We recently had the opportunity to catch up with Sarah Constantin, one of the founders of the new biotech startup company Daphnia Labs. The company is developing a new platform for the discovery of geroprotective drugs: in vivo phenotypic screens in model organisms. The company plans to use high-resolution video to track Daphnia during its lifespan in order to screen for drugs that might extend healthspan.

Can you tell us a little about the company, its founders, and what motivated you to start this biotech company?

I’d been working for about a year at the Longevity Research Institute, which is a nonprofit that funds aging research. LRI focuses on trying to replicate studies on interventions that have been reported to extend lifespan in mammals. Basically, of the 50+ compounds out there that have some mammalian evidence for an anti-aging effect, which ones have the best chance of being viable geroprotectors in humans?