54th Annual Meeting of the American Aging Association

SUMMARY This proposal requests funds to support the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Aging Association (AGE) that will take place on June 2-5, 2026, in Provo, UT. The annual AGE meeting is one of the pre-eminent meetings focused on geroscience and brings together scientists at all career stages from around the world as a way to support the mission of AGE to promote biomedical aging studies that target increasing the functional lifespan of humans, to keep the public informed on these activities, to increase knowledge of geroscience among health care professionals, and to support and advance the scientific and professional career development of AGE trainees and scientific members. The 54th Annual AGE Meeting will be held in conjunction with the Nathan Shock Centers of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging Symposium (June 2). Since its first conference in 1971, the American Aging Association has been the only scientific society in the United States focused solely on the biology of aging. The annual AGE meeting also closely aligns with the mission of the National Institute on Aging with goals to convene senior and junior scientists in a forum where the latest discoveries in aging research are discussed and debated, to highlight exciting new research in the field, to promote the emergence of new ideas and collaborative activities among participants and to stimulate and advance development of new investigators in aging research. The theme for the AGE 54th annual meeting is “Geroscience from Discovery to Application”. The invited speakers include prominent established scientists, early career investigators, and trainees, all of whom will be selected based on the quality and impact of their science. We have planned 10 noncompeting oral sessions that will be held along with three special lectures and multiple opportunities for network development. Advancing the scientific and professional development of the next generation of geroscientists is a primary goal of the society and we have outlined specific trainee programs to leverage the experience and expertise of senior members of AGE. In addition, we have chosen to have at least one to two speakers in each of the sessions as early-career investigators or trainees selected from submitted abstracts. Two poster sessions are planned that will not compete with oral presentations. Abstracts will be reviewed and scored, and the top 40 poster presenters will be given the opportunity to present their posters in a two-minute oral “poster pitch” during the regular sessions. We seek to have approximately ½ of all session speakers from early career researchers or trainees, and all speakers as recognized experts in the field, or those with growing expertise and high impact trajectory. We request funds to support both invited speakers (early career and trainee) as well as supplement travel grants for outstanding trainees to attend. We expect that the meeting will be held in person with a live-streamed virtual component. AGE has experience with both fully virtual and hybrid meetings. We will adhere to established meeting guidelines, including ensuring that day care opportunities and special needs access are provided. Project Number: 1R13AG101931-01 | Fiscal Year: 2026 | NIH Institute/Center: National Institute on Aging (NIA) | Principal Investigator: Adam Salmon | Institution: AMERICAN AGING ASSOCIATION, INC., Grandville, MI | Award Amount: $50,000 | Activity Code: R13 | Study Section: Special Emphasis Panel[ZRG1 SCIL-T (80)] View on NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11392614