Peter Attia

Peter Attia is a physician, author, and longevity medicine pioneer whose book Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity became one of the most important health books of the 2020s. A former McKinsey consultant and Johns Hopkins-trained surgeon who retrained himself in the emerging science of longevity, Attia has become the leading voice arguing that modern medicine's approach to chronic disease is fundamentally broken — and that we need to shift from 'Medicine 2.0' (treating disease after it appears) to 'Medicine 3.0' (preventing disease decades before symptoms emerge).

Attia's unconventional path began in Canada, where he grew up in Toronto as the son of Egyptian immigrants. After earning his medical degree from Stanford University School of Medicine, he trained in general surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital and planned a career in surgical oncology. But watching patients die of preventable diseases led him to question whether treating late-stage illness was the best use of his talents.

He left surgery, spent two years at the National Cancer Institute studying the relationship between metabolism and cancer, then founded Attia Medical PC (later Early Medical), a private medical practice focused on applying the principles of longevity medicine to individual patients. His practice focuses on the 'four horsemen' of chronic disease: heart disease, cancer, neurodegenerative disease, and metabolic dysfunction.

His podcast, The Drive, features deep-dive conversations with leading scientists, physicians, and researchers. Published in 2023, Outlive spent months atop the New York Times bestseller list and gave millions of readers a framework for thinking about healthspan — not just lifespan.

Born March 19, 1973, in Toronto, Canada, Peter Attia is the son of Egyptian immigrants. He grew up in Toronto, excelling in academics and boxing (he was a Canadian junior national champion). He studied mechanical engineering and applied mathematics at Queen's University in Ontario before attending Stanford Medical School, where he graduated among the top of his class.