2010 Biology of Aging Gordon Research Conference and/or Gordon Research Seminar

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Biology of Aging has been held every 18 months since 1962 and is part of the over 170 conferences that will be organized in 2010 by GRC, an organization known world-wide because of the high-quality cutting-edge nature of its conferences. The program for the 2010 GRC on Biology of Aging described in this application has been developed around the theme "Determinants of Health-span: from cell to humans" which will serve as a basis for discussion of the recently emerging changes in the way in which aging is perceived, measured and studied. Aging is a multifactorial and complex process that results from changes at the genetic, biochemical and physiological level. Our understanding of those changes in cellular and animal models of aging and age-related disorders has advanced vertiginously during recent years. The current challenge of this field is two-fold: 1) to continue and complete the molecular dissection of the factors that contribute to aging and 2) to promote the translation of these novel findings into interventions to improve the health-span of our aging human population. This Gordon Research Conference will bring together leading international experts with a broad range of interests related to diverse aspects of biology of aging, and will create a high quality scientific forum for discussion of findings on the basic mechanisms of aging and their implementation into interventions aimed at increasing quality of heath in the aging population. Furthermore, for the first time in the history of this conference, a pre-conference Gordon Research Seminar will be organized by junior investigators (student and postdoctoral level). The activities during the Seminar are completely oriented to junior investigators and are intended to 1) provide them with the basic background on Biology of Aging necessary to maximize their understanding of the science discussed in the conference, 2) receive feedback on their ongoing research projects from experts in the field and 3) facilitate their interaction with senior members of this scientific community and promote networking in between the junior generation of aging researchers. Significance: We fully anticipate that the scientific discussions, research talks and informal interactions between the participants in this conference will contribute to advance our understanding of the molecular mechanism behind the functional decline associated to aging and will set the basis for the development of collaborative interventions aimed at promoting healthy human aging. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The Gordon Research Conference on Biology of Aging will bring together major leaders in different basic scientific disciplines (biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, etc.) and in clinical areas of relevance to gerontology (neuropathology, endocrinology, experts in metabolism, etc.) along with junior investigators that will constitute the future generation of researchers with interest in the field of aging and who will participate in addition in the pre-meeting Gordon Research Seminar. The scientific presentations, discussions and workshops during this conference will contribute to advance our understanding of the reasons for the functional decline that occurs in aging individuals and the increased incidence of certain pathologies in elders. It is anticipated that the collegial and cooperative atmosphere that has traditionally characterized this conference will provide the perfect setting for the intellectual development and future implementation of interventions to assure healthy aging.