private donations can make a
tremendous impact.
One such example is the Successful AGing
Evaluation (SAGE) study. SAGE is the only
large-scale study of successful aging that
considers the impact of positive psychological
traits, such as resilience and wisdom,
in addition to biological factors, providing a
much more complete picture of older adults.
The study findings were widely described in
the media. Your continued support will help
us extend this truly unique study—a major
step forward in aging research. We are currently
working on creating the SAGE 2.0 arm
of the study focusing on genetics, neuroimaging,
and microbiome.
Another example of how your support can
help is with one of our most promising
ongoing projects, our research on wisdom.
We are one of only few top research centers
that look at wisdom as a biological function
that could provide clues to behavior, brain
function, and human evolution. Our studies
aim to decipher how our brains compensate
for physical aging and an unexpected evolutionary
advantage to growing old, by gaining
sage wisdom, which holds great promise to
benefit society as a whole. Your generosity
could help us extend this important program
and fund some of the best and brightest
researchers in the world.
To find answers to the most intriguing
questions about increasing the human life
span, we work not only nationally but also
internationally. Take our study of a group of
300 citizens, all over 100 years old, living
in Acciaroli, Italy, a remote village nestled
between the ocean and mountains on the
country’s coast. The next step is performing
a full genetic analysis and examining lifestyle
behaviors, like diet and exercise. The goal is
to apply findings to clinical practice here and
all over the world.
We strive to share our findings with the community
and create a platform to quickly share
knowledge with our supporters. That is why we have established a yearly Symposium of
UC San Diego for Healthy Aging. Next year’s
symposium will focus on our work on longevity,
including early findings and take-home
messages that everyone can implement into
their lives. Several established international
investigators will speak here in San Diego.
You may be wondering how your gift can
have impact on such large programs. The
answer is that without “seed” funding from
individuals like you, many of our research
studies might never get off the ground.
Your donation to the UC San Diego Center
for Healthy Aging and Stein Institute for
Aging will allow us to help
you and your loved ones lead longer and
healthier lives.
Please make a gift—before
December 31, if you can—to help sustain
our successful aging programs in 2019.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Dilip V. Jeste, MD
Senior Associate Dean for Healthy Aging
and Senior Care
Director, Center for Healthy Aging
UC San Diego
Support the Center!
Please consider donating to our mission! Your donations fund age related research, community events, they allow us to train the doctors of tomorrow, and much more.