Geriatrics


Research - Exceptional Longevity

Directed by Dr. Thomas Perls MD, MPH and Dellara Terry MD, MPH, the New England Centenarian Study (NECS) was begun in 1995 and has since grown to be the largest biopsychosocial and genetic study of centenarians and their families in the world. With funding from the National Institute on Aging, the goal of the NECS has been to understand the determinants of exceptional longevity.

We are one of four study centers of the multi-center Long Life Family Study. The purpose of the population-based study is to enroll approximately 250 families per site that have multiple members demonstrating exceptional longevity.

Back row from left to right: Cherrell Wilson, Stacy Andersen, Craig Clement, JaeMi Pennington, Thomas Perls.
Front row: Stephanie Baldwin, Paola Sebastiani, Lara Terry, and Kirsten McLaughlin.

Dr. Perls
Dr. Terry

Long Life Family Study,
U01- AG023755 Paul Beeson Physician Faculty Scholar in Aging Awards K08-AG22785, K23-AG026754

For more information please visit the New England Centenarian Study's website by clicking on the photograph of a centenarian sibling pair


Recent Publications:
  • Terry DF, Wilcox MA, McCormick MA, Perls TT. Cardiovascular disease delay in centenarian offspring. J Gerontol Med Sci. 2004;59:M385-389.
  • Terry D, McCormick M, Andersen S, Pennington J, Schoenhofen E, Palaima E, Mambula S, Bausero M, Gor D, Perls T, Asea A. Cardiovascular Disease Delay in Centenarian Offspring: Role of Heat Shock Proteins. Annals of the New York Acad Sci. 2004;1019:502-5.
  • Andersen S, Terry DF, Babineau T, Malek K, Perls T. Cancer in the oldest old. Mech Ageing Dev. 2005;126(2):263-7.
  • Terry DF, Wilcox M, McCormick M, Pennington J, Schoenhofen E, Andersen S, Perls T. Reduced all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer mortality in centenarian offspring. J Amer Geriatr Soc. 2004;52(12):2074-6.
  • Perls T, Reisman N, Olshansky J. Growth hormone for "anti-aging": Clinical and Legal issues. JAMA 2005; 294:2086-2090.


New England Centenarian Study toll-free number
(USA and Canada): 888-333-6327