Welcome to your future!
This book is a firsthand account of becoming “Patient Zero” in the world’s first human treatment using gene therapy to target biological aging as a disease. Liz takes readers on a journey through the emerging science of longevity and the rapidly evolving field of genetic medicine. Her son was the original inspiration for that journey: when he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, Liz began searching for better ways to treat and ultimately cure childhood diseases, leading her from stem-cell research and regenerative medicine headlong into gene therapy. Driven by a belief that medicine should address the biological causes of disease rather than simply manage its consequences, she moved from advocacy into biotechnology and ultimately became the first person to personally undergo experimental gene therapies aimed at addressing the world’s greatest killer: biological aging itself. By advancing these technologies, Liz believes we can move beyond simply managing childhood disease to potentially curing it—and give children back the decades of healthy life that disease has taken from them.
At its heart, the book explores the rapidly changing science of human longevity—from telomeres and cellular aging to gene therapy, regenerative medicine, artificial intelligence, your future pet, and new approaches to medical regulation. Liz examines why potentially transformative therapies can take decades to reach patients and why she believes regulations must evolve alongside the technologies being developed. She shares the personal experiences, scientific questions, setbacks, controversies, and discoveries that shaped her mission, while taking readers inside the difficult decisions involved in pursuing technologies that remain at the frontier of medicine.
More than a memoir, this is a challenge to the way we think about aging, disease, and the future of medicine. Liz's journey began with a mother's determination to find better options for her son, but grew into a much larger mission: developing and advancing technologies that could prevent disease, repair biological damage, and extend healthy human life for the young and the old. Through personal experience and an unfiltered account of her work at the intersection of gene therapy, regulation, and longevity science, the book asks readers to consider what medicine could become—and what we should be willing to do to get there.
Why Is This Book Important Now?
There has never been a more important moment to tell Liz Parrish’s story. Gene therapy is moving from experimental science toward real-world medicine, while advances in telomere biology, cellular reprogramming, AI, and regenerative medicine are rapidly changing what scientists believe may be possible in human health and longevity. At the same time, regulators, investors, patients, and the public are confronting fundamental questions about how quickly these technologies should move from the laboratory to the clinic and who should have access to them. Liz Parrish has spent years at the intersection of gene therapy, regulation, entrepreneurship, and human experimentation, making her perspective especially timely as the field enters this next chapter. Her story offers a firsthand account of what it means to challenge conventional boundaries while the science itself is changing those boundaries—and invites readers to consider not only how long humans might live, but how we can extend healthy life responsibly.
Meet The Author
Elizabeth (Liz) Parrish, MBA, is a futurist, humanitarian, and the Founder and CEO of BioViva Sciences USA Inc., a biotechnology company focused on extending healthy human lifespans through gene therapy and advanced genetic medicine. BioViva specializes in combinatorial gene therapies and the development of innovative gene-delivery technologies, including its proprietary CMV-based platform. Liz is also an author, entrepreneur, and advocate for advancing the regulatory landscape for genetic medicine, including the Best Choice Medicine (BCM) framework, which seeks to streamline and accelerate responsible access to potentially transformative genetic therapies. She has spoken internationally at prominent forums including WIRED, TEDx, and other leading conferences, and has contributed to multiple books, including an academic chapter published by Springer. Her work is grounded in the view that cellular aging should be addressed as a disease process, while emerging research in gene therapy, regenerative medicine, and space biology may contribute to longer, healthier lives, safer human spaceflight, and new approaches to treating serious diseases—particularly in younger patients.