Goda Lab

Aging is accompanied by the progressive decline of physical, cognitive, and immune functions. Rather than treating individual age-related diseases separately, we aim to develop rejuvenation technologies that target fundamental biological processes of aging and extend healthy lifespan.

We recently developed super homotypic targeting (SHT), a technology that engineers the surfaces of exosomes or extracellular vesicles (EVs) to dramatically enhance their delivery to target cells. SHT amplifies specific cell–EV interactions by more than 25-fold, providing a versatile platform for targeted delivery of biologically active cargo. This work was published in Nature Biomedical Engineering in 2026.

Building on this technology, we are developing “super EVs” for rejuvenation. Our engineered EVs are designed to efficiently deliver regenerative molecular cargo to aged and dysfunctional cells. In preclinical studies, treatment substantially improved multiple healthspan-related functions in aged mice while demonstrating a favorable safety profile.

In 2026, these results led Goda Lab to be selected as a Top 10 Finalist in XPRIZE Healthspan, a global competition to develop therapies capable of restoring muscle, cognitive, and immune functions by at least 10 years, with a goal of 20 years. The team also received a Milestone 2 Award.

Our next goal is to translate super EVs from preclinical studies to human clinical studies evaluating their safety and efficacy. Ultimately, we seek to establish engineered EVs as a new therapeutic platform for rejuvenation and healthy longevity.

• Goda Lab Advances to Final XPRIZE Healthspan Phase with Breakthrough Super Exosomes" (2026)
• Wang et al, "Super homotypic targeting by surface engineering of extracellular vesicles", Nature Biomedical Engineering (2026) in press
• Chen et al, "Small extracellular vesicles from young plasma reverse age-related functional declines by improving mitochondrial energy metabolism ", Nature Aging 4, 814 (2024)
• van Niel et al, "Challenges and directions in studying cell-cell communication by extracellular vesicles", Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 23, 369 (2022)