Answer
Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov is often referred to as the "father of gerontology" because of his pioneering research on aging. Mechnikov was a Russian biologist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1908 for his work on immunity. In his later years, Mechnikov became interested in the study of aging, and he proposed that aging is caused by the accumulation of damage to cells and tissues over time.