Charles Brenner

At a glance

• Charles Brenner is an American biochemist who has studied NAD+, a molecule cells need for energy metabolism, for decades.
• He headed biochemistry at the University of Iowa and later the Department of Diabetes & Cancer Metabolism at City of Hope. According to Wikipedia, he is now Professor of Metabolic Regulation at the University of Helsinki.
• In 2004 his lab described nicotinamide riboside (NR) as a vitamin precursor of NAD+ (Cell). NR later became a well-known supplement.
• He is open about his advisory role at ChromaDex, an NR producer, and stresses that human NAD+ research is mainly about metabolism and resilience, not lifespan extension.
• On social media and in interviews he is an outspoken critic of longevity hype, exaggerated claims about ‘anti-ageing molecules’ and the idea that ageing is a disease to be cured.
• For longevity, he is a useful counterweight who helps separate biochemical facts from marketing.
• Takeaway: be critical of supplements promising ‘anti-ageing’, and always ask for studies in humans.