The Reproductive Aging Conference - PROJECT SUMMARY We are requesting funds to support the Reproductive Aging Conference annually for 3 years, 2023 - 2025. The 2023 meeting will be held at the Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort (Palm Springs, California, USA) on May 2 - 5, 2023. This will be the second meeting following the Inaugural conference in June 2022. Aging in the gonad dramatically affects aging in somatic tissues, yet we know little about the mechanisms regulating healthy aging in reproductive organs, nor how this crosstalk is achieved. The Reproductive Aging conference will focus on understanding mechanisms that regulate aging in reproductive tissues and their relationship to overall organismal healthspan and longevity. Funds are requested each year to help cover expenses of 1) invited speakers and 2) meritorious junior scientists (students, postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty) and minority trainees who will benefit from formal and informal interactions with senior scientists, to present their research findings, receive feedback from experts in the field, and exchange ideas for shaping the field. To our knowledge, this is the only international meeting dedicated entirely to the topic of reproductive aging. The goal of the Reproductive Aging conference is to showcase research and stimulate collaborations that bridge the disciplines of reproductive biology and aging research to help define new paradigms to accelerate progress. Our primary objective is to become the premier forum for coalescing the field and fostering the discussion of concepts and presentation of research at the forefront of discovery related to aging in the reproductive system and its connection to aging in the rest of the body. Reproductive aging research encompasses multiple fronts of interest: identification of the molecular and cellular mechanisms that regulate aging in reproductive organs that facilitate overall healthspan and longevity; mechanisms of germ cell and niche aging and how these might regulate systemic aging; and developing new models to study these interactions. The intersection of these historically separate areas, the basic biology of aging and aging in the reproductive tract, have begun to merge around common molecular principles. Invited speakers include established as well as outstanding early career scientists selected for the quality of their science and ability to stimulate debate. This conference will provide a forum for both formal and informal interactions between trainees and faculty at all stages to promote the exchange of ideas and collaborative synergies around reproductive aging. Poster and oral presentations will examine reproductive aging at the molecular, cellular and organismal level, including its molecular drivers, and the effects of genetic and environmental factors on relevant cellular/system properties and interactions across diverse model systems ranging from worms to humans. This unique conference will bring together scientists tackling this problem from fundamental to clinical angles to brainstorm creative ways to build and strengthen the field.
