Steven Austad is Distinguished Professor of Biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Scientific Director of the American Federation for Aging Research and the inaugural holder of the UAB Protective Life Endowed Chair in Healthy Aging. He is the author of Why We Age: What Science is Discovering about the Body’s Journey through Life, Real People Don’t Own Monkeys, and, most recently, Methuselah's Zoo: What Nature Can Teach Us about Living Longer, Healthier Lives. His research explores the evolution of life histories with a particular focus on the comparative biology of aging. With a strong commitment to communicating science to the lay public, he is a former member of the Science Advisory Board of National Public Radio and his tradebook, Why We Age, has been translated into eight languages.