When her beloved grandmother died, it changed the course of Dr Carina Kern's life, sparking a deep desire to understand why ageing makes us more likely to become frail and die and, ultimately, to stop it.
Twenty-five years on, the Cambridge-based company she founded with her sister, ex-lawyer Serena Kern-Libera, believes it has made a breakthrough that could change outcomes for all of us.
Unlike some research teams working on the science of ageing, they are not working towards immortality, aiming instead to extend and improve quality of life.
Growing up in the mountains of southern India, the sisters saw their grandmother, Sydia Kern, every day.
"When I was four or five, I would try to avoid school as much as possible and I'd run to my grandmother's house," Kern, 31, recalls.
