Biological Science Program at The Gerontological Society of America's 2024 Annual Scientific Meeting

PROJECT SUMMARY This proposal requests funding from the National Institute on Aging for the Biological Sciences (BS) Section Program at the 2024 Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) in Seattle, WA. Our aim for BS programming is to highlight the highest-quality aging research with a focus on Harnessing the Hallmarks of Aging. We believe that the best work in the field will emerge when basic researchers exchange information about health-related biology of aging 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 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, very seriously. The ASM is situated uniquely in the U.S. to promote an interdisciplinary effort of this scope, and the 2024 November meeting in Seattle will provide an outstanding opportunity to expand the diversity of participating scientists. 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 diverse fields. In November 2024, we propose to intensify and extend our efforts, through a single-track meeting program featuring emerging 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 Seattle, we will begin with the National Institute on Aging, Division of Aging Biology sponsored pre-meeting, two half-day workshops organized by Max Guo and Tiziana Cogliati and Fei Wang. During the main meeting 14 (non-competing) oral sessions will be held. These sessions were devised by a team of ten Investigators recruited for their expertise and as leaders in aging research. Each member of the team will Chair a session and will participate in all aspects of the meeting organization, evaluation, and student engagement, under the mentorship of PI LeBrasseur. There will also be two poster sessions scheduled so as not to compete with any talks. Along with GSA leadership, we have devised strategies to recruit underrepresented scientists and support 8 minority scholar travel awards. Our program shows 31% of all speakers are Early-Stage Investigators, 42% of the invited speakers are women, and 29% are from underrepresented minority groups.