What is Silicon Valley actually funding in longevity, and what can cutting-edge aging science teach us about autism and chronic illness? Nadia sits down with Dr. Ronjon Nag, OBE, an AI pioneer turned Stanford genetics professor and longevity investor behind the R42 fund. Ronjon built some of the earliest neural networks that modern AI rests on, shipped voice recognition and the first mobile app store, sold companies to Apple, Motorola, and BlackBerry, and then pointed everything he knew at one of the biggest problems there is: aging.

The conversation is a tour of the frontier. Ronjon explains his vaccine for aging and why he starts with cancer as the proof of concept, what AI now makes possible in drug discovery and clinical research, how he invests across roughly 100 companies through R42, and how epigenetic reprogramming can take a cell back toward age zero. They get into the GLP-1 conversation, NeuroAge and cognitive testing, why menopause and women's health are an obvious next frontier, and the lifestyle medicine pillars he personally lives by. The throughline for this audience: what we learn chasing longevity extends straight into autism, Alzheimer's, and chronic disease. Every healthy year is another year of capacity to care for the person who needs you. Healthspan, not just lifespan.

"Every healthy year is another year of capacity to care for the person who needs you." - Nadia Elkhatib

CONNECT WITH DR. RONJON NAG

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronjonnag/

R42 Group (portfolio): https://www.r42group.com/

R42 Institute: https://www.r42institute.com/

R42 Institute AI Fellows Program: https://www.r42institute.com/r42-institute-ai-fellows-program

R42 Founders Program: https://www.r42institute.com/r42-founders-program

R42 Longevity Series: https://www.r42institute.com/longevity-series

R42 University (Luma): https://luma.com/r42university

Stanford courses (ExploreCourses): https://explorecourses.stanford.edu/instructor/ronjon

Stanford AI Longevity Lab Certificate Course: https://med.stanford.edu/genetics/events/Stanford_AI_Longevity_Lab_Certificate_Course1.html

Stanford Medicine profile: https://med.stanford.edu/profiles/ronjon-nag

Stanford DCI profile: https://dci.stanford.edu/ronjon-nag_impact-in-classroom/

Agemica: https://www.agemica.com/

CONNECT WITH BIOHACKING AUTISM

Website: https://biohackautism.com

Instagram: @biohackautism

TikTok: @biohackingautism

YouTube: @BiohackingAutism

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadiaelkhatib

Email: nadia@biohackautism.com

SUBSCRIBE

If this conversation shifted how you think about your own healthspan, follow Biohacking Autism wherever you are listening, and pass this episode along to another parent or caregiver who needs to hear that taking care of themselves is not selfish. It is how you stay in the game for the person who is counting on you.

PRODUCTS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED

Magnesium: https://amzn.to/3SrNqh5

Glycine: https://amzn.to/4wbIdZ5

Zinc: https://amzn.to/4wivi7P

Low dose naltrexone (LDN): https://agelessrx.com/ldn-science/

Fish oil: https://amzn.to/4eOhtqr

Creatine: https://amzn.to/4vnPXXr

Vitamin C: https://amzn.to/4w8LHvm

Copper: https://amzn.to/4vIgxeE

Vitamin D: https://amzn.to/4xWUAdm

Thymus bioregulator (Vladonix): https://vita-stream.com/a-6-vladonix-peptide-bioregulator-vladonix/

Pivot (GLP-1 food): https://getpivot.com

Mimeo Health (intermittent fasting mimic): https://mimeo.health

NeuroAge (cognitive testing): https://www.neuroagetx.com/

ABOUT THE GUEST

Dr. Ronjon Nag, OBE, is an adjunct professor of genetics at Stanford, a longevity investor, and an inventor. He built some of the earliest neural networks behind modern AI, founded companies acquired by Apple, Motorola, and BlackBerry, appeared on the cover of Fortune in 1993, and is a member of the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame. He was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his contributions to entrepreneurship and AI. Through the R42 fund and the R42 Institute, he invests in and teaches the science of aging.

MEDICAL DISCLAIMER

This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The content reflects the personal views and experiences of the host and guest and should not be taken as medical guidance. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before making any changes to your health regimen. This episode discusses specific compounds and protocols, including GLP-1, glycine, magnesium, zinc, low dose naltrexone, fish oil, creatine, peptides, and bioregulators. These are discussed for educational purposes only and are not recommendations. Always consult your clinician before changing any protocol.

Autism employment is one of the biggest questions parents carry: what happens when my child grows up, and will they find real work and purpose? In this episode on jobs for adults with autism, venture capitalist and autism dad Brian Jacobs shares what 15 years of investing in autism employment and raising a son on the spectrum taught him about preparing your child with autism for adulthood.

We get into why there is no single fix, why the job interview is an unfair social test for many on the spectrum, the small workplace accommodations that make the biggest difference, how AI could close the gap for adults with autism, and what meaningful work looks like for nonverbal and low-verbal young adults. It is a hopeful, practical conversation for any parent thinking about their child's working future.

"The parents are the soldiers in the war. They are out there talking about it and making it okay to talk about employment for people on the spectrum." - Brian Jacobs

Connect with Brian Jacobs:

Moai Capital: https://www.moai.vc/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianjacobsvc/

Autism Impact Fund: https://autismimpact.fund/

AASCEND: https://www.aascend.org/

AASCEND Job Club: https://www.aascendjobclub.org/

Stanford Graduate School of Business faculty page: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/brian-jacobs

Connect with Biohacking Autism:

Website: https://biohackautism.com

Email: nadia@biohackautism.com

Instagram: @biohackautism

TikTok: @biohackingautism

YouTube: @BiohackingAutism

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadiaelkhatib

Subscribe to Biohacking Autism wherever you listen, and on YouTube, so you never miss a weekly episode.

Companies and organizations mentioned:

Ultranauts: https://ultranauts.co/

Daivergent: https://www.daivergent.com/

Auticon: https://auticon.com/

About Brian Jacobs:

Brian Jacobs is a co-founder of Emergence Capital and the founder and Managing Partner of Moai Capital, a seed fund based in San Mateo. Over a career investing in technology startups, he has served on the boards of more than fifty companies, twelve of which have gone public, and he was twice named to the Forbes Midas List of top venture investors. He teaches venture capital financing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and holds degrees in mechanical engineering from MIT and an MBA from Stanford. Through Moai Capital, Brian invests in companies expanding employment for adults on the spectrum, including Ultranauts, Daivergent, and Auticon, and he is a founding Limited Partner of the Autism Impact Fund. He also serves on the board of AASCEND, the Autism Aspergers Spectrum Coalition for Education, Networking and Development. He is the father of an adult son on the spectrum who works today as a software engineer.

Medical disclaimer:

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you have heard on this podcast.

What if the most powerful autism intervention is not a protocol but the parent?

In this episode of Biohacking Autism, Nadia Elkhatib sits down with Len Arcuri, host of Autism Parenting Secrets and founder of All In Parent Coaching. Len came to this work as a dad first. A former finance executive and Six Sigma Master Black Belt, he met his son's diagnosis the way many of us do, by going into fix-it mode and treating his child as a problem to solve. What changed everything was the realization that the belief "my child is broken" was the very thing keeping him from meeting his son where he was.

Len and Nadia walk through the shift from fixing your child to leading your child's journey, and the two-step sequence at the heart of his work: unconditional acceptance first, root-cause strategy second. They get honest about parental guilt, why beating yourself up to be a better parent is a strategy that can never work, and how to protect your energy without empty self-care language. Len shares his decision framework for parents drowning in protocols, the CEO-and-caddy model for owning the plan while using good advisors, and why asking for help is not giving up, it is refusing to give up.

"Asking for help is not giving up. It's refusing to give up." — Len Arcuri

Connect with Len Arcuri

Website and free assessment: https://elevatehowyounavigate.com/

Podcast: Autism Parenting Secrets (available on all major platforms)

https://autismparentingsecrets.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/autismparentingsecrets

FB: https://www.facebook.com/autismparentingsecrets

Connect with Biohacking Autism

Website: https://biohackautism.com

Instagram: @biohackautism

TikTok: @biohackingautism

YouTube: @BiohackingAutism

LinkedIn: /in/nadiaelkhatib

Email: nadia@biohackautism.com

Subscribe to Biohacking Autism so the next conversation finds you. If this episode gave you one idea or a breath of relief, share it with another parent who needs it.

Products and Resources Mentioned

All In Parent Coaching and the parent assessment / power score: https://elevatehowyounavigate.com/

The twin study case study referenced by Len:

D'Adamo CR, Nelson JL, Miller SN, Rickert Hong M, Lambert E, Tallman Ruhm H. Reversal of Autism Symptoms among Dizygotic Twins through a Personalized Lifestyle and Environmental Modification Approach: A Case Report and Review of the Literature. J Pers Med. 2024 Jun 15;14(6):641. doi: 10.3390/jpm14060641. PMID: 38929862; PMCID: PMC11205016.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11205016/

ATEC (Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist): proxy measure referenced for tracking progress

https://autism.org/autism-treatment-evaluation-checklist/

About Len Arcuri

Len Arcuri is the host of Autism Parenting Secrets, one of the most listened-to podcasts for parents in this space, with over 300 episodes and approaching a million downloads. He is the founder of All In Parent Coaching, where he works one-on-one with parents of children with autism to help them lead their child's journey with clarity and calm. A former finance executive and certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt, Len brings a systems-and-strategy background to the inner work of parenting, after walking the journey himself with his now-19-year-old son.

Medical Disclaimer

This episode is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health protocol or your child's protocol. This conversation references functional and integrative approaches, supplements, and modalities such as homeopathy; these reflect the guest's personal family experience and are not recommendations for any individual child.

Modern ABA therapy for autism looks nothing like the rigid, table-and-clipboard version most parents picture. In this reunion episode, Nadia sits down with Veronica Glickman, a board certified behavior analyst who directed her son Jimmy's program over 15 years ago, to talk about how ABA has actually changed and what good practice looks like today.

Veronica walks through what naturalistic, relationship-based ABA looks like inside a real clinic, why generalization happens faster when kids practice skills with real peers, and the three or four questions every parent should ask before choosing an ABA provider. She is candid about the red flags that signal an outdated program, the staffing crisis behind the BCBA shortage, and the Medicaid and insurance realities that shape what a child actually receives.

The second half goes bigger. Veronica and Nadia talk about building communities that are ready for our kids, from first responder relationships to the family resources that help parents feel less alone. It is a practical, hopeful conversation for any parent navigating autism services.

"If I had that magic wand, I would just want parents to finally exhale. To know that your kid is taken care of, and they're able to function in the world."

Connect with Veronica Clinic (ABES): https://www.abesautism.com SOAR family safety resources: https://www.soarglobal.org/safety-resource-hub

Connect with Biohacking Autism Website: https://www.biohackautism.com Subscribe so you never miss an episode, and share this one with a parent who needs it.

Products and Resources Mentioned ABES (Autism Behavioral and Educational Services), Veronica's clinic: https://www.abesautism.com SOAR, family safety and resource hub (Veronica is a board member): https://www.soarglobal.org/safety-resource-hub AAC devices and PECS (picture exchange systems): communication tools discussed for nonverbal and emerging communicators AngelSense: GPS tracking device discussed for children who are at risk of elopement Home fire-safety tools: smoke-alarm desensitization and safety practices for the home Grants for assistive and safety devices: many families qualify for help covering the cost; ask your provider or local nonprofits

About Veronica Glickman Veronica Glickman is a board certified behavior analyst and licensed behavior analyst who runs the ABES clinic in the Chicago suburbs. She has practiced in the field for over 20 years across New York, Connecticut, California, and Illinois. She consults for other providers on insurance denials and treatment planning, teaches continuing education on proving medical necessity, contributes regularly to HelloNation, and recently co-authored a book chapter titled "Inclusion is a Matter of Life and Death, More Than We Realize." She also serves on the board of SOAR, a nonprofit family resource hub.

Medical disclaimer This episode is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not medical, psychological, or behavioral advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider, and work with the providers who know your child, before making changes to your child's care, therapy, or health protocol. ABA is a medical service; decisions about diagnosis, treatment hours, and provider selection should be made with your clinical team.

For every autism mom, dad, grandma, and caregiver who has been told to "just reduce your stress" by a doctor who has clearly never watched their child have a meltdown at 2 a.m., this episode is for you. In this episode of Biohacking Autism, Nadia Elkhatib sits down with Dr. Paul Nash, USC gerontologist and co-author of Critical Questions for Ageing Societies, on the biology of autism caregiving and what is measurable, modifiable, and reversible.

Most autism parents have spent so many years tracking their child's biology that their own goes unmeasured. Paul makes the case that caregiver health is not a luxury, it is strategic. Your longevity is your child's safety net.

Topics covered: the biology of long-term caregiving, allostatic load and the 60-second micro-break protocol, the caregiver biomarkers worth tracking now and what can wait, the four coping strategies and the one that consistently predicts long-term resilience, why self-grace is a biological intervention not a soft concept, how stigma shows up in your bloodwork, what the HIV aging cohort taught researchers about long-term resilience, isolation versus loneliness and the minimum effective dose of connection, four crisis-mode quick wins for the days when you can't meditate or supplement or follow another protocol, and the closing reframe every caregiver needs to hear: you're not failing, you're adapting.

From Dr. Paul Nash, on the biology of long-term caregiving:

The biology of long-term caregiving doesn't care whether you are caring for a spouse, a parent, or a child, but it leaves fingerprints on you. And gerontologists are becoming more interested in what those fingerprints look like, especially in autism parents. But more importantly, what changes those fingerprints?

Connect with Dr. Paul Nash

USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology: https://gero.usc.edu/faculty/paul-nash-phd/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-nash-03676564/

Connect with Biohacking Autism

Website and full show notes: https://biohackautism.com

Find the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and Amazon Music.

Subscribe

New episodes weekly. Subscribe on your favorite podcast app and on YouTube at Biohacking Autism for more real solutions for people with autism and the ones who love them.

Products and Resources Mentioned

Critical Questions for Ageing Societies (Dr. Paul Nash's book) - https://amzn.to/4djlCCl

Purpose: Dr. Paul Nash's co-authored book on aging societies, demographics, and ageism. Provides the broader research context for the conversation.

"How do family caregivers of older adults cope with relationship strain?" (Meyer et al., 2023, with Dr. Paul Nash) - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13607863.2023.2247353

Purpose: The 2023 peer-reviewed paper that mapped the four core coping strategies (problem-focused, emotion-focused, avoidant, and meaning-focused) discussed in this episode. Open access.

Medical Disclaimer

This episode is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health protocol or your child's protocol. Ketamine is discussed in this episode in the context of treatment-resistant depression and is a regulated medication that requires direct medical supervision. Discuss biomarker testing and any new health protocol with a clinician who understands your full medical context before acting.

Biohacking Autism with Nadia Elkhatib explores real solutions for autism anxiety, sleep challenges, gut health, MCAS, neuroinflammation, nervous system dysregulation, and caregiver health. Topics include autism caregiver health, biology of long-term caregiving, allostatic load, autism mom burnout, caregiver biomarkers, emotion-focused coping, caregiver isolation, autism gut-brain axis, microbially derived metabolites, microbiota transplant therapy, autism diagnostic biomarkers, functional medicine for autism, peptides for autism, autism parent burnout, longevity for caregivers, and integrative health strategies for autism families. New episodes weekly. Visit biohackautism.com.

Phospholipids may be the missing link in autism recovery. In this episode, Nadia Elkhatib sits down with Dr. Krishna Doniparthi, MD, founder of Functional Medicine Georgia, the Doniparthi Neurogen Academy, and Precision Nutrients, to unpack why autism support may need to start at the cell membrane and what that means for parents who feel like they have already tried everything.

Dr. Doniparthi spent his career sitting between conventional family medicine and functional medicine before going further into cellular biology. His clinical framework centers on the cell membrane itself as the bottleneck that determines whether anything else parents are giving their child actually works. He calls phospholipids the one ring to rule them all in autism, and in this conversation he explains why.

Inside this episode: how toxins move through the body and where they get stuck, why generational toxicology is not a mother's fault, the difference between sunflower and soy phospholipids, plasmalogens and where they fit alongside phospholipids, a 9.5 year old case study with measurable before and after data over five months, the starting protocol parents can begin this week, why caregivers need the same lipid framework, why phospholipids should come before NAD, and what preconception medicine could do to bend the autism curve at the population level.

If you have ever stood in front of a cabinet of supplements wondering why nothing is moving the needle, this conversation gives you a deeper layer to look at. Phospholipids, plasmalogens, and the cell membrane. Step zero starts here.

Connect with Dr. Krishna Doniparthi

Clinic, Functional Medicine Georgia: https://www.fmg.health

Precision Nutrients: https://www.nutrients.health

Doniparthi Neurogen Academy: https://dnadr.org

Free ebook for autism parents: https://www.fmg.health/autismbook

Connect with Biohacking Autism

Website and full show notes: https://biohackautism.com

Find the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and Amazon Music.

Subscribe

New episodes weekly. Subscribe on your favorite podcast app and on YouTube at Biohacking Autism for more real solutions for people with autism and the ones who love them.

Products and Resources Mentioned

Precision Nutrients Essential Phospholipids - https://www.nutrients.health/product/pn-essential-phospholipids-16oz/USFUXCGDQS5AQFQZBG7SDU7T

Purpose: Sunflower-based phospholipid blend with plasmalogen precursors. Dr. Doniparthi's core product for cell membrane support.

Precision Nutrients Essential Vital Fatty Acids - https://www.nutrients.health/product/pn-essential-vital-fatty-acids-vfa-16oz/204

Purpose: Essential fatty acids that support the same cellular framework as phospholipids.

BodyBio Phosphatidylcholine (PC) - https://amzn.to/4tnwZim

Purpose: Standalone phosphatidylcholine for cell membrane support.

Natural Factors Phosphatidylserine (PS) - https://amzn.to/3OQP62h

Purpose: Standalone phosphatidylserine for cognitive and stress support.

Source Naturals Magnesium Malate - https://amzn.to/4ts3jAT

Purpose: Magnesium malate for bowel motility and detoxification support.

Leucovorin (calcium folinate) - prescription only

Purpose: Folate receptor antibody clearing. Available through traditional pharmacies, online pharmacies, and specialty compounding pharmacies. FDA approved for cerebral folate deficiency.

MAPS practitioner directory - https://medmaps.org

Purpose: Find a practitioner trained in pediatric special needs and integrative medicine.

Medical Disclaimer

This episode is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health protocol or your child's protocol. Work with a practitioner who understands phospholipids and cellular medicine before starting any protocol.

Biohacking Autism with Nadia Elkhatib explores real solutions for autism anxiety, sleep challenges, gut health, MCAS, neuroinflammation, nervous system dysregulation, and caregiver health. Topics include peptides for autism, functional medicine, bioregulators, vagus nerve stimulation, HRV training for caregivers, autism parent burnout, longevity for parents, and integrative health strategies for autism families. New episodes weekly. Visit biohackautism.com.