Neuroscience and Aging

Thursday, November 9, 2023

4:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Location: Room 118

Chair(s)

Gregorio Valdez, PhD

GLF Translational Associate Professor of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry
Brown University
Providence, Rhode Island, United States

Individual Symposium Abstract First Author(s)

Gregorio Valdez, PhD

GLF Translational Associate Professor of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry
Brown University
Providence, Rhode Island, United States
Miranda Orr, PhD (she/her/hers)

Associate Professor
Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States
SP

Scott Pletcher, PhD

Professor
University of Michigan Medical School
Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
JA

Julie Andersen, PhD (she/her/hers)

Professor
Andersen Lab
Buck Institute for Research on Aging
Novato, California, United States

Slides

In this symposium, experts will highlight discoveries that are beginning to bridge the gap between basic neuroscience research and development of therapies to mitigate the ravages of normal aging and age-associated neurological diseases on the nervous system. The symposium will cover cellular, molecular and behavioral approaches to researching aging of the nervous system. It will provide insights about how aging impacts the fate of neurons and their synapses and how age-related changes in cellular maintenance, molecular signaling, and glial function ultimately diminish cognitive and motor function. Dr. Miranda Orr will provide insights about the contribution of senescent cells to age- and disease-associated degeneration of the nervous system. Dr. Julie Andersen will present on how cells in the nervous system use their own organelles to repair damages to avoid dysfunction during aging and in Alzheimer’s Disease. Dr. Gregorio Valdez will review recent discoveries revealing the initial cellular and molecular changes that impair voluntary movements during aging. Dr. Scott Pletcher will present evidence that cellular and molecular processes important for feeding, mating and avoiding danger in flies also play key roles in healthy aging of the nervous system. The information provided by the speakers will foster discussion among all attendees about the challenges and opportunities to accelerate translation of discoveries to protect the nervous system from aging and associated diseases.

Learning Objectives:

After attending this session, participants will be able to understand the unpinning of neuronal aging.
After attending this session, attendees will be able to understand the relationships between aging and associated neurological disorders.
After attending this session, participants will be able to assess the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead to rejuvenate the nervous system.

Presentations:

4:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Blueprint to Target the Spinal Cord Motor Circuitry to Preserve and Restore Mobility in Old Age
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Gregorio Valdez, PhD – Brown University
4:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Spatial Profiling Cellular Senescence in the Human Brain Across Eight Decades of Life
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Miranda E. Orr, PhD (she/her/hers) – Wake Forest University School of Medicine
4:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Development of Mitophagy-Inducing Small Molecules as Therapeutics for Aging and Alzheimer's Disease
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Julie K. Andersen, PhD (she/her/hers) – Buck Institute for Research on Aging
4:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Neural States Associated with Motivation and Reward Modulate Aging in Drosophila
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Scott Pletcher, PhD – University of Michigan Medical School