Summer Training Course in Aging Research

项目描述（申请人提供）：本研究计划于2008年6月至2012年6月举办一系列“实验性老龄化研究”暑期培训课程。为期5天的课程将由位于加州诺瓦托的巴克年龄研究所指导，会议地点将在三个主办机构之间轮流举行：巴克年龄研究所、圣安东尼奥的德克萨斯大学健康科学中心和西雅图的华盛顿大学。自1993年以来，每年夏天都举办类似的课程，取得了巨大的成功。本课程旨在让学员深入了解实验生物老年学的现代研究，并在研究思路和计划方面提供个性化指导。每年的入学人数将限制在20名研究人员。大多数受训者将处于职业生涯的形成阶段，但该课程也将考虑希望进入或重新定向到衰老研究领域的高级研究人员。每位受训者在博士学位（医学博士，博士或DVM）之外，预计在细胞或分子生物学的某些方面具有至少2年的生产实验室经验。在为期5天的课程中，每天将包括3个活动：(a) 2个“概述”讲座，旨在向学员介绍老年学主要领域的背景、最新发现和主要未解决的问题；(b)研究发展研讨会，每个受训者都有机会展示自己的研究想法和计划，以供批评；(c)由主办机构或附近机构的杰出教员主持的研究研讨会，该研讨会通常会涵盖概述讲座中未涉及的主题或疾病方面。本暑期课程将为年轻的研究人员提供现代老年学实验的坚实基础，并为正在开发老年研究新项目的更资深的科学家提供有用的视角。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Support is requested to continue a series of Summer Training Courses in Experimental Aging Research to be held in June from 2008 through 2012. The 5-day Course will be directed from the Buck Institute for Age Research in Novato, CA and the conference site will rotate among three host institutions: The Buck Institute for Age Research, the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and the University of Washington in Seattle. Similar courses have been held with great success every summer since 1993. The Course is designed to provide trainees with intensive exposure to modern research in experimental biogerontology and individualized guidance regarding research ideas and plans. Each year's enrollment will be limited to 20 researchers. Most trainees will be in formative stages of their careers, but the Course will also consider senior investigators who wish to enter or redirect their efforts to an area of aging research. Each trainee is expected to have at least 2 years of productive laboratory experience in some aspect of cell or molecular biology beyond the doctoral degree (MD, PhD, or DVM). Each day during the 5-day program will include 3 activities: (a) 2 "overview" lectures designed to introduce trainees to the context, latest findings and main unanswered questions in a major area of gerontology; (b) a research development workshop, at which each trainee will have an opportunity to present his or her own research ideas and plans for critique; and (c) a research seminar presented by a prominent faculty member of the host or nearby institution, who will generally cover a topic or disease aspect not covered in the overview lectures. This Summer Training Course will provide younger researchers with a solid foundation in modern experimental gerontology, and provide a useful perspective to more senior scientists who are developing new programs in aging research. Four scientists will serve as the Course Steering Committee and will participate in the course on a regular basis: Judith Campisi, the Course Director, will discuss cancer, stem cells and the cell biology of aging; Jan Vijg will lecture on mouse models of aging and genome instability; Arlan Richardson will discuss on caloric restriction and oxidative stress; and Peter Rabinovich will lecture on free radicals and mitochondria. Fourteen other researchers will serve as Participating Faculty, attending the course approximately every third year. They include: Andrzej Bartke (endocrinology of aging), Brian Kennedy (invertebrate models, caloric restriction), Caleb Finch (neurodegeneration, stochasticity), George Martin (progerias, neurodegeneration, age-related disease), Gordon Lithgow (invertebrate models, stress), Jim Nelson (endocrinology, stress), John Tower (invertebrate models, sex determination), Marc Tatar (demography, evolution), Nir Barzilai (genetic variation), Richard Miller (vertebrate models, immunology), Rita Effros (immunology, cell biology), Steve Austad (comparative biology, evolution), Tom Rando (stem cells, cell biology), Virginia Lee (neurodegeneration).