Funds are requested to provide partial support for the Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on the Biology of Aging. The theme of the 2007 conference will be """"""""Maintenance of Macromolecular Integrity in Aging"""""""" to be held at the Les Diablerets Conference Center, Les Diablerets, Switzerland, from September 23 - 28, 2007. Drs. LaDora V. Thompson, Holly Brown-Borg and Alexander B?rkle will organize the scientific program.
Our aim here is to provide funds to support invited speakers, discussion leaders, and junior scientists (postdoctoral fellows, advanced graduate students, or new, junior faculty) who would benefit from and contribute to the conference. The speakers we have invited are internationally recognized for their research on the molecular and cellular biology of aging, physiology of aging, and genetics of aging. These speakers are known to be strong communicators of their science, who stimulate, and participate in, lively discussion. Accumulating damage of DNA has long been suggested as one of the major forms of damage that contribute to the aging process, and life spans of mammalian species positively correlate with the cellular capacity for DNA repair. But other biological macromolecules such as proteins and lipids are also known to undergo molecular damage, aggregation, and misfolding which could contribute to the aging process. Stem cells and nuclear receptors are currently being intensively investigated in their contribution to the aging process. In recent years, a large number of genetic, pharmacological and dietary interventions have been described that slow down aging in various systems ranging from unicellular organisms to humans. Many such interventions have been mechanistically linked with cellular maintenance functions and/or cellular stress resistance; they can be expected to reduce the vulnerability of cells and tissues and thus prevent age-related pathological changes. Lastly, models of accelerated aging have enhanced our understanding of cellular maintenance and stress resistance. The Gordon Research Conference will focus on these hot topics. The rationale behind the choice of these themes is the remarkable convergence of the results from the models systems to investigate cellular maintenance and integrity. The goals of the conference:-To critically assess progress in the biology of aging; To determine whether the biology of aging informs on the nature/causes of age-related decline and disease; To emphasize integrative and translational research findings as a means to develop novel future avenues for therapeutic options that extend health span. The overall purpose of the Gordon Research Conference on The Biology of Aging, """"""""Maintenance of Macromolecular Integrity in Aging"""""""" is to bring together investigators in diverse areas of aging and investigators outside the field to discuss the current research in the field and to consider the potential to translate scientific progress into clinical interventions. The ability of cellular macromolecules (e.g., DNA, proteins, lipids) to maintain integrity, using various cellular processes (e.g. repair, degradation and replacement) and several model systems (C. elegans, rodents, fungal, accelerated aging models), is at the forefront of the biology of aging and the extension of health span. We fully anticipate that progress in this field will pave the way for interventions and quality of life for the older adult. ? ? ? ?
