The Fourteenth and Fifteenth International Symposia on Neurobiology & Neuroendocrinology Aging will be held in Bregenz, Austria July 15-20, 2018 and in July 2020. The purpose of these meetings is to bring together a group of investigators who made recent advances in the study of mechanisms of aging, with particular emphasis on CNS aging, neuroprotection and neurodegenerative disease. Moreover, the endocrine system and metabolic dysfunction tie many additional aging research areas together (genomic instability, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, epigenetic changes, loss of proteostasis, deregulated nutrient sensing, stem cell exhaustion, inflammation). We are directly addressing several of these topics in this Symposium, many in the context of neurobiology and endocrinology. Prominent among the scheduled lectures are the continued search for mechanisms of age-related disease, increasing appreciation of concomitant involvement of multiple interacting mechanisms, and attempts to evaluate their relative importance. Recent studies significantly increased appreciation of mediators of potential aging retardation, calorie restriction, hormone deficiency and rapamycin. Similarly, modulation of health and disease by translational dietary intervention will be addressed. As the field continues to search for and study regenerative mechanisms, talks devoted to reprogramming of aged tissue and rejuvenation are included. Several lectures will integrate information in neurobiology with aging, redox state, plasticity, and mitochondrial dynamics. Progressive changes in the age profile of human populations underlies enormous significance of age related neurodegenerative disease and cognitive impairment. The latest breakthroughs in our understanding of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's disease will be covered in multiple lectures, further strengthening this link. Each of these topics will be covered by investigators that recently made major advances in the corresponding areas of investigation. We purposely include a wide range of topics and assemble a group of scientists that may not normally attend the same meeting. The format of the meeting is modeled after Gordon Research Conferences and encourages formal and informal discussions of the material presented. Proceedings will be published as a special issue of Experimental Gerontology within approximately six months after the Symposium. We have always strongly encouraged the participation of junior investigators, including graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. This proposal seeks funds for providing stipends to those US participants who are in training or are in junior faculty positions and who are planning to present their findings in the poster session. We are also seeking partial support for the expenses of invited speakers from the United States.
This proposal requests support of two symposia specifically related to aging. The Fourteenth and Fifteenth International Symposia on Neurobiology and Neuroendocrinology of Aging will be held July 15-20, 2018 and in July 2020. These meetings focus on mechanisms of aging with an emphasis on the central nervous system including both neuronal and hormonal aspects in addition to age-related disease.
