Category: Blog

On October 7, the Friends of the NIA joined Dr. Richard Hodes, NIA Director, Dr. Marie A. Bernard, NIA Deputy Director, and other NIA leadership to review recent NIA-funded science advances.  Scientific highlights include a variety of findings related to longevity and healthy aging, studies on the diverse biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, and research on dementia care and caregiving.  This meeting was recorded and can be watched here. If you have any questions about the content of the presentation, please reach out to Melinda Kelley at [email protected].  

Registration for the National Research Summit on Care, Services, and Supports for Persons with Dementia and Their Caregivers, which will take place on March 24-25, 2020 on the NIH campus, is now open. This Summit will bring together individuals with a variety of backgrounds to identify evidence-based programs, strategies, approaches, and other research that can be used to improve the care, services, and supports of persons with dementia and their caregivers.  The meeting will  include plenary talks, research presentations, discussion panels, and a poster presentation session at this two-day event. If you are interested in being an active part of the summit, consider submiting a scientific or informational poster presentation abstract for consideration (by the deadline – November 15, 2019). For more information on logistics of the Summit, and to register, please visit the summit website. 

Dr. Marie A. Bernard, NIA Deputy Director, unveiled the latest collection of NIA cleared concepts for funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) on the InsideNIA blog. This group of concepts, cleared at the September 2019 National Advisory Council on Aging meeting, serve as an early notice to the research community of possible future NIA Program Announcements, Requests for Applications, or Notices of Special Interest. Interesting concept topics include emotional well-being, glial plasticity in the aging brain, and mechanisms of rejuvenation and accelerated aging in heterochronic blood exchange. These concepts also include opportunities for aging research dissertation awards to increase diversity and research education resources to foster development of geriatrics-related translational and clinical scientists. Concept summaries and program contact information for all new concepts are listed on the approved concepts page of the NIA website.  Please note that every concept will not necessarily end up converting to a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA).

On November 4-5, the Third Geroscience Summit: Targeting Chronic Diseases Through Geroscience will be held on the NIH Campus in Bethesda, MD. Registration is now open for this Summit, which will be an opportunity to learn more about the growing field of geroscience, or the intersection of basic aging biology, chronic disease, and health. This event will also provide a forum for disease-focused professional societies and foundations to interact with the aging-biology community and geroscience researchers.  Mark your calendars and register to attend this exciting event!