By Rebeca Pop, Editor at The Wellness Collective

In a world where medicine has long been defined by reaction rather than prevention, Dr. Mishkat Shehata is reimagining what health can mean. As a leading physician & visionary in longevity and the Chief Medical Officer of ConnectedLife, she stands at the intersection of science, technology, and human potential  pioneering a model of care that treats health as an evolving ecosystem rather than a set of symptoms.

From integrating genomics and wearable data into daily health strategies to designing the region’s first hospital-based longevity clinic, Dr. Shehata’s vision is clear: the next era of medicine is proactive, data-driven, and deeply personal. In this conversation with The Wellness Collective, she explores how lifestyle medicine, precision diagnostics, and ethical innovation are transforming the UAE into a global hub for longevity and why true wellness begins long before illness ever appears.

1 – From your perspective, how will the integration of lifestyle medicine and personalized care shape human lifespan in the next decade?

The integration of lifestyle medicine with personalized care is already shifting healthcare from reactive to predictive and preventive but it still is not mainstream. Instead of treating diseases late, we are identifying “pre-disease state” and intervening earlier. We do this by gathering a host of data on an individual’s current biology and risks via advanced diagnostics, lifestyle habits, wearable data, multi-omics such as genomics, gut microbiome & epigenetics (how your lifestyle and environment influence which of your genes are switched on or off) and personalizing our interventions accordingly. I believe that as personalized care innovations, testing capabilities and a wider paradigm shift occurs both in the medical world and public, the next decade will see “healthspan medicine” become more mainstream in primary care clinics and hospitals.

2 – Which scientific breakthroughs in multi-omics (genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, etc.) do you believe will have the most significant impact on longevity?

Multi-omics is a 360 view of your body. Your genes (genomics) are your blueprint, your proteins (proteomics) are the building blocks, your metabolites (metabolomics) show how your body is running, and your microbiome shows how your gut health is doing. I believe the integration of epigenomics and metabolomics will have the biggest impact, as they reflect real-time lifestyle and environmental influences. They provide actionable insights that can guide nutrition, exercise, and therapeutics with precision. Similar to genomics test costs dropping, I expect the same to occur for multi-omics testing which will allow greater access to their insights and help them form the backbone of truly personalized longevity programmes.

3 – In the UAE specifically, what cultural or lifestyle factors could accelerate—or limit—the adoption of these longevity-focused healthcare models?

Lifestyle factors such as high rates of sedentary behavior, unhealthy diet and metabolic disease may limit progress if not addressed collectively. The UAE’s setting and implementation of health policies such as The National Strategy for Wellbeing 2031 that aims to make the UAE one of the happiest, healthiest countries through preventive health, mental wellbeing, and active lifestyles and the Dubai Health Strategy 2026 which focuses on integrated care, precision medicine, and digital health adoption address challenges effectively. There is now a growing movement of healthy lifestyle, cultural openness & increasing public awareness to preventive health and longevity.

The UAE’s strong emphasis on innovation, medical tourism, and high healthcare investment make it a fertile ground for longevity medicine. The UAE continuously demonstrates forward-thinking leadership and robust investment into healthcare innovation with programs such as the Emirati Genome Program and Abu Dhabi’s HELM cluster that are laying the scientific and infrastructural foundations for precision and preventive care. The UAE’s genomic infrastructure, combined with cultural acceptance of innovation, could significantly accelerate adoption if matched by public education and equitable access.

4 – How do you see whole-food nutrition evolving as a primary longevity tool compared to the rise of synthetic or lab-grown nutritional solutions?

Whole-food nutrition remains irreplaceable because it provides complex synergies of nutrients, fibers, and phytochemicals that synthetic substitutes cannot fully replicate. However, lab-grown or precision nutrition solutions may complement (never replace) real food, especially in contexts of scarcity or specific clinical needs. We must not forget the impact the production of lab-grown foods may have on the environment and their sustainability.

In longevity care, the priority will always be dietary patterns rooted in whole foods because food is medicine. Novel solutions may act as adjuncts provided they prove they are safe, effective, eco-friendly & toxin-free.

5 – Will preventive medicine become the “default” model in mainstream healthcare, or will it remain a niche service over the next 10 years?

Preventive medicine is already moving from niche to necessity in some healthcare system pockets. The unsustainable burden of chronic disease and healthcare costs will force systems to adopt prevention as a default model. In my role as Clinical Director for Longevity in PureHealth, I commissioned the largest hospital-based longevity clinic in the GCC at Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, integrating advanced diagnostics, multidisciplinary care, and personalized protocols to demonstrate how prevention can be operationalized. In the next decade, digital health tools, wearables, and personalized risk stratification will make prevention even more scalable and accessible. I believe it won’t be optional but rather the foundation of healthcare.

Equally important is capacity building for physicians ensuring they are trained and certified in lifestyle medicine to have the right tools & skillset for sustainable healthy change. As Vice President and a founding member of the Emirates Lifestyle & Longevity Medicine Society (ELLMS), I am deeply passionate about advancing education. Through our partnership with the International Board of Lifestyle Medicine (IBLM) and the launch of the first Lifestyle Medicine Fellowship with the Emirati Board under the National Institute of Health Specialities (NIHS) governed by a high-profile Board of Directors chaired by HE Minister of Education, we are building the skilled workforce required to bring these longevity-focused healthcare models to scale.

The key question I think we need to ask ourselves is how will the healthcare system adapt to the changes that preventative medicine will impose on patient behavior, doctors specialization, medical infrastructure and interconnectivity. I suspect specialties will need to adopt more precision and functional medicine based clinical approaches, hospitals will focus more on integrative care and the shift of patient care from within hospital walls to their homes and communities as they become healthier.

6 – Can lifestyle medicine really reverse chronic conditions on a wide scale, or does the success mostly depend on patient discipline?

Lifestyle medicine can and does reverse many chronic conditions. This is well documented in many conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. However, scaling this success requires more than individual willpower; it needs supportive environments, systems, and policies. My vision is for the following to become mainstream and a reality: experienced multidisciplinary teams with health coaches, communities and public policies make the healthy choice the easiest choice, and longevity-focused real estate that encourages movement and healthy habits at home and in the neighborhood through smart, health-integrated design.

7 – What will it take for personalized care—now often considered premium—to become accessible to the general public?

Accessibility will come with insurance models, integration into public health systems & technology democratization. Equitable scaling of access will require insurance models that cover preventive healthcare and focus on value-based care, where providers are rewarded for improving patients’ long-term health outcomes rather than the volume of tests or treatments performed. This approach aligns incentives with keeping people healthy, rather than just treating illness, making prevention financially sustainable and accessible at scale. Education and health literacy will also play a role in making personalized care widely embraced.

With regards to technology, what feels premium today like whole genome sequencing or continuous biomarker monitoring will hopefully be routine in a decade due to increased accuracy and reduced costs. To demonstrate the advancement in cost reduction specifically in whole genome sequencing, Illumina’s Personal Full Genome Sequencing Service cost around $48,000 per genome in 2009, whereas by 2024, technological advances had reduced the price to approximately $200 per genome.

8 – Do you think longevity treatments and diagnostics will follow a similar adoption curve as cosmetic procedures in Dubai—starting luxury, then going mainstream?

Yes. Longevity will likely mirror the trajectory of cosmetic medicine in Dubai. As it currently stands, it is driven by early adopters and positioned as a luxury service. As the evidence base grows, technology costs drop, mindsets shift & upskilling occurs, longevity medicine will become normalized and widely accessible. In contrast to cosmetic medicine, longevity medicine is important and relevant for everyone in society.

9 – If science extends healthy lifespan by 10–20 years, what societal shifts do you foresee in the Gulf region’s workforce, retirement, and family structures?

A longer healthy lifespan will reshape work and family life in many ways. Retirement ages may shift upward, with people pursuing multiple careers across a longer professional life. Intergenerational households are common in the Gulf region but may become even more so, with healthier grandparents playing more active roles for decades longer. This is a win-win both for grandparents as their grandchildren and great-grandchildren will keep them youthful. They will also spend more time sharing their wisdom and life learnings with future generations.

I already witness this beautiful interplay and change in my own family. My mother is now a great-grandmother and the young ones are definitely keeping her busy and active!

10 – How do you balance the pursuit of longevity with the risk of widening healthcare inequality between those who can afford advanced diagnostics and those who cannot?

This is one of the greatest ethical challenges in longevity medicine. The goal must be to ensure innovations trickle down quickly from premium services to population-wide access. Public–private partnerships, insurance reform, and scalable technologies are essential in narrowing the gap. I strongly believe that longevity should not be a privilege; it must evolve as a public good.

I think it is worthwhile to emphasize to importance of insurance models coverage for preventive medicine and support the shift to value-based care. In public health settings, integrating longevity approaches helps democratize access, and while the reduction of healthcare costs and disease burden may take years to materialize, prioritizing this shift is more urgent than ever in the face of the growing pandemic of lifestyle-related diseases.

11 – If you could make one prediction for how a person’s typical “health journey” in Dubai will look in 2035, what would it be?

This is an excellent question that is making my scientific creativity flow! By 2035, I hope to see a typical health journey that begins with a digital health passport that integrates genomics, lifestyle data, and continuous biomarker monitoring. This should extend beyond the clinic and lab to integrate with your gym, restaurant and home to deliver data-informed interventions for ongoing optimization.

Preventive check-ups that are proactive, AI-guided, and tailored to personal risk rather than age alone. Clinics will function more like performance labs, focusing on optimization rather than disease management. Health will be a continuous, data-driven journey rather than episodic care.

12 – In one sentence—what is your personal vision for the future of human healthspan?

That everyone becomes an active participant of “healthcare” [future healthcare system] rather than a passive consumer of “sick-care” [current healthcare system].