Fatty15 Co-Founder, Dr. Stephanie Venn-Watson, Named 2026 LA Times Life Sciences Visionary

The Discovery of an Emerging C15:0 Nutritional Deficiency Syndrome Landed This Latest Scientific Recognition for Seraphina Therapeutics

SAN DIEGO, April 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- What started as an endeavor to continually improve the health of older Navy dolphins resulted in the discovery of the first nutritional deficiency syndrome to emerge in over 75 years. This discovery is a leading reason why Dr. Stephanie Venn-Watson, co-founder and co-CEO of Seraphina Therapeutics, was recently recognized as a 2026 LA Times Life Sciences Visionary.

C15:0 (also called pentadecanoic acid) is emerging as a foundational nutrient needed to support healthy growth and aging during our youngest years — as well as maintaining our physiological health throughout our lives. Dr. Venn-Watson initially found that dolphins with low dietary and circulating odd-chain saturated fatty acid levels (including C15:0 and C17:0) had a higher risk of developing a cluster of aging-associated conditions, including insulin resistance, chronic inflammation, anemia, iron overload, and fatty liver disease. Restoring their dietary C15:0 and raising their C15:0 levels above a critical threshold alleviated key components of these conditions.

"We didn't know it at the time, but the dolphins had revealed a core secret to health and longevity. We were learning that C15:0 is so important to our long-term health, that we can age faster without it," shared Dr. Venn-Watson.

Over the past decade, her team found that low C15:0 levels in red blood cell membranes resulted in fragile cells that are engulfed by Kupffer cells in the liver. Over time, this causes liver iron overload and a newly discovered form of cell death, called ferroptosis. Together, these result in a syndrome called metabolic hyperferritinemia in humans, which can accelerate aging-related metabolic, liver, and cognitive decline. Venn-Watson's hypothesis of this nutritional C15:0 deficiency syndrome has been revalidated by an independent team.

In support of the importance of C15:0 to long-term human health, numerous prospective cohort metaanalyses, following large human populations over long periods of time, have repeatedly shown that higher C15:0 levels are associated with better protected metabolic and heart health. One recent robust meta analysis showed that every 0.1% increase in C15:0 levels was associated with a 32% decreased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.  Beyond protecting long-term health as adults, prospective cohort studies following mother-infant pairs have shown that moms with higher C15:0 are associated with babies and children with healthier body growth and cognitive function. The essentiality of C15:0 has also been supported by independent hallmark studies, which induced nutritional deficiencies and demonstrated how C15:0 restores healthy body growth, neuronal development, gut health, and mitochondrial function.

Given the growing science behind C15:0, the Office of Naval Research funded Dr. Venn-Watson and Eric, her Navy physician husband, to develop fatty15, a pure C15:0 supplement, to support healthy aging. Over the past five years since its launch, fatty15 and Dr. Venn-Watson have won over 30 awards, including as a Fast Company World Changing Idea in Wellness, CNBC Changemaker, Mindful Awards Best Overall Supplement, Newsweek Reader's Award for Best Supplement Brand, Inc. 5000's fastest growing supplement company, and Inc. Regionals fastest growing wellness company.

As part of fatty15's decade-long and science-based approach to delivering C15:0 supplements that support healthy aging, fatty15 also recently put itself to the toughest quality test in supplements — and passed. TESTED by SuppCo anonymously purchased fatty15 products from its website, then sent them to ISO 17025 accredited labs to verify the active ingredients matched fatty15's label claims. Only products meeting or exceeding 95% of tested label claims earn certification. Importantly, by participating in the TESTED by SuppCo program, fatty15 agreed that SuppCo could share results from its tested products with the public, regardless of the outcome. In addition, fatty15 has an EXCELLENT SuppCo TrustScore of 9.88 out of 10, putting it at the top 1% of 160,000 tested supplements. This TrustScore is based on a proprietary rating system that scores supplements based on their ability to deliver against 30+ key quality attributes.

"We continue to hold ourselves and fatty15 to the highest standards," said Dr. Eric Venn-Watson, co-founder and co-CEO of Seraphina Therapeutics. "We believe in greater transparency and were excited to have fatty15 verified using the most stringent program in the industry."

Fatty15 also uses independent third parties to confirm that their core claims are backed by Competent and Reliable Scientific Evidence (CARSE) and that their products meet the highest-bar industry standards.

In addition to Dr. Stephanie Venn-Watson's latest recognition as an LA Times Life Sciences Visionary, her C15:0 discoveries and journey have been featured as a TEDx Talk and is the topic of her USA Today Best-Selling Simon & Schuster book, The Longevity Nutrient.

About Seraphina Therapeutics, Inc.: Seraphina Therapeutics, Inc. is a health and wellness company dedicated to advancing global health through essential nutrients and longevity-supporting geroprotectors, including fatty15, an award-winning C15:0 supplement. Through rigorous science, the company develops fatty acid supplements to strengthen cells, keep mitochondria working, and advance cellular homeostasis to counter age-related breakdown. With its team of industry-leading scientists, Seraphina Therapeutics challenges long-held approaches to nutrition, enabling the creation of novel health products designed to support quality of life. For more information, please visit DiscoverC15.com and fatty15.com.

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SOURCE Seraphina Therapeutics