2017 Biology of Aging Gordon Research Conference and Gordon Research Seminar

Gordon Research Conferences, East Greenwich RI

Investigators

Abstract

SUMMARY This R13 application requests funds to support the 2017 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on the Biology of Aging, which will be held at the Les Diablerets Conference Center in Les Diablerets, Switzerland, from July 9th to 14th, and the Gordon Research Seminar (GRS), which will be held at the same location on July 8-9th, immediately prior to the GRC. This will be the 32nd meeting in this series, and the conference focuses on the new wave of research in the field, namely, ?The Integrative Biology of Aging: From Networks to Architecture?. In the past 20 years, several evolutionarily conserved signaling pathways and regulators for aging and longevity control have been identified, including insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) signaling, mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling, and NAD+-dependent sirtuins. Furthermore, recent studies from diverse model organisms, such as worms, flies, and mice, have demonstrated that systemic interplay between multiple tissues and organs regulates aging and longevity. Additionally, subcellular systems such as organelles and stress pathways can often communicate intra- and intercellularly. With these significant progresses, the time is ripe for the elucidation of the system networks and architectures for aging and longevity control. Thus, in this 2017 GRC, our major objective is to capture this new wave of the ?integrative biology of aging?, and further stimulate our thoughts and efforts to translate our knowledge into the development of effective interventions to achieve ?productive aging,? making the later years of our lives as healthy and productive as possible. We will particularly focus on developing unifying concepts by addressing the following key questions: 1) What cellular and molecular events contribute to the fragility in aging? 2) What intrinsic and extrinsic perturbations alter the functionality of key regulatory components? 3) Where and how these functional changes begin to affect the biological robustness of the system? and 4) How do all these alterations in architectures and networks shape the process of aging and determine lifespan? Sessions are dedicated to address these key questions, and senior leaders and junior rising-stars in many interdisciplinary fields are invited to facilitate discussions. The major objective of the GRS is to explore these themes in a supportive setting that particularly focuses on the needs of graduate students and postdoctoral trainees, and prepare them for a full and productive participation in the GRC to follow. With this potential support from the R13 grant, the 2017 GRC/GRS will catalyze critical conceptual breakthroughs and nurture the next generation of investigators in the field.