Tom Perls

Thomas Perls MD, MPH (born 1960) is the founding director of the New England Centenarian Study. Born in Palo Alto, California, Perls later moved to Colorado and now lives in Boston. He received his B.A. from Pitzer College in 1982, his M.D. from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in 1986 and his M.P.H. from Harvard University in 1993. He is a Principal Investigator of the National Institute on Aging funded Long Life Family Study. Perls is Professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine and attending physician in geriatrics at Boston Medical Center. He is author of over 110 peer reviewed articles primarily in the areas of biodemography and genetics of human exceptional longevity.

Perls is the author of the online "Living to 100 Life Expectancy Calculator". Perls is a prominent critic of "hormone replacement therapy" including growth hormone and testosterone for "anti-aging" and "age-management". He is author of the website hghwatch.com. and he has testified before the U.S. Congress, as well as provided written testimony for the U.S. Sentencing Commission regarding illegal distribution of growth hormone for anti-aging. Perls is the author of several academic articles about the medical misuse and illegal distribution of growth hormone and anabolic steroids, including testosterone, for anti-aging and bodybuilding.

A controversial paper regarding the genetics of aging with which Perls was associated was retracted from the journal Science in 2011 due to flawed data. The corrected version of the paper was then published in the online journal PlosOne and several of the reported associations were replicated in additional studies of centenarians.