Gavin Ritchie

IT Director

Contact Gavin Ritchie

Gavin spent his previous career in software development and database design in a variety of employed and independent roles. Development activities for Life Insurance systems proved a launching pad to a collaboration with Stephen Richards, and the Longevitas application suite was born. Alongside steering the IT function, Gavin is the primary developer for database, Java and web-related technologies.

Articles written by Gavin Ritchie

Cart before horse?

Predicting the exact impact of weight upon mortality has proven to be a tricky business. That obesity is on the rise is universally acknowledged, but in recent years we have seen research studies reach differing conclusions, depending on the populations examined and the measures used.

26 July 2016 Tags: mortality, research, reverse causality, obesity, BMI

Definitions of age

When modelling longevity, age is well-known to be a crucial risk factor. However it is also well-known that the life-expectancy upon attaining any specific age will differ between populations.

29 June 2016 Tags: longevity, research, genetics, centenarians, age

Label without a cause

To talk informally about a concept, we need only give it a recognisable name. For example, we use the label "medical error" and we all know what is meant - or at least we think we do.

25 May 2016 Tags: cause of death, ICD, medical error, research

Assumed or presumed?

Mortality modelling and research is often critically dependent upon assumptions, but certainty over whether those assumptions are well-founded may come only with hindsight.

24 April 2016 Tags: longevity, research, models, expert

Metastatic immunity

In 2013, cancers represented more than one third of the top-fifteen causes of all-age mortality in the UK, irrespective of gender. Despite intensive efforts, for some cancers survival rates have scarcely improved for decades.

15 March 2016 Tags: longevity, research, cancer, immunotherapy

Sweet and sour

Public health initiatives, such as those being considered in the UK around sugar, carry risks as well as potential benefits for any government. The first consequence of action is the near-certain accusation of presiding over a nanny state.

17 February 2016 Tags: longevity, sugar tax, obesity, diabetes, health intervention

Old drugs, new tricks

Breakthrough science in the longevity space doesn't always require the development of new medicines. In fact, there are significant advantages to repurposing medicines already in use, since some of the most expensive aspects of drug development lie in establishing human safety in the trial phase.

08 January 2016 Tags: longevity, research, regenerative medicine, cognitive impairment, diabetes

Reverse Gear

Against a background of long-term mortality improvements it is understandable to expect that societal change and developments in health care will be agents of progress. Recent research from Princeton Professor of Economics Anne Case and Nobel prize-winning economist Angus Deaton jolts such complacency in the starkest way.

08 December 2015 Tags: longevity, mortality improvements, mortality plasticity, basis risk

Vampiric victories

A Halloween-themed blog for the spooky season perhaps, but it isn't quite as off-topic as it first appears. In legend, the vampire sought immortality through blood, whether drinking it or — reputedly in the case of Countess Elizabeth Báthory — bathing in it.

29 October 2015 Tags: longevity, blood, centenarians, Halloween

Jeanne Calment's secret?

The story of Jeanne Calment, as the oldest verified human, represents an intriguing case for longevity practitioners, and serves as something of a cautionary tale for those in the annuity and pensions space.

15 September 2015 Tags: longevity, research, smoking, centenarians