Joseph Coughlin, PhD profile photo

Joseph Coughlin, PhD

Director, AgeLab

  • Cambridge MA UNITED STATES

Dr. Coughlin's work explores how global demographics, technology and changing behaviors are transforming business & society.

Contact

Media

Social

Biography

Dr. Joseph Coughlin, or as he is most often referred to, “Dr. Joe,” leads the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab. Researcher, teacher, advisor, and speaker – his work explores how global demographics, technology and changing behaviors are transforming business & society. He teaches in MIT’s Department of Urban Studies & Planning. Coughlin advises major companies worldwide, the World Economic Forum, OECD, and has served on advisory committees for the White House and several federal agencies. Coughlin’s current focus is on how longevity and service innovation will transform the business of advice to help people prepare for 100 good years of living. He was named as one of “100 Most Creative in Business” by Fast Company Magazine, and one of Investment News “Icons & Innovators.” Coughlin is a Senior Contributor to Forbes and writes regularly for the Wall Street Journal and MarketWatch. His recent book, The Longevity Economy: Unlocking the World’s Fastest Growing, Most Misunderstood Market – was named a CEO READS Best Seller and is on the required reading lists of Fortune 500 corporate boards and executive leadership at firms such as Ally Bank, Best Buy, Humana, Marriott International, Lowe’s, Pulte Group, and others. His new book, with MIT AgeLab colleague Luke Yoquinto, is Longevity Hubs: Regional Innovation for Global Aging (MIT Press, 2024).

Research Focus

Human-Centered Systems & Quality of Life

Designing systems, services, and policies that enhance human well-being across work, home, and society.

Future Logistics & Infrastructure Systems

Shaping freight, mobility, and infrastructure systems that enable global supply networks.

Areas of Expertise

Market Research
Global Demographics
Technology and Aging
Strategic Planning

Education

Boston University

PhD

1995

Brown University

AM

1985

State University of New York at Oswego

BA

1982

Languages

  • English
  • French

Media Appearances

Why Longevity Is Creating A Complexity Economy

Forbes  online

2026-06-09

How longer lives are reshaping retirement planning, wealth management, healthcare, and banking by creating a new Complexity Economy.

View More

Buying Longevity: The New Run Rate Of Living And Living In Retirement

Forbes  online

2026-01-06

From CES to retail shelves, technology to extend longevity and healthspan is becoming a new run-rate cost of living and living in...

View More

AI Is Reimagining Retirement, But Who’s Plugging It In?

Forbes  online

2025-07-21

AI is transforming retirement, but older adults and caregivers need help connecting smart tech to daily life. The next big thing?

View More

Speaking Engagements/Featured Conversations

New stories for longer lives | Dr. Joseph F. Coughlin | TEDxAthens Salon

Longevity is rewriting every chapter of the human story, yet we’re still living by an old script. It’s time to lay the infrastructure of a new longevity society—with stories that inspire and guide us, systems of education, work, and markets that adapt to longer lives, and physical spaces and places that engage and connect us at every age. Joseph F. Coughlin, PhD, is the founding director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab. A researcher, teacher, and advisor, his work explores how global demographics, technology, and evolving social trends are transforming business and society. Dr. Coughlin teaches in MIT’s Department of Urban Studies & Planning and frequently speaks to Fortune 500 boardrooms as well as to convention halls around the world, delivering his unique style of insight and humor. Watch the full TEDx Athens talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFgBI3Dnoj8

Research Papers

A Mixed Methods Investigation Examining COVID-19 Vaccine Decision-Making Among Older Vaccinators and Non-Vaccinators in the Southeastern US

Journal of General Internal Medicine

Taylor Patskanick Brennan, Sophia Ashebir, Alexa Balmuth, Lisa D’Ambrosio, Joseph F Coughlin

2026-06-01

Prior research has explored factors influencing COVID-19 vaccine decision-making among older adults at the national level, but limited work has focused on this population within the Southeastern US context or compared vaccinated and unvaccinated older adults within the same study.

View more

A Randomized Trial Using PARO with Minimal Caregiver Involvement on Older Adults with Dementia in Group Homes

Alzheimer's & Dementia

Kaoru Inoue, Mitsunobu Kono, Ryuji Kobayashi, Chiyomi Yatsu, Daryl Patrick Gamboa Yao, Takanori Shibata, Joseph F Coughlin, Masahiro Shigeta

2026-02-01

PARO, a baby seal robot, has shown promise in addressing behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in clinical settings. However, little is known about PARO's benefits when used independently of health professionals. This study examined that scenario in older adults with dementia.

View more

Managing Longevity Risks: Consumer Attitudes Toward and Experiences With Financial Products

Innovation in Aging

2025-12-01

Financial products such as annuities, life insurance, and disability insurance are positioned to play a key role in future planning, including retirement, by providing financial security; hedging against different kinds of financial risks, including illness, injury, or death; and maintaining a steady income stream throughout older age. A national online survey of employed American adults ages 25 to 67, with medium to high income or investable assets, explored consumers’ sense of preparedness for their financial futures and lives in older age. Items included people’s overall financial well-being; attitudes toward and usage of various financial products; attitudes toward different longevity risks; and expectations for retirement.

View more