Biological Sciences Program at The Gerontological Society of America's 2019 Annual Scientific Meeting

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PROJECT SUMMARY This proposal requests funding from the National Institute on Aging for the Biological Sciences (BS) Section Program at the 2019 Austin, TX Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA). Our aim for BS programming is to highlight the highest-quality geroscience research with translational potential. We believe that the best work in the field will emerge when basic biological researchers exchange information about health-related human aging issues with medical researchers and practitioners, psychologists, sociologists, and public policy experts. In turn, improvements in clinical care and public health are likely to result when gerontologists from diverse disciplines better understand basic mechanisms of aging are exposed to the latest and best research with the promise of yielding interventions to ameliorate aging and age-related disease. We in the BS Section take very seriously our responsibility to expose our members, those of Biological Sciences and GSA at large, to well-communicated, cutting-edge science that ultimately serves to inform and improve the work of all who attend. The ASM is situated uniquely in the U.S. to promote an interdisciplinary effort of this scope, and the 2019 November meeting in Austin will provide an outstanding opportunity to expand the diversity of participating scientists. Since 2010, the BS Section has demonstrated quantifiable success in producing a scientific program of the highest possible quality and providing a forum to engender interaction and exchange of ideas among scientists from disparate fields. In November 2019, we propose to intensify and extend our efforts, through a single-track meeting program featuring emerging, translational concepts in the basic biology of aging; to promote discussion and networking among attendees across sections; to enact gender balance and diversity in the oral program; and to feature talented junior investigators prominently in Biological Sciences symposia. In Austin, we will begin with a pre-meeting, half-day workshop on “One Health for Healthy Aging: Companion Animals in Geroscience”, organized by Dr. Kate Creevy (Texas A&M) and Dr. Daniel Promislow (University of Washington). During the meeting, 15 (non-competing) oral sessions will be held. Many of these sessions were suggested by GSA members following an open call for proposals, thus opening up the topic and speaker selection process. In addition, one speaker in each session will be selected by committee from submitted abstracts, and preference for these slots will be given to junior faculty or trainee (post-doc, resident, graduate student, or undergraduate) speakers. There will also be two poster sessions scheduled so as not to compete with talks. As GSA will waive fees, the entire grant budget can be used to attract new, diverse, and especially young investigators to present their work at the meeting. We will encourage underrepresented scientists to apply for 8 minority scholar awards. Our program shows more than half of all speakers will be young investigators, more than half of the invited speakers are women, and nearly 20% are from underrepresented minority groups.