DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed meeting series on the Molecular Genetics of Aging is to be held biennially in 2014, 2016 and 2018 at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Since its inception 16 years ago, this conference has become an absolute leading venue for presentation of the latest progress in aging research, a rapidly expanding and fast-moving research field. The conference(s) will bring together about 300-350 scientists from the international community working on different aspects of the genetics and molecular biology of aging. The meeting will provide an in-depth forum for presentation of new findings in different areas of molecular aging research. Platform sessions in the 2014 meeting will include: Inflammation/immunity; DNA repair/senescence; Tissue maintenance/stem cells; Epigenetics; Cellular homeostasis; Metabolism; Comparative biology/non-standard models; Longevity genes and human biology; Interventions; and Posters. The oral sessions will be chaired by leading scientists and will feature a large number of short talks selected from openly submitted abstracts three months before the meeting. As such, this meeting uniquely fosters the development of new ideas by presentation of late-breaking findings. Moreover, the large percentage of presentations by students and postdocs fosters the next generation of young scientists, helping them to promote their careers in aging research.

PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Elucidating the cellular and molecular basis of aging is of great interest to understand and ultimately treat age- related diseases. This international biennial conference series on the Molecular Genetics of Aging at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory is intended to be a forum for intellectual discussion of and accelerate research into the biological basis of aging, and to improve treatment for diseases associated with aging, as well as the aging process itself. This conference is unique in the aging research filed because it features a large number of talks selected from openly submitted abstracts three months before the meeting, giving ample opportunity for broad and diverse representation of junior scientists to present their latest research.