GALA Launches to Build Standards and Certification Infrastructure for Longevity Medicine

Shanghai, China Nov 12, 2026 (EMWNews.com) – GALA, the Global Association for Longevity Advancement, officially announced its establishment in October 2026. The association said it held its launch ceremony on September 13, 2026, at the 7th TimePie International Longevity Forum in Shanghai. GALA is an independent, non-profit international organization founded by leading longevity scientists and clinical experts. Focusing on the 6R system, education and training, and ecosystem connections, it is dedicated to uniting scientists, clinicians, and industry to build the institutional infrastructure for the longevity field.

TimePie, a core founding member and founding honorary council member of GALA, serves as the association’s operating partner in mainland China, responsible for membership development, education and training, and ecosystem project implementation.

Background: Industry growth has outpaced standards

The Longevity Clinics Survey 2025, cited by GALA, shows that the longevity industry is expanding rapidly, but standards and regulatory frameworks remain fragmented, with a lack of unified pathways in credentialing, training, and quality control. Karen Shen, Secretary-General of GALA, said that over the past year she has spoken with scientists, clinic operators, investors, and regulators across Asia, Europe, and the United States, and the same problem came up repeatedly: the industry lacks a common language to evaluate, compare, and scale. This is precisely why GALA was founded.

The 6R framework and three-year roadmap

GALA said its core methodology is the 6R framework, developed based on contemporary aging biology. The framework translates complex science into a standardized, assessable system:

READ: assess health and aging trajectories;

RESIST: strengthen resilience to metabolic, inflammatory, immune, and environmental stressors;

REPAIR: support mechanisms that maintain molecular, cellular, and tissue integrity;

REMOVE: address the accumulation of dysfunctional cells, damaged components, and harmful biological products;

REGENERATE: preserve or restore tissue function and regenerative capacity;

RESET: improve coordination across metabolic, endocrine, immune, and nervous systems.

GALA’s certification systems, clinic ratings, and training programs are all based on the 6R framework.

According to the association’s published roadmap, 2026 is the foundation-building phase for standard development, led by top scientists, establishing standards for biological age assessment, longevity clinic star ratings, longevity planner competencies, and clinical practice. In 2027, it will move into education and training, developing a Longevity CEO program, a longevity planner certification, and physician training programs. From 2027 to 2028, it will advance ecosystem connections through global summits, regional partner networks, and mutual recognition among certification bodies. From 2028 onward, it aims to have its standards adopted by international industry bodies, making the 6R framework a common industry language.

Within this roadmap, TimePie serves as the local implementation channel for bringing GALA’s global standards into the Chinese market. TimePie has previously run a longevity-sector CEO training program, with six cohorts and more than 200 participants. This training base will support the development and delivery of GALA’s international certification courses in China. TimePie will also be responsible for GALA’s membership development, the rollout of training and certification programs for longevity management practitioners, and ecosystem projects in China. GALA said TimePie’s local industry experience and communications reach provide local infrastructure and market access for applying GALA’s global standards in China.

Founding Representatives and Academic Advisors

GALA is founded by leading longevity scientists and clinical experts. Its Founding Representatives include Dr. Brian Kennedy, Distinguished Professor at the National University of Singapore and former President and CEO of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging; Dr. Ana Baroni, Chief Scientific Officer of LongevityTech.fund and Chief Medical Officer of HealthyLongevity.clinic; Dr. Chong He, Partner and Chief Scientific Collaboration Officer at LiveBeyond; Tina Woods, Founder and CEO of Collider Health and Business for Health; Anant Vinjamoori, Chief Medical Officer of Hims at Hims & Hers; Shi Ying, co-founder of TimePie; Tin Cheung, founder of Hong Kong Longevity Science Lab; Hui Wing Yee, Director of GALA Holdings Limited; and Karen Shen, Secretary-General of GALA.

Global Honorary Academic Advisors include Evandro Fei Fang-Stavem, a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters; David C. Rubinsztein, Professor of Molecular Neurogenetics at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of the Royal Society; and Nektarios Tavernarakis, Chairman of the Board of FORTH and a member of Academia Europaea.

At the launch ceremony, four Founding Representatives–Dr. Brian Kennedy, Dr. Chong He, Tina Woods, and Dr. Anant Vinjamoori–and Chinese physician representative Professor Li Guidong cut the ribbon together. The Longevity Medicine Physicians Committee, established at the same time, will work to develop clinical practice standards for longevity medicine and cultivate clinical professionals with evidence-based medicine capabilities.

Founding Honorary Council Members: The First to Commit Funding and Industry Resources

GALA said its founding honorary council members are the first industry partners to commit funding and industry resources to the association, covering nutritional intervention, microbiome science, clinical care, regional market expansion, and research translation. The list includes TimePie, BYHEALTH, WONDERLAB, Hengshui Renze Yangzheng Hospital, ZABRA INTERNATIONAL PTE LTD, SANKANG CO., LIMITED, and Hong Kong Longevity Science Laboratory Limited, with more to be confirmed.

Among them, TimePie is a core founding member and founding honorary council member, and also serves as the China operating partner; BYHEALTH specializes in nutritional intervention and clinical evidence; WONDERLAB leads in microbiome and gut health; Hengshui Renze Yangzheng Hospital provides real-world clinical settings; ZABRA focuses on Southeast Asia market expansion and standard adaptation; SANKANG CO., LIMITED focuses on life-asset and family health management; and Hong Kong Longevity Science Laboratory Limited works on anti-aging research and commercialization. These organization will inject their frontline data and industrial practices directly into GALA’s 6R standards development and global ecosystem validation.

Moving forward, GALA will focus on establishing the scientific standard for biological age assessment, launching an international certificate program piloting clinical practice training modules through the Physicians Committee, and establishing the Longevity Clinics Committee to collaboratively build a global star-rating framework.

In remarks provided by GALA, Dr. Brian Kennedy said: “Aging is the ‘climate change’ of medical science. We now have increasingly sophisticated tools to measure biological aging and growing evidence that aspects of the aging process may be modifiable. The challenge is to translate that science responsibly–through rigorous standards, careful validation, and approaches that can be implemented safely at scale.”