Gavin Ritchie
IT Director
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A shaky foundation?
As with anything that must combine reliable data with hard maths and sound judgement, forecasting mortality is difficult.
The shock we saw coming?
The impact of a mortality shock is by definition hard to predict. We don't know with certainty if or when a shock might occur, or what effects it might have on mortality in the years that follow.
Weighing the evidence
We've previously discussed the significant challenges involved in forecasting mortality by cause of death. Needless to say it isn't any easier to predict the impact of trends in lifestyle factors that drive those causes.