Dominik Duscher, MD, is a specialist in plastic and aesthetic surgery and owner of the Longevity Center Munich. In 2020, he landed a national bestseller with the book "Aging Becomes Curable: Staying Young with the Power of Three Cell Competencies." The scientist and entrepreneur has also recently become part of the MoleQlar family as a scientific advisor. To help you get to know our newest team member a little better, we met with him to talk about longevity and his visions for a healthy future.
MoleQlar: Hello Dominik! As a "trained" plastic surgeon, how did you come across the topic of longevity?
Dominik Duscher: I spent three years at Stanford University after graduation and during residency, doing research in regenerative medicine, wound healing research, stem cell biology and cell signalling pathways. A really significant time in my life, because I was already a trained doctor but had little practical experience. Actually, I wasn't ready at all, at the age of 25. So I had to and was allowed to learn a lot very quickly there.
That's how I learned how to do science at the top international level, something else would not have been possible there at all.
So I was in the lab day and night, whether the sun was shining outside or not. That was quite an experience! I was the youngest researcher in my plastic surgery department at that time. Stem cell biology was always a special focus of mine and the dysfunction of stem cells was particularly interesting for me. Stem cells, in fact, don't work as well when they are older, they have problems in regenerative functionality. I recognized that as a key element of many things that then followed on from that.
So if you have a stem cell deficit, it will also negatively affect many other things.
The organism is an organised system and it is clear that if the cell as the smallest building block causes problems, this must also cause problems in the whole system. At Stanford, the foundation was laid for everything I do today.
MoleQlar: You are the owner of the Longevity Center Munich - the first centre for institutionalised longevity medicine. What does this mean to a layperson and what services do you offer as a longevity doctor?
Dominik Duscher: It has become clear that everything to do with genetics is not as set in stone as was thought for a long time. A lot of predetermination thoughts had been put into genetics. Now, only recently, in longevity research and regenerative medicine, it has been discovered that genetics is the hardware on top of which lies another level of software that directs the genome: epigenetics (epi, gr. on, over). It controls gene expression, whether genes are switched on or not.
Researchers are increasingly recognizing a role for epigenetics in human growth, development and disease or health. In particular, biological cell age can serve here as an epigenetically determined marker of cell health and can also be used to monitor therapies, such as personalized recommendations for nutrition and health products.
In this way, therapies can be customised and tailored to the patient's needs. Such an approach makes it possible for the first time to follow the development of (cellular) health and to improve lifestyle in a targeted way.
With a sophisticated nutritional supplement regime or prescription drugs, we lower the biological age in my institute and thus reduce the risk profile for age-associated diseases. I am not a big fan of hormonal intervention. I don't like to interfere with hormonal regulation unless it is absolutely necessary and there is a lot of pressure to suffer.
I have a different system and different concepts, whereby I try to design an individual viable path here that is also implementable.
If someone has to go out to eat often in the evening, I can't take away their dinner, for example.
MoleQlar: You also work at the University of Tübingen as programme director for Applied Regenerative Medicine. What is your research focus there?
Dominik Duscher: In my academic work I deal with cell biology in the context of ageing and diabetes, but I also have research projects that revolve around the area of breast cancer and especially its recurrence.
MoleQlar: You recently joined the MoleQlar team. What was the deciding factor for you to join? Why MoleQlar and not another company with a similar focus?
Dominik Duscher: In my opinion, there is no alternative to MoleQlar in the German-speaking world.
The quality of the products had already convinced me as a Longevity physician and long before I joined the MoleQlar team, I always recommended the products to my patients.
Therefore, it was a great pleasure and honour for me to become a scientific advisor.
MoleQlar: What are your tasks as Scientific Advisor at MoleQlar?
Dominik Duscher: I am mainly responsible for the development of new products. Together with the MoleQlar team, I am working on expanding the product range outside of the nutritional supplements division and will help make a personalized form of longevity intervention available through MoleQlar.
MoleQlar: What advice can you give to people who want to do something for their health and longevity? What is the best first step?
Dominik Duscher: The basis of all longevity is lifestyle. The best products won't help if the right accents are not set here. A solid fasting regime and an adequate training programme are the basic building blocks that can then be effectively built upon with individually selected nutritional supplements.
MoleQlar: What is your personal key to a long healthy life? Do you have a so-called longevity routine that you nurture?
Dominik Duscher: Longevity medicine is ultra-personalised precision medicine for the prevention of age-related diseases, but also for performance enhancement. I have already mentioned that the basis of all efforts to achieve a healthy, long life is lifestyle. I certainly have my weaknesses here due to a relatively stressful daily routine, but I maintain a consistent 16:8 fasting regime.
I always skip breakfast and start the day with lunch.
In addition, I naturally strive to reach the other levels of the longevity pyramid with targeted nutritional supplementation. Here I am a fan of NAD boosters but also other substances like spermidine, quercetin and glucosamine. I also recommend Metformin not only to my patients, but I am also convinced myself to take it. After all, I was able to lower my biological age to 25.6 years, a good 10 years below my age in the passport.
Thank you very much for the interview!
Would you like to learn more about the team behind MoleQlar? Then take a look at the About Us section!
