NIA Workshops

National Institute on Aging (NIA) - GSA 2024 Workshops

This year, NIA will feature two workshops at the GSA 2024 Annual Scientific Meeting. Learn more about these two hands-on events and sign up participate.

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NIA Workshops

Hallmarks of Aging and Their Interactions

Date: Tuesday, November 12th
Time: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Location: Sheraton - Metropolitan Ballroom A
The workshop is open to all attendees at the GSA 2024 annual meeting free of charge. Registration is required.

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Aging, a complex process involving many cellular changes, is largely viewed as the biological deterioration and functional decline affecting all organisms including human. Breakthrough findings in recent decades have identified molecular and cellular pathways that can alter the course of lifespan and healthspan when manipulated in experimental model systems. These advances had laid the foundation for the proposed framework of hallmarks of aging capturing major molecular and cellular processes that contribute to aging and importantly, specify a mechanistic qualification where amelioration of the proposed hallmarks is expected to extend the healthspan of the organism. However, recent discoveries demonstrating that “fixing” one hallmark at a time may not significantly alter the aging process suggest that interventions could be more effectively devised through understanding the inter-play among the aging hallmarks.

In 2023, NIA issued three inter-connected RFAs and funded 26 projects: (1) Inter-Organelle Communication as a Platform to Interrogate the Interactions of Hallmarks of Aging (RFA-AG-23-012); (2) Mapping Interconnectivity Among Hallmarks of Aging under Lifespan Modifications (RFA-AG-23-013); (3) Studies of Cytosolic DNAs in the Interactions of Aging Hallmarks (RFA-AG-23-015).

This workshop aims to gather the awardees funded through these three RFAs to present their research findings to date. This workshop will be the inaugural meeting of the Aging Hallmarks Consortium, consisted of grantees of the three RFAs with regular meetings of PIs and key personnel, along with investigators working on these topics but funded independently of these RFAs.

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New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) to Study Aging

Date: Wednesday, November 13th
Time: 8:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Location: Seattle Convention Center - 4C-3
The workshop is open to all attendees at the GSA 2024 annual meeting free of charge. Registration is required.

New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) include human-relevant cell-based (in vitro), cell-free (in chemico), and computational-based (in silico) models that are complementary, not a replacement, to existing animal models. This workshop focuses on 3-dimentional (3-D) in vitro human models including tissue chips, organoids, explants, known as microphysiological systems (MPS). The adoption of human in vitro NAMs for basic and translational research is expanding, recently promoted by the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 that authorizes their use to investigate drug safety and efficacy. Extending the use of human in vitro NAMs to the study of aging and the development of geroprotective interventions presents challenges recognized by the research community. These challenges can be addressed by leveraging our knowledge of the biology of aging and fostering interdisciplinary collaborations.

This interdisciplinary session is designed to educate basic scientists, physician-scientists, clinicians, and a general audience of industry representatives interested in adopting NAMs for aging research. One of the goals is to promote a dialog about the challenges and opportunities posed by human in vitro NAMS and inspire new collaborative research initiatives bringing together basic scientists, bioengineers, physician-scientists and clinicians, and members of other GSA sections.

At the conclusion of the session, attendees will be able to: (1) describe the different types of human in vitro NAMs and their applications in basic and translational research; (2) explain the challenges and current solutions to adopting human 3-D in vitro NAMs in research on aging; and (3) discuss how data from 3-D in vitro NAMs and from animal models are complementary.

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