Dr. Peter Attia, the guest for this episode of STEM-Talk, is a modern-day "Renaissance man," says IHMC CEO Ken Ford. That term gets tossed around a lot, but in Attia's case, it's true. He is a top-notch physician, a former McKinsey consultant, and an ultra endurance athlete—who once swam twenty-something miles to Catalina Island, off the coast of California.

During the podcast show, Attia talks about his academic journey, from studying math and engineering, to then pursuing clinical medicine and developing research interests in longevity. The birth of Attia's daughter marked his interest in quantity of life—as well as quality of life.

Attia discusses his eight "drivers of longevity," all of which depart from the concept of preventing the onset of chronic disease. These include optimal nutrition, exercise, sleep habits, hormone optimization, stress management, sense of purpose/social connections, medications, and avoidance of harmful behaviors.

Check out Peter Attia's blog "The Eating Academy," at http://eatingacademy.com. You can also check out his TED talk "Is the obesity crisis hiding a bigger problem? https://www.ted.com/talks/peter_attia_what_if_we_re_wrong_about_diabetes?language=en