Our Story

The Telomere Project (TTP) was founded in 2019 by three brothers (Erik, Matt, and Michael) to address telomere syndromes and in particular idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) – an irreversible, fatal telomere syndrome. In 2014, the brothers lost their father to IPF, which had already claimed the lives of their uncle and grandfather.

It was at that time that they determined that it was familial IPF resulting from a telomere syndrome and they were identified as having the same telomere syndrome (telomerase mutation). They were inspired and motivated to do something positive to impact the lives and outlook for those affected by telomere syndromes and IPF and thus started TTP and The Thrive Tribe. Since its inception, TTP has supported critical research projects and it aims to grow its impact even more in the coming years. We invite you to join our growing efforts.