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Biology of Aging

Gordon Research Conference

The Genetic, Epigenetic, Inflammatory, and Metabolic Origins of Aging

February 12 - 17, 2012
Chairs Nir Barzilai and James L. Kirkland and Heidi Scrable
Vice Chairs Pankaj Kapahi and Nektarios Tavernarakis
Ventura Beach Marriott
2055 Harbor Boulevard
Ventura, California, United States
 Venue and Travel Information

Conference Description

The 2012 Gordon Research Conference on the Genetic, epigenetic, inflammatory, and metabolic origins of aging will provide a forum for exploring the interplay between discovery of basic aging mechanisms in model organisms and their successful validation in humans. Aging is a multifactorial and complex process. The symposium will focus on major developments that help to unravel this complexity: the use of unbiased screens in humans with exceptional longevity to identify genetic signatures of aging; the discovery of epigenetic mechanisms based on microRNAs and CpG island methylation that modulate expression of the genome; the role of the intra-uterine environment in forming lifelong trajectories of health and well-being; and the contribution of cellular dysfunction and senescence to an inflammatory microenvironment that leads to frailty, chronic disease, and diminished health span. All of these greatly expand the horizons of aging research.

The GRC on the Biology of Aging has been held every 18 months since 1962. More than at any previous time in the history of this symposium, the field is primed for the integration of the basic biology of aging, which has been and continues to be elucidated in a variety of model organisms, with translational research into human health- and life span. There is no more important area for discussion, therefore, than mechanisms that inherently lend themselves to therapeutic manipulation and drug discovery - epigenetic and genetic changes that accompany aging in models and humans, in particular in humans with exceptional longevity.

The 2012 GRC on the Biology of Aging will again offer a Gordon Research Seminar organized along the theme of the symposium, which will be held immediately preceding the GRC on the Biology of Aging. Junior investigators, such as students, postdocs, and clinical trainees, desiring introductory sessions designed to prepare them for full engagement in the ensuing GRC are encouraged to attend.

Related Meeting

This GRC will be held in conjunction with the "Biology of Aging" Gordon Research Seminar (GRS). Those interested in attending both meetings must submit an application for the GRS in addition to an application for the GRC. Refer to the associated GRS program page for more information.

Conference Program

SUNDAY
4:00 pm - 8:00 pmArrival and Check-in (Office Closed 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm)
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 7:45 pmWelcome / Introductory Comments by GRC Chairs and GRC Site Staff
7:45 pm - 9:30 pmEpigenetic, inflammatory, and metabolic origins of aging
Discussion Leader: George Martin (University if Washington, USA)
7:45 pm - 8:25 pmSteve Austad (Barshop Institute, USA)
"Examples from nature for genetic, epigenetic, inflammatory, and metabolic origins of aging"
8:25 pm - 8:35 pmDiscussion
8:35 pm - 9:05 pmHong Gil Nam (POSTECH, South Korea)
"Aging and life history in plants"
9:05 pm - 9:15 pmDiscussion
9:15 pmSocial Gathering
MONDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmPrenatal programming of age-related diseases and longevity
Discussion Leader: Yousin Suh (Albert Einstein College of Medicine, USA)
9:00 am - 9:20 amSusan Ozanne (University of Cambridge, UK)
"Mechanisms of early life programming"
9:20 am - 9:30 amDiscussion
9:30 am - 9:50 amTom Fleming (University of Southampton, UK)
"The origin of age-related diseases from the periconceptional environment"
9:50 am - 10:00 amDiscussion
10:00 amGroup Photo / Coffee Break
10:30 am - 10:50 amCarmen Sapienza (Fels Institute, Temple University, USA)
"Functional consequence of variation in allele-specific DNA methylation and age-related diseases"
10:50 am - 11:00 amDiscussion
11:00 am - 11:15 amPeter Adams (Cruk Beatson Labs, UK)
"Epigenetic analysis of cell senescence reveals mechanistic links to tissue aging"
11:15 am - 11:25 amDiscussion
11:25 am - 11:45 amFrancine Einstein (Albert Einstein College of Medicine, USA)
"The origin of age-related diseases at birth"
11:45 am - 11:55 amDiscussion
11:55 am - 12:10 pmSamantha Solon (University of Sidney, Australia)
"Macronutrient regulation, metabolism, and aging in mice"
12:10 pm - 12:20 pmDiscussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session (Epigenetics and Biology of Aging)
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmEpigenetic origins of aging and longevity
Discussion Leader: Susan Ozanne (Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, UK)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pmYousin Suh (Albert Einstein College of Medicine, USA)
"microRNA and longevity"
7:50 pm - 8:00 pmDiscussion
8:00 pm - 8:20 pmJohn Hanover (NIDDK/NIH)
"Is the ghost in your genes a sugar? O-GlcNAc and epigenetics"
8:20 pm - 8:30 pmDiscussion
8:30 pm - 8:45 pmStephen Helfand (Brown University, USA)
"Epigenetics of chromatin remodeling, loss of gene silencing, and gene dysregulation with aging"
8:45 pm - 8:55 pmDiscussion
8:55 pm - 9:10 pmJohn Sedivy (Brown University,USA)
"Chromatin changes in replicative senescence and aging of mammalian tissues"
9:10 pm - 9:20 pmDiscussion
TUESDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmUnbiased approach to the genetics of exceptional longevity in humans
Discussion Leader: Claudio Franceschi (University of Bologna, Italy)
9:00 am - 9:20 amNicholas Schork (Scripps Research Institute, USA)
"Considerations in the assessment of the genome of subjects with long health and life span "
9:20 am - 9:30 amDiscussion
9:30 am - 9:50 amEline Slagboom (Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands)
"Aging genotypes in families with exceptional longevity"
9:50 am - 10:00 amDiscussion
10:00 amCoffee Break
10:30 am - 10:50 amPaola Sebastiani (Boston University School of Public Health, USA)
"The 'finger print' of exceptional longevity"
10:50 am - 11:00 amDiscussion
11:00 am - 11:20 amGil Atzmon (Albert Einstein College of Medicine, USA)
"Epigenetic (methylation)-genome wide association (EWAS) methylation in aging and longevity"
11:20 am - 11:30 amDiscussion
11:30 am - 11:50 amMichael Province (Washington University, USA)
"Genetic discoveries in long-lived families"
11:50 am - 12:00 pmDiscussion
12:00 pm - 12:15 pmSylwia Figarska (University Medical Center Groningen, the Netherlands)
"Polymorphism in SIRT1 is associated with long-term survival in the general population"
12:15 pm - 12:25 pmDiscussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session (Humans and Mammalians Longevity)
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmPursuing the Genetics and Functional Genomics of Human Longevity
Discussion Leader: Arnold Kahn (Buck Institute for Age Research, USA)
7:45 pm - 8:15 pmThomas Perls (Boston University) and Hinco Gierman (Stanford University)
"Whole genome sequencing of super-centenarains"
8:15 pm - 8:25 pmDiscussion
8:25 pm - 8:40 pmMarian Beekman (GEHA Consortium)
"Genome-wide linkage analysis for longevity: Genetics of Healthy Ageing Study"
8:40 pm - 8:45 pmDiscussion
8:45 pm - 9:00 pmBradley Willcox (Kuakini Medical Center)
"FOXO3 and human longevity: The quest for a functional SNPTBD"
9:00 pm - 9:05 pmDiscussion
9:05 pm - 9:20 pmKathleen Dumas (Life Sciences Institute)
"Genetic identification of novel FoxO regulators"
9:20 pm - 9:25 pmDiscussion
WEDNESDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmInterventional strategies based on mechanisms of protein and metabolic processing
Discussion Leader: Brian Kennedy (Buck Institute for Age Research, USA)
9:00 am - 9:20 amPinchas Cohen (UCLA, USA)
"The role of 'mitochines' in aging and its prevention"
9:20 am - 9:30 amDiscussion
9:30 am - 9:40 amGordon Lithgow (Buck Institute for Age Research, USA)
"Small molecule modulation of aging and age-related pathology"
9:50 am - 10:00 amDiscussion
10:00 amCoffee Break
10:30 am - 10:50 amEduardo Chini (Mayo Clinic, USA)
"CD38, PARPs, NAMPT, AMPK-SIRT1-DBC1: The new alphabet of NAD metabolism, implications for the pharmacology and cell biology of age related diseases"
10:50 am - 11:00 amDiscussion
11:00 am - 11:20 amCelina Zebinatti (Merck)
"Development of CETP inhibitor to prevent diseases of aging"
11:20 am - 11:30 amDiscussion
11:30 am - 11:50 amShort Talk: Darren Baker (Mayo Clinic, USA)
"Increased expression of the progeroid gene BubR1 extends lifespan"
11:50 am - 12:00 pmDiscussion
12:00 pm - 12:20 pmShort Talk: Rita Effros (UCLA)
"Metabolic pathway alterations in senescent human T cells"
12:20 pm - 12:30 pmDiscussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session (Cellular Senescence and Inflammation)
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmInterventional strategies based on mechanisms of cellular senescence or chronic inflammation
Discussion Leader: Paul Robbins (University of Pittsburgh, USA)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pmJan van Deursen (Mayo Clinic, USA)
"Senescent cell clearance extends healthspan"
7:50 pm - 8:00 pmDiscussion
8:00 pm - 8:20 pmJudy Campisi (Buck Institute for Age Research, USA)
"Yin, yang and cellular senescence: the challenge of interventions that target senescent cells"
8:20 pm - 8:30 pmDiscussion
8:30 pm - 8:45 pmShort Talk: Thomas von Zglinicki (Newcastle University, UK)
"A pro-inflammatory phenotype in nf-kb1-/- mice aggravates cell senescence and accelerates ageing"
8:45 pm - 8:55 pmDiscussion
8:55 pm - 9:05 pmShort Talk: Laura Niedernhofer (University of Pittsburgh, USA)
"Strategies to treat cell senescence driven by endogenous DNA damage"
9:05 pm - 9:15 pmDiscussion
THURSDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
8:30 am - 9:00 amBusiness Meeting
Nominations for the next Vice Chair; Fill out Conference Evaluation Forms; Discuss future Site & Scheduling preferences; Election of the next Vice Chair
9:00 am - 12:30 pmThe role of inflammation in age-related diseases
Discussion Leaders: Pankaj Kapahi (Buck Institute for Age Research, USA) and Nektarios Tavernarakis (Crete, Greece)
9:00 am - 9:20 amMichael Karin (University of California, USA)
"Inflammation, metabolism, aging and cancer: Dangerous Liaisons"
9:20 am - 9:30 amDiscussion
9:30 am - 9:50 amRonald Kahn (Joslin Diabetes Center, USA)
"Novel Aspects of insulin action in age related disease"
9:50 am - 10:00 amDiscussion
10:00 amCoffee Break
10:30 am - 10:50 amHenri Jasper (University of Rochester, USA)
"Chronic inflammation and loss of proliferative homeostasis in the aging intestine"
10:50 am - 11:00 amDiscussion
11:00 am - 11:20 amScott Pletcher (University of Michigan, USA)
"Dietary restriction reveals shared molecular regulation of lifespan and immunity in Drosophila"
11:20 am - 11:30 amDiscussion
11:30 am - 11:50 amSteven Shoelson (Joslin Diabetes Center, USA)
"Salicylate in Man, Mouse and Worm: Targeting Metabolism, Inflammation and Aging"
11:50 am - 12:00 pmDiscussion
12:00 pm - 12:10 pmShort Talk: TBA
12:10 pm - 12:20 pmDiscussion
12:20 pm - 12:30 pmGeneral Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmDebate: Is aging programmed or random?
Discussion Leader: Tom Kirkwood (Newcastle University, UK)
Opinion Leaders: Carmen Sapienza (Fels Institute, Temple University, Philadelphia, USA); Valter Longo (University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA); and Jan Vijg (Albert Einstein College of Medicine, USA)
FRIDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 amDeparture

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