Maria Vorontsova is an influential figure. At 41, this seasoned endocrinologist heads the Research and Education Institute of Medicine at Moscow State University and supervises all government programs dedicated to combating aging. Extending human life is also the ambition of her father, Vladimir Putin, who made her the leading authority in new health technologies.

Vorontsova is passionate about gene therapy, organ transplants and xenotransplantation, the implantation of animal cells into humans. Alongside Mikhail and Yuri Kovalchuk, childhood friends of Putin, she manages state-funded projects to the tune of $26 billion (€23.24 billion). It was thanks to this funding that a brand new laboratory dedicated to longevity research was inaugurated on Monday, October 19, within Skolkovo, Russia's technology hub located west of Moscow.

The event's guest of honor, Vorontsova addressed an audience of researchers and students. The Russian leader's daughter, whose appearance was eagerly awaited, was dressed in a suit and a pearl necklace as she shared her thoughts at the microphone. She explained that medicine needs to do more to extend human life, not least because of "the universal human fear of death." However, advances in this field would not occur for "10 or 20 years," giving Russian science time to position itself.