GWG Holdings Inc. appointed Brian Chen vice president of research and analytics to lead its initiative to measure and predict the human lifespan.

Chen will be responsible for developing and implementing the company's new life insurance underwriting process. The company will use "DNA Methylation-Based Predictor of Mortality" technology optioned from the University of California, Los Angeles, to more accurately assess the life expectancies of policy owners. The company acquired the exclusive license for the technology late in 2016. It is working to integrate this technology into its actuarial underwriting method.

Previously, Chen worked at the National Institute on Aging as a postdoctoral researcher.