Vladimir Petrovich Skulachev

Vladimir Petrovich Skulachev (1935–2023)

A distinguished professor at Moscow State University, he founded the Faculty of Bioengineering and Bioinformatics there in 2002 and served as its dean until his death. He was also the director of the Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology.

He became widely known for his research, publications, and public lectures aimed at defeating human aging. For instance, on his seventieth birthday, in the assembly hall of the main building of Moscow State University, he delivered a public lecture titled 'Aging as an Atavistic Program to Be Canceled.'

Skulachev also led practical research based on his mitochondrial theory of aging. With financial backing from Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, a class of penetrating antioxidants was developed—'Skulachev ions' (SkQ)—capable of targeted delivery inside mitochondria, which are intracellular organelles. However, these experiments failed to significantly increase the average lifespan of laboratory animals.

Here on this website, Skulachev is mentioned simply as an example of the many pioneers and visionaries whose work was dedicated to overcoming a fundamental natural limitation—one that perhaps we must indeed overcome.