Biological Sciences Program at The Gerontological Society of America's 2021 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 2021 Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) in Phoenix, AZ. 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 and 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 the Biological Sciences and the 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 2021 November meeting in Phenix 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 2021, 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 early career investigators prominently in Biological Sciences symposia. In Phenix, we will begin with a pre-meeting, half-day workshop on: “Organelle Interactions in the Regulation of Aging and Longevity”, Organized by Viviana Perez Montes and Yih-Woei Fridell (National Institute on Aging). 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 many of the sessions will be selected by committee from submitted abstracts, and preference for these slots will be given to early career 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 any talks. We will encourage underrepresented scientists to apply for 8 minority scholar awards. Our program shows 30% of all speakers will be early career investigators, nearly half of the invited speakers are women, and 20% are from underrepresented minority groups.