The top questions about ageing you’ve always wanted to ask a Harvard-trained biologist

An unspoken rule in Kejun Ying’s household was to refrain from talking about anyone’s age.

Growing up in China, talking about ageing or death is considered taboo.

The cageyness and silence on the topic frightened him, yet he found himself drawn to it. He wanted to know more and find answers about the greatest challenge facing the field of biological science: mortality. 

Ying has participated in over eight oral presentations, two poster presentations, and five invited talks for his research in ageing, metabolism, genetics, and epigenetics. Image source: Kejun Ying

“Maybe we need to solve ageing”

In high school, his interest in this subject grew as he faced more questions about ageing and death, such as “What does it mean?” “How will I die?”

Biological science wasn’t Ying’s favourite subject at first. He was initially into physics, drawn to exploring the universe, its workings, and famous scientists like Albert Einstein.

But books books about physicist often ended with the death of these scientists — again, bringing Ying back to the subject of our existence.

“So it got me thinking, maybe people don’t have to die if they don’t want to,” he says.

Ying expanded on this by joining a BSc in Biological Science programme at Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU)  in Guangzhou, China.

He was listed in the top 0.06% for the national college admissions exam (Gaokao), the most challenging exam in the world.

That’s only the start of his impressive CV.

In his third year at SYSU, 2017, Ying spent a semester abroad as a visiting student and undergraduate researcher on integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley.

The following year, as an undergraduate researcher, he visited the Buck Institute for Research of Aging, the University of Washington, and the University of Edinburgh.

In 2019, Ying was accepted into the PhD in Biological Science in Public Health at Harvard University.

However, in 2022, while he was pursuing his PhD, he recognised the growing importance of data in biology, so he enrolled himself in an MSc in Computational Science and Engineering programme at Harvard.

“In recent years, biological research has produced enormous datasets that are beyond the capacity of the human eye to fully understand. You need advanced algorithms to make sense of them,” Ying says.

“That’s where computional biology — or AI for life sciences — comes in. By applying AI or statistical methods, we can decode the complex processes inside the human body.”

Today, Ying has participated in over 15 publications in relation to ageing, metabolism, genetics, and epigenetics. His recent work focuses on how DNA changes over time and how this affects aging and diseases.

“The ultimate goal of my research is to do what nature can’t do for us. To make the human body more resistant to time and eventually to prevent chronic diseases,” he says.

We caught up with Ying to ask him four frequently feared questions about ageing and any advice he has for those seeking a career in biological science:

Ying has received several awards, including the Yan-Sen Scholarship, the Yan-Sen Honour School Programme, Hackathon Winner, and multiple poster awards in major ageing conferences. Image source: Kejun Ying.

At what age do I need to start asking questions about ageing?

It depends, as there are different time thresholds. When we talk about cognitive function, people typically believe that cognitive functions peak at 25 years old, and you may start to ask questions then.

However, studies have also found that ageing starts at an earlier stage of life, during the embryonic stage. So at the mid-embryonic stage, after day 14 (a critical time point scientists termed as “ground zero), you’ll start ageing.

We may not be aware of ageing, even as children, but the truth is that it has already started.

I don’t think it’s ever too early to start thinking about it or asking.

Ying is currently the president of Harvard’s Interdisciplinary Discussion on Disease and Health and the Advisory Committee Member of the Massachusetts Community Health and Healthy Aging Funds. Image source: Kejun Ying

What happens to our bodies as we age?

This question is complex and has different theories, but here’s how we can go about it.

The human body can be viewed as a complex physical system. When we are young, we are resilient to any perturbation to the system. For example, when you eat expired food or have a virus or bacteria, your systems can respond and remove it to bring your body back to its primary stage. 

That’s what we call body resilience. However, over time, resiliency decreases the more we accumulate damage. Those damages can derive from environmental hazards or internal metabolic processes.

If you’re old, your body try to recover in the same way, but if the perturbation or infection is large enough, you may not survive. This can be seen in the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Many older generations did not survive the pandemic, while the younger generation did.

At the end of the day, as we age, our body system goes through a lot, leading to us losing resilience and over time, it leads to death.

Ying built the ClockBase, a platform that provides a resource for the scientific community to quantify and explore the biological ages of more than 2.5 million samples on geographics of ageing. Image source: Kejung Ying

Can ageing be slowed down, and should we fear it?

Yes, we believe that ageing can be slowed down, and even reversed as based on current studies.

Should we fear it? It’s a tricky question. I think we should.

One reason people may not have thought much about it or care as much is that they either fear it too much to the point they do not want to mention it, then they forget about it and start thinking about it late.

I think people should be aware of ageing and they should not avoid these questions.

What are your thoughts about Project Blueprint?

I think Project Blueprint, in general, is a good thing. It helps the public to be aware of the existence of ageing research. 

During high school, I rarely hear people studying about ageing, but now, it’s a large field people are exploring.

I also think COVID-19 played a part in the interest. Maybe people who were stuck at home during quarantine got them thinking, “Oh, I’ve spent a year at home. I’m getting older, and I haven’t been able to do much with my life.”

Scientists studying ageing are finally getting recognition. It’s good that people are starting to be aware that this field exists and that we can start doing something big.

Regarding Project Blueprint, I think something good will come out of it. They promote exercise, healthy food, good sleeping habits, and a healthy lifestyle, all supported by scientific research, though their supplements are less so.

Ying received a perfect Impact Score of 10 from the NIH Office of Science Policy for his F99/K00 application on his proposal about advancing ageing research. Image source: Kejun Ying

Do you have any advice for those looking to study abroad, specifically a Master’s or PhD at Harvard?

The best advice I can give is to plan early and to have experience and leadership in the field you’re interested in. 

I knew I wanted to apply for PhD before I even started my undergraduate study, so you could say that I always knew that path existed. It would be harder for you to plan and prepare late, especially when you’re in your third or final year.

Exchange student programmes during your undergraduate degree can help you prepare for long-term living abroad. During my early third-year days, I participated in an exchange programme at UC Berkeley for a semester which was six months long. I was able to work with some professors. 

The following winter, I attended the Buck Institute for Research on Ageing, a famous research institute, as an undergraduate researcher.

This led me to receive two recommendation letters for my application to Harvard from my professors whom I met during my time at Buck and UC Berkeley. 

It’s important for you to have an enriched experience in both education and leadership. So if you have time for any extracurriculars, you can turn them into research experiences such as attending different labs to expose yourself to different techniques.

GPAs are important, but they don’t need to be perfect. As long as they’re decent, you’re good.