Aging is a complex biological phenomenon with multiple causes and complex, varied consequences. In an aging society, as almost all societies in the world are today, the processes and consequences of aging are enormously important. This importance, together with individual concerns about personal aging, drives the great demand for interventions in the aging process that could slow the progress of aging and prevent age-related disease.

Effective interventions require biological measures (biomarkers) of aging or disease mechanisms that anticipate clinical disease and are sensitive to functional organism aging.

The goals of this symposium are to assess the existing biomarkers available and explore the kinds of biomarkers needed to provide improvements to the human condition by alleviating disease and extending healthy lifespan. This one-day scientific conference will focus on current and future status of biomarkers as identifiers of rates of biological aging, predictors of longevity and predictors of susceptibility to disease. The conference will explore opportunities for collaborations with industry to develop more useful biomarkers (through proteomics, genomics and metabolomics technologies) and effective interventions that could ultimately identify (in the pre-symptomatic stage), treat and track age-related diseases and disorders.

Mony J. de Leon, EdD
Director, Center for Brain Health
Department of Psychiatry
NYU School of Medicine

George M. Martin, MD
Professor Emeritus of Pathology, Adjunct Professor of Genetics
Director Emeritus, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center
University of Washington School of Medicine

Norman R. Relkin, MD, PhD
Director, Memory Disorders Program
The New York Presbyterian Hospital - Weill Cornell Medical Center

Donald A. Snider, PhD

Richard L. Sprott, PhD
Executive Director
The Ellison Medical Foundation

Jean-Luc Vanderheyden, PhD
Global Molecular Imaging Leader
GE Healthcare

Final Program
(PDF of Final Program)

7:30 - 8:30 am    Registration and Continental Breakfast
College Hall, 1st floor

8:30 – 8:45 am    Welcome and Introduction
George M. Martin, MD, University of Washington School of Medicine and Scientific Director, American Federation for Aging Research

8:45 - 11:35 am    SESSION I
Biomarkers of Aging at the Threshold of Opportunity

Moderator: Terrie Fox Wetle, PhD
Brown University and President, American Federation for Aging Research

Biomarkers of Aging: Overview of Biomarker Research (Presentation Slides- Please save to local computer)
Richard L. Sprott, PhD, Ellison Medical Foundation

11:35 – 12:00 pm    Question and Answer

Presented by: George M. Martin, MD, University of Washington School of Medicine/American Federation for Aging Research and Kim Gallagher, PhD, GE Healthcare

• Stuart M. Chambers, Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine


• Carolina Ibáñez-Ventoso, Ph.D., Rutgers University


• Krishnamurthy Janakiraman, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill


• Ying Liang, Ph.D., University of Kentucky

12:00 – 12:30 pm    LUNCHEON BREAK

Introduction: Terrie Fox Wetle, PhD, Brown University/American Federation for Aging Research

The Outlook for Biological Research on Aging (Presentation Slides- Please save to local computer)
Richard Hodes, MD, Director, National Institute on Aging

Biomarkers to Study Homeostasis in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging Project (Presentation Slides- Please save to local computer)
Luigi Ferrucci, MD, PhD, National Institute on Aging and Director of the BLSA Project

2:00 – 3:30 pm     SESSION II
A Discussion with Industry - Roundtable
This session will highlight industry-supported research, new and existing diagnostic, imaging and therapeutic technologies and product applications. Presenters from the morning session will be part of the discussion with industry representatives about resources available for biomarker research and the types of basic science that is needed to make advances in the development of biomarkers of aging and diseases of aging.

Introduction: Terrie Fox Wetle, PhD, Brown University/American Federation for Aging Research
Moderator: Michael Berelowitz, MD, Senior Vice President, Global Medical, Pfizer Inc

Participants:

• Mark Garner, PhD, Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX


• Ihor W. Rak, MD, AstraZeneca


• Kim Gallagher, PhD, GE Healthcare Medical Diagnostics


• Isro Gloger, PhD, GlaxoSmithKline


• Kenton H. Zavitz, PhD, Myriad Pharmaceuticals, Inc.


• Joan Amatniek, MD, Ortho-McNeil Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC


• Ann Taylor, MD, Pfizer Inc

George M. Martin, MD, University of Washington School of Medicine/American Federation for Aging Research
Stephanie Lederman, EdM, Executive Director, American Federation for Aging Research

3:45 – 4:45 pm    Cocktails and Poster Session

Meet and mingle with recipients:
AFAR-GE Healthcare Junior Investigator Award for Excellence in Biomarker Research
Grantees of AFAR-supported research programs

For more information, contact Stacey Harris at 212-703-9977 or Stacey@afar.org

Funding for this conference was also made possible by 1R13AG31693-01 from the National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention by trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

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