Conference--Biology of Aging

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We are requesting partial support for the Biological Sciences component of the Year 2002 Annual Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA). The theme for this conference, selected by the incoming President, Dr. George M. Martin, is: "The Impact of Early Development upon Late Life Course." Nine invited symposia have been organized with the aim of bringing the latest research into the Biology of Aging to a diverse audience of research biologists, clinicians and interested health professionals. The topics of these symposia aim to stimulate exciting scientific interchange, provide synthesis and consolidation to emerging data on the genetics, biochemistry, and physiology of general patterns of aging. The principal part of this application is to request funding for these Symposia. Our main objective is to provide conferees with a stimulating and provocative set of presentations and critical dialogue on state-of-the-art current research in the basic biology of aging, as well as to introduce emerging strategies and technologies with prospects for significantly advancing the field. The revolutionary biotechnologies now beginning to be used will drastically change the manner in which we will conduct basic research into the biology of aging and these changes and their implications should be widely discussed and appreciated. Ongoing molecular investigations in diverse model systems have enhanced our understanding of the mechanisms and consequences of aging. These insights need to be shared and discussed. As a consequence of this better understanding, methods of intervening in the aging process are being continually refined, and these tools also need to be widely shared and discussed. The broad field of biogerontology is beginning to show some unifying conceptual themes, and if so, they will be discerned in the increased overlap and interconnectedness of previously discrepant research areas. The goal of this meeting, therefore, is to provide a forum for the dissemination of information, and more importantly to promote dialogue in research areas and methods which: (1) have not recently been covered at GSA meetings; and (2) offer the prospect of making significant advances in our understanding of the mechanisms that promote or retard aging.