Can we treat ageing? Alumna Serena Kern-Libera (LLB Law 2010) and her sister, Dr Carina Kern, a leading longevity scientist, founded the biotech company LinkGevity to answer this question. This World Health Day, Serena discusses her career, LinkGevity, and her time at LSE.

LinkGevity

"Growing up, my sister Carina and I witnessed the toll that ageing took on our grandparents. While medicine has made strides in many areas, treatments for age-related health decline remain limited. Inspired by this, Carina decided to pursue a career in science and has since emerged as a trailblazer in the field of ageing research. For myself, I went on to have a successful career in law.

Recently, Carina and I decided to make a positive change in the world by joining forces. From this came LinkGevity; a drug-discovery company focused on ageing. Traditional drug discovery has always focused on finding one drug to treat one disease. This works well with illnesses that occur in early life. Age related decline however is multifactorial and you need a systems level approach

My sister’s research has revealed that there are certain key biological pathways that are central to ageing. At LinkGevity we focus on these “triggers of ageing,” using AI to find the best drugs to intervene. We do this using a broad spectrum of drugs that can target multiple diseases and the associated health deterioration simultaneously. Consider how antibiotics as a class of drugs revolutionised the treatment of infections. Our mission is to unearth the antibiotic equivalent for ageing.

In just 12 months since launching, we have made remarkable progress. Using our laboratory at the Babraham Research Campus (affiliated with the University of Cambridge), we have identified a new class of drugs that halt cell and tissue deterioration. This discovery has earned us a prestigious DeepTech grant from Horizon Europe alongside UK government funding. We were selected for the NASA/Microsoft Space-Health Program as our drugs have the potential to prevent accelerated ageing and tissue decline in astronauts. We have also recently gained investment from the Francis Crick Institute’s KQ Labs.

The system-level decline that doctors saw as inevitable for our grandparents is what we are challenging. Our aim with LinkGevity is to enable people to live healthier and longer lives. We have built a stellar team of entrepreneurs, scientists, and AI experts. Together, we hope to deliver on this mission and show that it is possible to stop ageing-related decline.

A career in law

Working in biotech feels like a natural progression for me. I was always academically gifted but, for a long time, I couldn’t make my mind up between medicine or law. I ended up choosing law, mostly because it suited my personality better. Once I knew what I wanted, studying LSE was an obvious choice for me. The course excited me and having grown up in a small town in India, I longed for the unique experience of studying in London. 

Being in such a vibrant, international environment allowed me to connect with inspiring people from different backgrounds. The exposure I gained at LSE, both inside and outside the classroom, shaped my thinking and broadened my horizons. It was the perfect choice for both my personal and professional growth. I have had the privilege of making lifelong friends and several of our Angel investors are also from the LSE network.

On graduating, I worked as a corporate M&A (mergers and acquisitions) lawyer with Slaughter & May. My clients spanned healthcare, retail and pharmaceuticals, underlining again my interest in medicine. In these roles, I loved the fast-paced environment and the opportunity to understand how businesses operate on a global scale. Post Brexit, I pivoted to trade policy in the public sector which gave me a macro-level view of the business environment.

Although my career was taking a different trajectory, when the chance to found LinkGevity with Carina came along, it was an opportunity too good to turn down. The possibility of making real-world difference is what drove me to the public sector in the first place. LinkGevity now offered me the chance to have an immediate and direct impact on people’s lives and health. What better mission is there?

Advice to alumni

To fellow alumni considering building a start-up, understand that it involves stepping into the unknown. For me, I left behind a successful career I had nurtured for years. But meaningful change requires calculated risks. For us at LinkGevity, the decision was clear—Carina’s groundbreaking research offered the opportunity to envision a world where we can live longer, free from the frailty often associated with old age. This was too powerful to pass up.

However, success doesn’t happen in isolation. Our diverse, high-performing team at LinkGevity has been key to turning vision into reality. Each member brings unique perspectives and skills, creating a culture of innovation and collaboration. Surround yourself with people who challenge your thinking and push you to achieve more. A strong team doesn’t just support your mission—it transforms it.

Lastly, think constantly about your ultimate vision. At LinkGevity we’re united by the belief in a world where aging doesn’t mean decrepitude. Our shared vision binds our team, fuels our resilience, and keeps us focused on the impact we want to make.Whatever your endeavour, your vision is your north star, the force that will guide and inspire you and your team to accomplish the extraordinary.

Serena Kern Libera
LLB Law 2010

April 2025