The Jewish Healthcare Foundation (JHF) advanced a global dialogue on extending the healthspan of older adults by bringing an international panel of experts to the Global Innovation Summit (GIS) in Pittsburgh to layout the essential elements for a comprehensive approach. The 2025 GIS event, Forging the Future: The Intersection of Health, AI & Tech, was hosted by the University of Pittsburgh in partnership with the Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils and Carnegie Mellon University on October 19-21.
The JHF-funded panel at GIS examined how the global demographic shift, where older adults will outnumber younger populations, is emerging as one of the defining challenges of the century. Panelists presented societal, technological and communal strategies to enable aging populations to thrive.
As an introduction to the panel, Karen Wolk Feinstein, PhD, president and CEO of JHF posited that without adaptation, economies will slow, medical costs will soar, and workforce shortages will cause havoc. Yet, she emphasized that older adults are “an opportunity, not just a liability,” if empowered to stay healthy, mobile, and independent.
Dr. Feinstein pointed to the success of “longevity hubs” and national action plans abroad—where health care, housing, transportation, and technology are integrated to extend life quality, not just lifespan. The U.S., she argued, could embrace Smart Cities where humans are enabled by technology, workforce reinvention for older adults, neighborhood supports, and “housing as health.”
To provide actionable insights, international experts whom the Foundation met in various study tours in Japan and Singapore, as well as an investor in “aging tech” and an innovative local service provider collaborated on a panel exploring how artificial intelligence (AI) and community-based approaches can strengthen care for older adults. Moderated by Dr. Feinstein, the panel featured: John Eu-Li Wong, MBBS, Isabel Chan Professor in Medical Sciences, executive director of the Centre for Population Health at the National University of Singapore, and senior advisor of the National University Health System in Singapore; Seigo Izumo, MD, consultant for Biomedical Sciences and former senior vice president and global head of the regenerative medicine unit head of scientific affairs at Takeda Pharmaceutical Company in Japan; Aman Mahajan, MD, PhD, MBA, partner at Healthier Capital and USC Keck Health, and professor of anesthesiology and perioperative medicine, biomedical informatics, and pharmacology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; and Maria Zamora, MBA, CEO of Center for Elders’ Independence.
Dr. Wong presented Singapore’s comprehensive, data-driven strategy to increase healthy longevity through national policy, urban design, and technology integration. Singapore, he noted, has one of the world’s highest life expectancies — yet the goal is to close the remaining gap between total lifespan and healthy lifespan. He detailed Singapore’s “Action Plan for Successful Aging” and the more recent “Healthier SG” and “Age Well SG” initiatives, which collectively direct billions toward preventive health, community engagement, and research into productive longevity. Central to this vision is the Health District @ Queenstown, a real-world living laboratory where government agencies, universities, and residents collaborate to test scalable, sustainable aging models. Wong described how AI and smart technologies, from contactless vital sign monitoring to fall detection and digital ophthalmology, are embedded into everyday environments to promote independence and identify risk early. He emphasized that Singapore’s government-led approach, guided by evidence and ethics, offers proof that healthy life expectancy can approximate total life expectancy through coordinated social, technological, and policy innovation.
Dr. Izumo highlighted how Japan, the world’s oldest country, is pioneering age-tech innovations in response to its soaring number of centenarians and an historically low fertility rate. Japan’s strategy, he explained, combines robotics, biotechnology, and AI to maintain mobility, autonomy, and social connection for older adults. He highlighted technologies such as exoskeletons, AI-assisted rehabilitation interfaces, pet robots (for emotional support), and wearable sensors that predict physical needs. Dr. Izumo also discussed advances in stem cell therapies and the development of ‘senolytic’ vaccines designed to clear aging cells from the body. Lastly, he described Shonan Kamakura Hospital and iPark as prototypes of Japan’s innovation ecosystem, integrating medicine, research, and AI. These efforts align with Japan’s national vision of “Society 5.0,” where cyberspace and the physical world merge to create a sustainable, human-centered society that leverages AI and digital technologies to enhance quality of life at every age.
Dr. Mahajan focused on the economic and clinical imperatives of improving healthspan in the United States, noting that while Americans are living longer, they spend roughly the last decade of life in poor health, creating a sizable cost for the healthcare system. He described this as the “Healthspan Gap,” a period marked by chronic disease, cognitive decline, and fragmented care. Citing projections that a single year of extended healthy life could add $38 trillion in global economic value.
Dr. Mahajan argued that aging itself should be viewed as a macro-level investment opportunity. His presentation mapped the role of AI across the continuum of aging care, from prevention and early detection to monitoring and end-of-life support. He highlighted recent breakthroughs in detection, as well as conversational AI platforms that help older adults navigate insurance, medications, and appointments. His key message was that AI and data-driven medicine can compress morbidity, allowing people to live longer, healthier, and more productive lives while significantly reducing system-wide costs.
Maria Zamora closed the session with a human-centered view of comprehensive, coordinated care for aging Americans. As CEO of the Center for Elders’ Independence (CEI), she described the PACE model as an integrated system combining medical, social, and supportive services that enable seniors to live safely at home. With 98% of nursing home–eligible participants remaining in their communities, CEI demonstrates the power of coordinated, interdisciplinary care. Zamora also introduced CEI’s AI Roadmap, a four-tier framework that moves from data to wisdom, using technology to enhance, not replace, human empathy. Through initiatives like smarter transportation, digital workplace tools, and participant-centered design, she emphasized that AI should exemplify compassion and good judgment, not diminish them.
Dr. Feinstein encouraged the Pittsburgh region to build on these insights and work toward a vision for our own localized touchpoints and solutions. Pittsburgh has the expertise, resources, and leadership to address these demographic changes, developing innovations to extend the healthspan that could serve as a model to other communities and regions.
An invite-only pre-summit event at the UPMC Vision Institute on October 19 expanded on the GIS discussion and offered a more intimate conversation with the four panelists about models from Singapore and Japan, as well as a candid conversation about the challenges and opportunities to adapt those ideas to Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods and beyond. The discussion was similarly aimed at inspiring Pittsburghers to imagine new collaborations and initiatives to extend the healthspan of our aging population.
John Eu-Li Wong, Seigo Izumo, Karen Feinstein, Maria Zamora, and Aman Mahajan.
Seigo Izumo presenting at GIS.
Aman Mahajan presenting at GIS.
The pre-summit event at the Vision Institute.
The pre-summit event at the Vision Institute.
