Countdown For A Cure

We’re excited to announce our first research grant of 2026 awarded to Dr. Elias Adriaenssens at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology in Vienna, Austria. This is research that will change how we treat Parkinson's, rare & chronic disease, neurodegeneration, and ageing, at the cellular level where it all begins.​
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This grant builds on the promise hypoxia has shown in preclinical research and the recent work by Dr. Adriaenssens on a mitochondrial repair system that acts downstream of hypoxia. His work is charting a path toward treatments that selectively activate that repair process, potentially mimicking the benefits of hypoxia without the challenges of prolonged low-oxygen treatment.​
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At Countdown, we fund the shared biology beneath diseases that most organizations address in isolation. Every grant we make is chosen for its potential to reach across conditions — accelerating discoveries that don't stay in a lab, but move into clinical settings for you, your families, and the millions of people whose lives will be changed by this research.​
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Join us. Fund the future. Read more at https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/05/15/3296100/0/en/countdown-grant-explores-how-cells-remove-damaged-mitochondria-opening-new-possibilities-across-parkinson-s-chronic-disease-rare-disease-and-aging.html?_gl=1*60xswx*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTQwNjM3MjU0Ni4xNzc4ODcyMzY2*_ga_B6167QB2TF*czE3Nzg4NzIzNjYkbzEkZzAkdDE3Nzg4NzIzNjYkajYwJGwwJGgxMjE0NzY1NjYz*_ga_ERWPGTJ5X8*czE3Nzg4NzIzNjYkbzEkZzAkdDE3Nzg4NzIzNjYkajYwJGwwJGgw ​
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Three years ago today, our founder started with a belief: Energy is everything.

That cellular energy is the foundation of how we age, function, heal, and thrive. And by accelerating mitochondrial research, uniting the field, and creating greater public awareness, we could change the future of health.

Since then, we've raised over $3M, funded 5 groundbreaking research projects, and are growing a community as passionate about this science, and the future, as we are.

Today, we're stepping into our next chapter with a bold new name that matches the impact of this science.

Meet Countdown.

We're proud of where we've been and we're even more excited about where we're going.

Join the Countdown. Fund the future.

Today, as part of our Women’s Health Month series, we’re featuring Kimberly Washington, Co-Founder and CEO of Deep Space Biology, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and advocate for using AI, space technology, and innovation to drive meaningful impact for humanity. Kimberly is also on the Countdown Board of Directors, applying her expertise to help advance our mission.

In the conversation, Kimberly shares her perspective on the intersection of women’s health, longevity, and emerging technologies — including why mitochondria and cellular energy may hold the key to the future of medicine, both on Earth and beyond.

She also reflects on the importance of investing in bold ideas, supporting underrepresented voices, and building with long-term human impact in mind.

Read the full Q&A on the blog: https://joincountdown.org/q-a-feature-womens-health-month-kimberly-washington/

This Women’s Health Month, we’re continuing our Q&A series spotlighting women whose work is expanding how we understand health - from research and medicine to advocacy, innovation, and investment. Today, we’re featuring Erika Aquino, a global angel investor and advocate for inclusive innovation who invests in women and underrepresented founders building the future of wellness, education, sustainability, and the evolving world of work.

In the conversation, Erika shares insights into her investment approach, why founders who have lived the problem often build the most meaningful solutions, and why underserved communities must be considered through the lens of long-term impact, not just market opportunity. She also reflects on the growing importance of mitochondrial health and energy metabolism in shaping the future of women’s health.

Read the full Q&A -https://joincountdown.org/q-a-feature-womens-health-month/

Zoom in, this message is for everyone, and it involves the trillions of gifts which have been passed down through generations of women before you.

A mother's energy is like no other.

For the first time in American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) history, mitochondrial transfer in cancer was given its own dedicated symposium, marking a major shift in the field.

Researchers explored how mitochondria move between cells, influencing immune response, metastasis, adaptation, and treatment resistance.

What was once considered fringe science is rapidly moving into the mainstream.

Cancer is more than a genetic disease. It is also an energy disease.

Read the full coverage from MitoWorld at the link in bio.
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Women’s health has long been underfunded and misunderstood, leaving critical gaps in how we understand what’s happening at a deeper, cellular level.

This Women’s Health Month, we’re spotlighting women whose work is expanding how we understand health—from research and medicine to advocacy, innovation, and lived experience.
Today, we’re featuring Natalie Yivgi-Ohana, Ph.D., Co-Founder & CEO of and member of Countdown’s Scientific & Medical Advisory Board.

Natalie is a pioneer of mitochondrial transplantation, an emerging field focused on restoring cellular energy and addressing dysfunction at its source.

At Countdown, we are proud to support this work, including funding the development of mitochondrial biomarkers which measure mitochondrial content, quality, and function and provide a standardized “MitoScore.”

Read her full Q&A on the blog, link in bio.

Women’s health has long been underfunded, understudied, and misunderstood—but that story didn’t start recently.

From ancient civilizations to modern medicine, women’s health has moved through cycles of recognition, exclusion, and rediscovery. Knowledge was built, lost, and often shaped without women at the center, from midwives and experiential care to the rise of clinical medicine that largely left women out of research and decision-making.

That’s finally beginning to change. And the women leading that shift are redefining the future of health.

This month, we’re introducing a series to celebrate the physicians, researchers, founders, and thought leaders shaping science and health in real time. Together, we’ll explore what women’s health means today—personally and professionally—the role of mitochondria across the lifespan, and what it will take to build a more complete, inclusive, and energy-driven future of medicine.

Join us.

Mitochondria might be small, but they sure are mighty. These mini operating systems do more than produce ATP; they help determine your health across your entire body.

When you have good energy, your health will follow.
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Spring cleaning for your cells.

Every cell in your body is producing energy, repairing damage, and responding to its environment, powered by your mitochondria.

Our earth offers light, air, water, and food, but unfortunately modern life also produces toxins, processed food, and stress.
How we interact with the natural world, and small changes in our daily lives, can make an impact in the health of our mitochondria and our energy in this new season.

At Countdown we’re accelerating research to better understand how to protect and restore cellular energy because when you support your mitochondria, you support everything.

This spring don’t just clean what you can see.
Step outside, open the windows, and choose cleaner inputs.