BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Provide the following information for the key personnel and other significant contributors in the order listed on Form Page 2.
Follow this format for each person. DO NOT EXCEED FOUR PAGES.
NAME
POSITION TITLE
Gavrilova, Natalia S.
Senior Research Associate
eRA COMMONS USER NAME
ngavrilova
EDUCATION/TRAINING (Begin with baccalaureate or other initial professional education, such as nursing, and include postdoctoral training.)
INSTITUTION AND LOCATION
Moscow State University, Russia
Moscow State University, Russia
University of Chicago
DEGREE
(if applicable)
YEAR(s)
M.S.
Ph.D.
M.S.
1977
1982
2003
FIELD OF STUDY
Chemistry
Anthropology
Computer Science
A. Personal Statement
My research and teaching interests have been focused on mortality and biological, socio-economic and
environmental influences on longevity and health in humans and I am particularly interested in applying
interdisciplinary approach to the study of human aging. My work at the Center on the Demography and
Economics of Aging at the University of Chicago has reinforced my abilities to conduct research on
biodemography of aging. Working with large databases on human longevity led me to the necessity of
improving my research skills in the area of computer science. As a result, I successfully finished a Graduate
Program in Computer Science at the University of Chicago and received a master degree in computer science
in 2003. These additional skills reinforced my ability to study human longevity and made it possible to apply
innovative techniques of web automation to the collection of data on American centenarians. This technique is
being used now in the interdisciplinary research project on biodemography of exceptional longevity in the
United States funded by the National Institute on Aging where I am a Co-Investigator.
B. Positions and Honors
Positions and Employment
1981-1982
Research Scientist, Institute of General Genetics, Academy of Sciences, Moscow
1982-1983
Research Scientist, Department of Biology, Moscow State University
1983-1987
Senior Research Scientist, Institute for Medical Information, Moscow
1987-1993
Principal Research Scientist, Institute for Medical Information, Moscow
1993-1997
Senior Research Scientist, Institute for Systems Analysis, Moscow
1997-Present
Sr. Research Analyst, Center on Demography and Economics of Aging, NORC at the
University of Chicago
2005-Present
Senior Research Associate, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of
Chicago
Other Experience and Professional Memberships
Editorial Board Member: Demografie, Biogerontology (2006-2012).
Research Proposal Reviewer: National Institutes of Health Grant Review Commitee: ZRG HOPB 02 (2005),
ZRG HOPB 90 (2009), Special Emphasis Panel/Scientific Review Group 2009/10 ZRG1 PSE-J (Challenge
Grant Panel), 2012 Special Emphasis PAR Panel: Biodemography of Aging ZRG1 PSE-H (59), 2013 Social
Science and Population Studies Panel B (SSPB); The Maurice Falk Institute for Economic Research in Israel.
Referee (manuscript reviewer): AGE (Journal of the American Aging Association), American Journal of Human
Biology, American Journal of Public Health, Annals of Epidemiology, Biogerontology, Biology Letters (Royal
Society), Comparative Economic Studies, Demography, Economics & Human Biology, Europe-Asia Studies,
European Journal of Population, Experimental Gerontology, Gender Medicine, Genus, Gerontology, Human
Genetics, International Journal of Epidemiology, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Journal of AntiAging Medicine, Journal of Gerontology, Journal of Theoretical Biology, Mathematical Population Studies,
Mechanisms of Ageing and Development, Population, Population and Development Review, Population
Research and Policy Review, Statistics in Medicine, Social Biology, Social Forces, TheScientificWorldJournal,
Theoretical Population Biology
Membership: Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, Population Association of America.
Consultant for the NIA: NIH Professional Service Contract #263 SDN74858.
Honors
 Moscow Society of Naturalists. Award for the best scientific research in natural science in 1986-1988
 International Science Foundation Emergency Award for Russian Scientists of the Top Category (1993)
 U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation Proposal Development Program Award (1996)
 Featured in Wall Street Journal (March 2nd, 2012), The NIH Record (October 26, 2012), Science (6
June 1997, p.1503), The Scientist (May 13, 2002, p.20), Sunday Times London (June 15, 1997), The
Guardian, UK (September 01, 2004), IEEE Spectrum (September 2004 issue, cover story).
 Cited by Encyclopedia Britannica as the author of recommended book "The Biology of Life Span."
 Invited author for Macmillan Encyclopedia of Aging (3 articles), Journal of Theoretical Biology special
issue (2001, vol. 213), Springer-Verlag monograph "Sex and Longevity" (2000), Handbook of the
Biology of Aging (2005), International Handbook of the Demography of Aging (2009).
C. Selected Publications (in chronological order)
1.
Gavrilov L. A., and N. S. Gavrilova. 1991. The Biology of Life Span: A Quantitative Approach, New York:
Harwood Academic Publisher. 385p.
2. Gavrilova, N. S., and L. A. Gavrilov. 1999. Data Resources for Biodemographic Studies on Familial
Clustering of Human Longevity. Demographic Research, 1 (4): 1-48.
3. Gavrilova NS, Gavrilov LA, Semyonova VG, Evdokushkina GN. 2004. Does Exceptional Human Longevity
Come With High Cost of Infertility? Testing the Evolutionary Theories of Aging. Annals of the New York
Academy of Sciences, 1019: 513-517. PMID: 15247077
4. Gavrilova N.S., Gavrilov L.A. 2007. Search for predictors of exceptional human longevity: using
computerized genealogies and internet resources for human longevity studies. North American Actuarial
Journal, 11(1): 49-67. PMID: 22308064
5. Gavrilova N., Lindau S.T. 2009. Salivary sex hormone measurement in a national, population-based study
of older adults. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 64,
Suppl.1, i94-105. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbn028. PMID: 19204073. PMCID: PMC2763516
6. Lindau, S.T. and Gavrilova, N. 2010. Sex, health, and years of sexually active life gained due to good
health: evidence from two US population based cross sectional surveys of ageing. British Medical Journal
340: c810. doi: 10.1136/bmj.c810. PMID: 20215365. PMCID: PMC2835854
7. Gavrilova N.S., Gavrilov L.A., Search for mechanisms of exceptional longevity. Rejuvenation Research,
2010, 13(2-3): 262-264. PMID: 20370503. PMCID: PMC2946054
8. Guillot M, Gavrilova N, Pudrovska T. Understanding the "Russian mortality paradox" in Central Asia:
Evidence from Kyrgyzstan. Demography, 2011, 48(3): 1081-1104. PMID: 21618068. PMCID:
PMC3315848
9. Gavrilova N.S., Gavrilov L.A. Comments on dietary restriction, Okinawa diet and longevity. Gerontology,
2012, 58(3): 221-223. DOI: 10.1159/000329894. PMID: 21893946. PMCID: PMC3362219
10. Gavrilov L.A., Gavrilova N.S. Season of birth and exceptional longevity: Comparative study of American
centenarians, Their Siblings, and Spouses. Journal of Aging Research, 2011, Article ID 104616, 11 pages,
doi:10.4061/2011/104616. PMID: 22187646. PMCID: PMC3236478
11. Gavrilova N.S., Gavrilov L.A., Severin, F.F. and Skulachev, V.P. Testing predictions of the programmed
and stochastic theories of aging: Comparison of variation in age at death, menopause, and sexual
maturation. Biochemistry (Moscow), 2012, 77(7), 754-760. PMID: 22817539. PMCID: PMC3428266
12. Gavrilov L.A., Gavrilova N.S. Biodemography of exceptional longevity: Early-life and mid-life predictors of
human longevity. Biodemography and Social Biology, 2012, 58(1):14-39, DOI:
10.1080/19485565.2012.666121. PMID: 22582891. PMCID: PMC3354762
13. Guillot M, Gavrilova N, Torgasheva L, Denisenko M. Divergent Paths for Adult Mortality in Russia and
Central Asia: Evidence from Kyrgyzstan. PLoS ONE, 2013, 8(10): e75314.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0075314. PMID: 24116034. PMCID: PMC3792976
14. Gavrilov LA, Gavrilova NS. Determinants of exceptional human longevity: new ideas and findings. Vienna
Yearbook of Population Research 2013;11:295-323. PMCID: PMC4165392.
15. Gavrilova NS, Gavrilov LA. Biodemography of old-age mortality in humans and rodents. J Gerontol A Biol
Sci Med Sci 2014:Feb 17. [Epub ahead of print], doi: 0.1093/gerona/glu009. PMID: 24534516. PMC
Journal - In Process.
D. Research Support
Ongoing Research
R01 AG028620 (Gavrilov)
1/1/09 to 31/12/13 (unfunded
continuation to 12/31/2014)
NIA
Biodemography of Exceptional Longevity in the United States
This project proposes to investigate why some people manage to survive to extreme old age (100+ years) and
what are the biological and social correlates of exceptional longevity. The project will take advantage of the
ongoing revolution in information technology for human longevity studies to examine the determinants of
exceptional survival both on individual and population levels, using a rich variety of the U.S. data sources
available through the Internet, including Social Security Administration datasets, Census data, family
reconstitutions and validated genealogies, and military draft records.
Role: Co-Investigator
Completed Research (The Last Three Years)
P30 AG012857 (Waite)
8/15/97 to 6/30/14
NIA
“Center on Demography and Economics of Aging”
The Center on Aging consists of the four cores: (1) an Administrative and Research Support Core, (2) a
Program Development Core, (3) an External Innovative Network Core focusing on Biological Measures in
Aging and (4) an External Research Resources Support and Dissemination Core. These four cores together
continue to facilitate and support a large and extremely active program of research and training at Chicago.
The focus of the Center include: (1) social relationships, living arrangements and family; (2) the social context
of aging; (3) health care research; and (4) biobehavioral pathways.
Role: Sr. Project Professional, Chicago Core on Biomarkers in Population-Based Aging Research (CCBAR).
R01HD045531 (Guillot)
4/15/06 – 2/28/11
NICHD
“Mortality in Central Asia”
The goal of this project is to improve our knowledge of mortality in former Soviet Central Asia.
Role: Co-Investigator