Jeffrey Epstein financed genetic testing to apparently explore extending life, new emails claim
WASHINGTON, DC: New emails show that Jeffrey Epstein financed genetic testing for regenerative medicine — the focus was to apparently repair the body by developing new tissues and organs while the old ones deteriorate.
According to the emails released as part of the Epstein files document dump, the disgraced financier paid money to a doctor at one of America’s leading hospitals so that the tests could be executed. That person was Joseph Thakuria, who was working as a senior doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston at the time. He, however, left it in 2022.
He was also reportedly affiliated with Harvard Medical School’s extensive genomic studies project.
Jeffrey Epstein was involved in the Harvard Personal Genome Project
Along with it, the doctor claimed that Epstein was also part of the Harvard Personal Genome Project — an international public database containing genetic information of volunteers for scientists and researchers to learn more about traits and genes.
In a statement, Thakuria shared, “Mr. Epstein was enrolled in the Personal Genome Project, which would study his genetic predisposition to various health conditions. At one point, a $2,000 check was provided to cover DNA sequencing.”
He continued that while he was a physician-researcher, the late businessman “was a research subject”. “We also had early discussions about his potentially funding research, but that never materialized,” the doctor revealed.
Joseph Thakuria had no idea of Jeffrey Epstein's crimes
Thakuria expressed his regret over having no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. He added, “I feel terrible about what his victims went through, and I regret at that time not knowing more about his background and the extent of his crimes.”
Besides, as per Thakuria, the proposal also included editing of Epstein’s stem cells “to introduce mutations in culture believed to increase longevity.” He stated, “I’m only offering this to Jeffrey. Because of all the labor involved, there’s simply not enough bandwidth to offer this to more than a handful of people right now.”
The invoice sent to Epstein mentioned that he had to pay “$11,400 for his whole genome” and if he wanted to add “both of his parents”, he had to give $21,000.
Jeffrey Epstein warned Joseph Thakuria
One email exchange between Thakuria and Epstein showed the latter threatening the former. In May 2025, Epstein wrote to the researcher, “If I do not have the results by June 1, I will file a formal complaint with your supervisors administration etc. I have been patient and understanding, the burden is now firmly on you to deliver.”
In addition, one of the invoices sent to Epstein by Thakuria was for $160,000 for a research project he called “The Venus Project.”
Joseph Thakuria claims 'The Venus Project' was an idea of Jeffrey Epstein
The June 2014 invoice read, “Jeffrey and [I] briefly discussed a genomic research studying [sic] I’m dubbing the Venus project (he’ll know what this). I can do this for him but doing this work would be greatly aided by having some good bioinformatic infrastructure.”
“[Epstein] mentioned 200 participants being in this project — I can deliver on this ‘Venus’ research,” he added.
But now, in a statement to CNN, Thakuria has stated the project was “an idea of Mr. Epstein that was very preliminary and never went anywhere. He was interested in the genetics of facial features. There was no funding, and no research.”
