Redefining Aging with Regenerative Medicine: Dr. John Layke’s Journey into Stem Cells and Longevity Therapies
In this episode of Proactive Longevity Academy, host Dafne Canales sits down with renowned plastic surgeon and regenerative medicine pioneer Dr. John Layke. Together, they explore his path from trauma surgery to aesthetics, and ultimately to the cutting edge of stem cell therapy, exosomes, and gene editing. Dr. Layke shares powerful stories from his global exploration of regenerative medicine, particularly a transformative moment in a Taiwanese lab that changed his perspective on the future of aging and healing.
Dr. Layke also introduces his latest endeavor: the Proactive Longevity Clinic in Cabo San Lucas, a world-class center dedicated to anti-aging and regenerative treatments. This episode highlights how innovation, personal passion, and international collaboration are converging to push the boundaries of what’s possible in modern medicine.
About the Guest: Dr. John Layke
Dr. Layke is a board-certified plastic surgeon, innovator, and co-founder of the Proactive Longevity Clinic. Originally trained in trauma surgery, he transitioned into aesthetics and became increasingly interested in regenerative medicine. His work now focuses on advanced longevity solutions including stem cells, exosomes, and gene-editing therapies, helping patients not just look younger, but live longer, healthier lives.
Key Questions Answered
What sparked Dr. Layke’s shift from trauma to plastic surgery?
How did his global travels shape his view of regenerative medicine?
What breakthrough moment confirmed the power of stem cell therapy?
What challenges did he face in opening a cutting-edge clinic in Mexico?
How is regenerative medicine shaping the future of aging?
Quotable Moments
“There’s a limitation to what can be done while still making someone look natural — that’s where regenerative medicine comes in.”
“I was in Taipei, sitting around a table with PhDs, and I heard a scientist say: ‘Yes, we’ve cured it.’ That gave me chills.”
“Eventually, aging will be a thing of the past.”
Takeaways from the Episode
From Scalpel to Stem Cells: Dr. Layke’s journey began in trauma surgery, shifted into plastic surgery, and evolved into regenerative medicine — driven by a desire to push beyond aesthetic limitations.
The Power of Travel: Visits to advanced labs in Shanghai and Taipei exposed him to groundbreaking applications of stem cells and exosomes, especially in cancer and immunotherapy.
Global Inspiration, Local Innovation: Inspired by what he saw abroad, Dr. Layke co-founded the Proactive Longevity Clinic in Cabo San Lucas — now treating patients with the most advanced anti-aging technologies available.
Longevity Beyond Looks: The clinic focuses not only on aesthetics but also on internal rejuvenation through regenerative therapies and gene editing, aiming to extend healthspan as well as lifespan.
Pioneering Spirit: After facing roadblocks with large partners, Dr. Layke and his team independently brought their vision to life, proving that passion and expertise can overcome regulatory and logistical hurdles.
Full Transcript
00:00
Dafne Canales
Welcome to another episode of Proactive Longevity Academy. I’m here with Dr. John Lakey and we’re going to learn about his background and how he got started with stem cells and exosomes and regenerative therapies.
00:31
Dr. John Layke
We’ve been using a form of regenerative medicine in the form of fat transfer, especially to face to breasts to buttocks. And it I seem to think that this was an extension of aesthetics when we talk about regenerative medicine, because the idea is we can change the structure, we can make people look younger, but ultimately there are certain limitations on making someone look natural. And about six years ago, flu to was introduced to the concept of regenerative medicine. I had, you know, been familiar with it, but really introduced by people that were close to me that underwent stem cell therapy for different types of treatment. And I flew to Shanghai and Taiwan and learned some of the things that they were doing there.
01:24
Dr. John Layke
And since then have flown all over the world to try to find the latest and greatest on these types of regenerative therapies. As we headed down this path, I have four other partners. And what we did is we decided that were going to try to build a cutting edge longevity and anti aging center. After years of planning and traveling and trying to at least hone in on what it is we wanted to do, we realized that we wanted to treat anti aging and for longevity. And so we formed the company Proactive Longevity. And we have set up shop and clinic in Cabo San Lucas at a resort called Diamante Cabo San Lucas. And we are very excited to start using some of the latest and greatest treatments.
02:22
Dr. John Layke
And not only regenerative medicine, which is stem cell and exosome therapies, but also gene editing therapies and some of the new, latest and greatest technologies. So stay tuned.
02:34
Dafne Canales
Tell me how you started in medicine. And when you were studying medicine, did you know that you were gonna, you know, go down this path or what was your vision of where you wanted to be?
02:44
Dr. John Layke
No, you know, the interesting part is when I was in medical school, I actually wanted to be a trauma surgeon. And when I started general surgery residency in Chicago, the very first day, when they asked what you wanted to be, of course my hand went up and I was trauma all the way. And then at about my third year of residency, through a series of different events, I always saw this plastic surgeon that would come to the ICU and he would take care of all of the facial trauma, you know, reconstructive procedures for those patients that were involved in trauma and he was always well dressed, always had a smile on his face, always told jokes, and the nurses loved him. And I said, you know what? This sounds like the path that I want to take.
03:30
Dr. John Layke
He took me under his wing, and it was plastic surgery from there. And, you know, as I started, you know, continuing along the path of becoming, you know, an experienced plastic surgeon, I realized that there are some limitations in our current aesthetic plan. Right. And so the idea was that, you know, although I could shift and lift and tighten and do all kinds of things, there’s a limitation to what can be done while still making someone look natural. And so that’s where regenerative medicine would come into play and started to study this more and, you know, met some of the. The world’s pioneers in regenerative medicine. And my interest just ran from there.
04:17
Dafne Canales
Let’s move forward into when you first discovered stem cells. You went to Asia, you said, and what was your kind of like, aha moment? That this is what we needed to bring to North America. This is what we need to bring to the clients that you serve.
04:31
Dr. John Layke
You know, it was interesting. I’ll never forget, I was in Taipei and I went to a lab, just a state of the art lab, and went through all the sterility processes and kind of discussed. We were at a roundtable panel with a bunch of PhDs, and it was interesting. They were each talking about their area of expertise. And I’ll never forget, there was one scientist who was doing cancer therapies, and they were talking about that. Then you will say then, with very cutting edge technology, now we know it as immunotherapy. But ultimately, as he was going through talking about what could be done with cancer, it sounded as though he had cured certain cancers. And when I brought that up, I’ll never forget, because it gave me chills. And he looked me dead in the eye and he said, yes, we’ve cured it.
05:28
Dr. John Layke
And it was then that I realized the potential of this type of medicine. So I think that, you know, with using these regenerative immunotherapies, I think that essentially, and eventually aging will be a thing of the past.
05:45
Dafne Canales
Wow, that sounds. I mean, that sounds incredible. And we’re going to explore more of that in our different episodes. I can’t wait to ask more. And then take me to our, our current project, which is our clinic in Cabo, and how long that has taken to actually get on, you know, off the ground because of regulation, because this is such. Because this is a science. It’s not, you know, it’s not like opening a fitness gym, for example. So tell us a little bit of that story.
06:18
Dr. John Layke
Yeah, listen, like I, you know, had mentioned, it took us about six years to really put the project together and kind of focus in on what our goals were in it, what were trying to achieve. And we found the location. We had tried pairing with multiple large partners, many of names that you would recognize, and for one reason or the other, something didn’t work out. And we decided that we could do this on our own. We had the knowledge, we had the technology, and we have this space. And that trifecta right there allowed us to move forward with the project. And now we broke ground, this was a year ago. And we have put this clinic, the Proactive Longevity into Longevity Clinic together. And, you know, we’ve already started to treat patients. And, you know, our grand opening is.
07:21
Dr. John Layke
Will be here coming up in a just a short while.
07:25
Dafne Canales
Thank you, Dr. Lakey. Thanks, everybody. We’ll see you in another episode.
07:29
Dr. John Layke
All right, take care. Good to see you.