A healthy aging research update from Amway R&D
What does the latest science say about how focusing on healthspan can support overall health and wellbeing, and what opportunities are emerging for plant-forward support?
Those will be the themes when Amway brings together top minds in the science of healthy aging for its Healthspan in Action event February 5-7, 2026 in Tokyo, Japan. Amway Research & Development (R&D) scientists, advisors from the Amway Scientific Advisory Board and other global experts will discuss their research demonstrating how healthy, well-functioning cells are the key to keeping your body strong and functioning its best as you age.
“Everyone wants to know how they can support their health and wellbeing as they age,” said Jesse Leverett, Amway Research Fellow. “Science tells us the place to start is with our cells, the basic units of life that create and sustain our bodies. When our cells are functioning optimally, so are we. Indeed, we now see that healthspan – the time we spend living in good health – is connected to the healthspan of our individual cells.”
Through global and wide-ranging conversations, Amway scientists and their expert collaborators are learning more about the lifestyle choices, environmental exposure and common factors that affect our cells as we age. Their collective thinking is identifying ways to help shift the trajectory of our healthspan.
“Amway scientists, Amway Scientific Advisors and our other expert collaborators are keenly focused on cellular health innovation to support healthspan,” said Kristi Pelc, Amway Chief Research & Development officer. “Our collective research is beginning to unlock the potential of plants to support inner and outer wellbeing at these most basic units of life.”
Why it is significant
Since its inception, the Amway Scientific Advisory Board has convened annually in the USA for the past 22 years. This year, leaders strategically chose Japan – home of the world’s most rapidly aging society – to host the event.
“As a health and wellbeing company that is passionate about helping people live better lives, we know that events like this one significantly boost our research and innovation efforts,” Pelc said. “We expect this year’s dynamic setting itself will provide fresh inspiration and insights.”
With up to 800 participants anticipated, here are some reasons the occasion is notable:
- It tangibly demonstrates Amway’s leadership in healthspan research, highlighting the ways Amway supports health + wellbeing through products used in, on and around the body.
- Healthy aging has become a major focus of the global scientific community, and Japan is known as a center of healthy aging research and development. Content will include four globally prominent topics:
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- phytonutrients (plant nutrients)
- microbiome (the community of friendly bacteria living in and on the body)
- exposome (the collection of external factors that influence health)
- cellular health (believed to be the key to healthspan)
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- Amway scientists get valued first-hand exposure to extended meetings and discussions with the scientific Advisors.
- Amway Business Owners (ABOs) and media from around the world will experience the kind of powerful healthspan thought leadership that emerges when global and wide-ranging interests converge in a detailed scientific forum.
The collaborators and their contributions
Amway Scientific Advisors are industry-leading researchers in dermatology, gut health, nutrition, healthy weight, the mechanisms of aging, food sciences and more whose expertise complements Amway’s internal knowledge. These Advisors provide insights on current and emerging research, offer recommendations and facilitate new collaborations with distinguished institutions. Amway also sponsors research at several leading universities and institutes and considers their professors valued scientific resources.
Following an internal, full day meeting of Advisors and Amway internal experts, research and findings will be shared more broadly at a media event on Friday, February 6. Featured speakers from this advisory group during the Healthspan in Action media event are:
Gary Fisher, PhD – Endowed Professor of Molecular Dermatology at the University of Michigan, USA and Director of the University’s Photobiology and Aging Research Laboratory and an Amway Scientific Advisor
He studies the molecular mechanisms of sun-induced premature skin aging and chronological skin aging, and the role of retinoids in promoting skin health as an anti-aging treatment. As an Amway Scientific Advisor, his work is on the impact of skin on healthy aging, investigating how skin that is damaged by the environment communicates that damage throughout the body.
David Furman, PhD – Director, Stanford 1,000 Immunomes Project at Stanford School of Medicine, Associate Professor and Chief of the AI Platform at Stanford’s Buck Institute for Research on Aging in the USA and an Amway Scientific Advisor
A thought leader on aging of the immune system, he studies how the inflammatory response within the immunome – the totality of genes, metabolites, and cells that contribute to an immune response in the body – affects aging and development of chronic diseases. As an Amway Scientific Advisor, he shares critical insights from his research and discovery in the role inflammation in the immune system plays in healthspan.
David Walker, PhD – Professor, Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, USA and an Amway Scientific Advisor
Working with Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies as models, he seeks to identify novel approaches to slow aging and counteract age-related diseases to prolong healthy lifespan, or healthspan, by preventing or delaying loss of gut barrier function. As an Amway Scientific Advisor, his focus is on gut health as a driver for overall health and investigative work into the potential of key botanicals to support healthy aging.
Karima Djabali, PhD – Professor of Epigenetics of Skin Aging at the School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, in Germany and an Amway research collaborator
She studies the cellular and molecular causes of premature aging with an emphasis on slowing the aging process, the course of age-related disease and the significance of stem cells in skin tissue regeneration during the aging process. Amway sponsors her lab’s research on highly tailored in vitro testing of plant molecules, identified through screening by Amway Research & Development scientists, for their effect on skin cells.
What happens next
“Amway continues to establish its scientific thought leadership and innovate in primary areas that support healthy aging,” said Paul Seehra, Vice President of Global Nutrition and Research. “There is powerful potential in bringing together our 90 years of plant knowledge with our collaborators’ global, wide-ranging expertise in cellular health, microbiome health, skin health and exposomal factors. We look forward to sharing exciting updates as we process the output of Healthspan in Action.”
For more information on the Amway Scientific Advisors visit https://www.amwayglobal.com/scientific-advisors/. For more information on Amway collaborations visit https://www.amwayglobal.com/scientific-collaborations/.
