Published on: May 05, 2025
This month, researchers involved in the Cilento Initiative on Aging Outcomes (CIAO) will convene in Acciaroli, a village in the Pollica-Cilento region of Salerno, Italy, to reflect on a decade of discoveries and chart the next phase of their work. Since its launch in 2016, the CIAO Study has aimed to uncover the biological, psychological, and social factors that promote healthy aging and exceptional longevity.
The study is centered in the Cilento region of southern Italy, home to approximately 300 centenarians who enjoy remarkable health well past 100 years of age. This area, once the research ground for Ancel Keys—the American physiologist who first championed the Mediterranean diet—continues to be a living laboratory for aging well.
With the help of cutting-edge tools and approaches, CIAO researchers are analyzing metabolomics, microbiomes, cognitive function, and protein biomarkers tied to heart disease, Alzheimer’s, kidney disease, and cancer. These biological investigations are paired with in-depth assessments of psychological, social, and lifestyle factors. There is no single secret to living a long, healthy life, said Salvatore Di Somma, MD, the study’s lead Italian investigator and symposium co-chair. There are many, and we’re just beginning to understand them—especially how we can translate these findings to benefit everyone. The centenarians of Cilento are lighting the way.
The CIAO Study is a global, multi-institution collaboration that includes Sanford Burnham Prebys, a nonprofit biomedical research institute in San Diego; the Sanford Stem Cell Institute at UC San Diego; University La Sapienza in Rome; and Great Health Science, a public-private research network based in Rome.
The upcoming May 22–23 symposium, CIAO Study: A Decade of Science on Healthy Aging, Stem Cells and the Revealed Secrets of Longevity, will bring together leading scientists and clinicians to share key findings—from demographic trends and brain cell aging to stem cell regeneration and RNA biology.
Understanding how we age—and how to age better—has always been a fundamental scientific pursuit, said David Brenner, MD, president and CEO of Sanford Burnham Prebys and symposium co-chair. After 10 years of focused work, and with access to new technologies and international collaboration, we’ve made great progress. Now it’s time to look ahead to the next decade of discovery.
One current CIAO project uses advanced genetic, epigenetic, transcriptomic, metabolic, proteomic, and environmental profiling to pinpoint contributors to extraordinary longevity. With support from the Sanford Stem Cell Institute, researchers are developing human 3D organoids from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from centenarians. These models are helping scientists simulate aging processes and metabolic stress to inform regenerative medicine approaches for treating age-related diseases.
This work will offer critical insight into how we can promote healthy aging and develop targeted therapies for age-related conditions, said Tatiana Kisseleva, MD, PhD, professor of surgery at UC San Diego and director of the Sanford Stem Cell Fitness and Space Medicine Center. Preliminary results are expected to be shared at the upcoming symposium.
Over the past decade, the CIAO Study has led to numerous scientific publications and sparked intriguing discoveries—many of which are only beginning to reveal the true complexity behind living long, healthy lives.
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