Live Forever? Professor John Tregoning blends science and storytelling in quest to understand ageing
Scientist by day, writer by night (and weekends!), Professor John Tregoning’s (1995) second book, Live Forever. A Curious Scientist’s Guide to Wellness, Ageing and Death was published earlier this year.
Driven by an urge to share ideas, we chatted to John about his writing and the challenges of making scientific ideas accessible for his readers.
Can you tell us about your journey from studying Natural Sciences at Downing to becoming a Professor of Vaccine Immunology at Imperial College London?
Long and winding! Certainly, none of it was pre-ordained – one of my contemporaries described me as the person he least expected to become a Professor! I was drawn to ‘science’ as a school leaver but didn’t really know what a career in it would look like. I am a generalist, so Natural Sciences was a great fit. But I’ll confess, I somewhat lost my way during the undergraduate years. This was a combination of things – opportunities to do things that weren’t just academic, moving from a school system where you told what to do (and when) to becoming an adult learner and no longer being top of the class without trying. However, the seeds of my redemption came during my Part II project. My supervisor pointed out to me that I was the first person in the world to have seen something. It took me another 10 years to properly hear what he had said, but after not quite knowing what to do after graduating (both from my BA and my PhD) I finally realised I wanted to run my own lab.
Jump another 10 years and I was promoted to Professor in 2023.
You have now written two books, what inspired you to become a writer?
It’s hard to explain really, but there is just a build-up of words in my head and I need to get them onto a page. If I have a great fact or silly joke I want to share it with someone. My family and work colleagues are the first recipients of most of these but sharing them more widely is such a joy.
It’s also a form of problem-solving. How to express that idea in an accessible way, how to fit in a sausage joke, how to rhyme a word with orange.
Finally, it complements the science part of my brain. Science is much more creative than I think I appreciated as an undergraduate. At the time I felt the need to separate writing from science, but now they are much more closely aligned in my life.
What's the hardest part about turning scientific ideas into text that people can understand and engage with?
Getting the level right and then bringing everyone along. I visualise it a bit like a rollercoaster, you have to load everyone quickly at the bottom and then bring them all together to the top before releasing them on the journey.
The section of my first book I struggled with the most was the section I knew the most about: I couldn’t reset to where most people’s knowledge (or interest in) the immune system is.
Your new book ‘Live Forever’ has received great reviews. What drew you to write about ageing and longevity?
The short answer is that I was getting older. And it is the story I tell to sell more books, but it’s not quite the truth.
I was talking to my agent about what I should write about next, and we decided upon an explainer of how the human body works. However, we wanted a hook and settled on causes of death and their likelihood. I was then chatting to a screenwriter who suggested making it more of a narrative flow about my own mortality and the book developed from there.
Can you talk us through your writing process? How do you move from an idea to a finished book?
I spend about 18 months collecting various random ideas and anecdotes. I then spend nine months of weekend writing – working in the morning up to lunchtime. I tend to research and write at the same time. So, find an interesting idea, write it up, and move onto the next strand. I aim to write 2000 words a week – I keep tally like a one-day cricket match, with a tracker to show where I am.
I’m very much a fan of Hemingway’s approach: ‘write drunk, edit sober’. Not that I write drunk, but I think it works to get all the ideas onto the page without worrying too much about the detail in the first pass.
How did your time at Downing influence your writing, if at all?
I was lucky enough to write a weekly column in Felix. I recently re-connected with the then Editor, Nick Hallissey (who is still in publishing), and he commissioned me to write an article for Country Walking magazine. Coming up with silly ideas each week was a lot of fun. I got a chance at having a column during the COVID pandemic when I wrote for the scientific journal Nature, at one point I had more publications in Nature than anyone else at Imperial!
What are your key memories/takeaways from your time at Downing?
Most of them unpublishable! Sitting on the Paddock with nothing to do after exams, running through a burning boat after the bumps, rugby nights, bops.
But it is all about friendships really. I recently returned for my 30-year Annual Reunion Dinner and seeing all those friends again was a great joy.
Who is your favourite writer/author?
I’m going to cheat and say three: Hunter S. Thompson, Bill Bryson and Terry Pratchett.
What is your favourite book?
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (and the Lord of the Rings).
Published 29 April 2025