Integrative Biology of Aging: New Insights from Molecules to Systems

The 2017 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on the Biology of Aging will be held at the Les Diablerets Conference Center (Les Diablerets, Switzerland) on July 9-14, 2017, and the Gordon Research Seminar (GRS), which will be held at the same location on July 8-9, immediately prior to the GRC. The program has been developed around the theme of "Integrative Biology of Aging: New Insights from Molecules to Systems". Recent studies from diverse model organisms, such as worms, flies, and mice, have demonstrated that systemic interplay between multiple tissues and organs regulates aging and longevity. Additionally, subcellular systems such as organelles and stress pathways can often communicate intra- and intercellularly. To dissect such complex systemic regulation of aging and longevity, significant progress has been made in identifying control networks and basic architectures, but how communication is achieved at different levels of organization and assembled into larger architectures is only beginning to be explored. The dysfunction of critical components in these control networks contributes to the induction of the cellular and molecular hallmarks of aging, including mitochondrial dysfunction, epigenetic alterations, chronic inflammation, circadian rhythm dysfunction, genomic instability, loss of proteostasis, and others, and underlies diminished healthspan and lifespan. In the 2017 GRC, our major objective is to capture this new wave of the "integrative biology of aging", and further stimulate our thoughts and efforts to translate our knowledge into the development of effective interventions to achieve "productive aging", making the later years of our lives as healthy and productive as possible. The major objective of the GRS is to explore these themes in a supportive setting that particularly focuses on the needs of graduate students and postdoctoral trainees, and prepare them for a full and productive participation in the GRC to follow.