42ND ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN AGING ASSOCIATION -
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application requests funds to support the 2013 American Aging Association 42nd Annual Meeting (AGE) to be held at the Sheraton Hotel, Inner Harbor in Baltimore, MD on May 31-June 3rd. Because promising strategies to combat the detrimental aspects of aging have increased substantially over the past years, the theme of the meeting will be "Aging: Prevention, Reversal and Slowing". Dr. LaDora Thompson, AGE Program Committee (Drs. Thompson, Brown-Borg, Forster), AGE Executive Board (Drs. Bickford, Harman, Ingram, Buffenstein, along with Thompson, Brown-Borg, and Forster), and Session Chairs organize the scientific program. Our aim here is to provide funds to support invited speakers and junior scientists (postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, or new, junior faculty) who would benefit from and contribute to the conference. The speakers we invited are internationally recognized for their research on the molecular and cellular biology of aging, physiology of aging, genetics of aging, experimental technology development, and healthcare issues. These speakers are known to be strong communicators of their science, who stimulate, and participate in, lively discussion. In recent years, a large number of genetic, pharmacological,
dietary interventions and exercise-based interventions have been described that slow- down aging in various systems ranging from unicellular organisms to humans. Therefore, the rationale behind the choice of these topics is the remarkable convergence of the results from the model systems to investigate interventions. Topics include- Longevity and Health span: Lessons From Flies to Humans; Sarcopenia: Strategies for Preventing, Reversing, and Slowing; Osteopenia: Strategies for Preventing, Reversing, and Slowing; Slow the pace of aging: Role of Mimetics; Impact of Dietary Interventions in Preventing, Reversing, and Slowing Biological Aging Processes; Bench to Bedside to Healthcare; Mechanisms to Protect Against Biological Aging and Disease; and Emerging Technologies for Studying Aging and Health span. The goals of the conference include: To assemble a team of leading thinkers on the subject of 'preventing, reversing and slowing' biological aging processes, using experimental models from C. elegans to humans, to consider important conceptual paradigms and potential interventions; To assemble an audience of basic scientists, clinical scientists and others with an interest in preventing, reversing, and/or slowing aging in order to emphasize integrative and translational research findings as a means to develop novel future avenues for therapeutic options; To create a forum for free exchange of ideas on the subject of 'preventing, reversing and slowing' biological aging processes, using several formats to encourage exchange of ideas; To support established scientists, junior independent investigators, graduate students, and post-doctoral trainees; To evaluate the effectiveness of the conference in achieving its' stated objectives. It i anticipated that the collegial and cooperative atmosphere that has traditionally characterized this meeting will provide the perfect setting for the intellectual development and discussion of novel therapeutics.
