December 5, 20249:00 AM – 4:30 PM ET
Location: In Person & Virtual
601 E St NW, Washington, DC 20049
In Person: December 1, 2024Virtual: December 5, 2024
According to the National Institute on Aging, geroscience is the study of the “genetic, molecular, and cellular mechanisms that make aging a major risk factor and driver of common chronic conditions and diseases of older people.” Understanding the biological process of aging will help inform the development of clinical interventions to prevent, delay, slow, halt, or even reverse this trajectory and, in turn, the onset of chronic disease and age-related decline in health.
The marked increase in research and resources dedicated to geroscience is exciting and has the potential to have a massive impact in the years and decades to come. This workshop, sponsored by AARP and The John A. Hartford Foundation, aims to examine the associated societal issues and considerations that warrant significant attention as geroscience advances. Topics such as bioethics, equity and access, cost, social norms, and consumer rights must be considered.
ARRIVAL AND BREAKFAST | 9:00 – 9:30 AM
WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION | 9:30 – 9:50 AM
Victor J. Dzau, MD, President, National Academy of Medicine
Debra Whitman, PhD, Chief Public Policy Officer, AARP
GEROSCIENCE IN THE CONTEXT OF HEALTHY LONGEVITY | 9:50 – 10:50 AM
This session will introduce the field of geroscience and provide an overview of the latest research and future directions. Then, speakers will explore how advancements in geroscience can extend healthspan while also contributing to ongoing efforts to achieve healthy longevity at a societal level. Speakers will highlight the need to integrate geroscience into a broader public health approach in response to longer, healthier lives and the imperative of equity and access in healthcare.
Moderator & Speaker: Linda Fried, MD, Dean, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University; Co-Chair of Global Roadmap for Healthy Longevity
Felipe Sierra, PhD, Chief Science Officer, Hevolution Foundation
Nir Barzilai, MD, President, Academy for Health and Lifespan Research; Director, Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine
EQUITY BY DESIGN | 11:00 AM – 12:10 PM
This session will focus on the important implications for society related to access, cost, equity, social norms, and ethics when it comes to the development of future interventions that aim to extend healthspan. Speakers will highlight racial disparities in healthspan and discuss how racism and poverty are contributing to accelerated aging; whether and how advancements in geroscience could address or expand such disparities; and whether specific policies can be implemented to support the potential for geroscience to reduce health disparities.
Moderator & Speaker: Arline T. Geronimus, ScD, Professor, Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan
S. Jay Olshansky, PhD, Professor, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Illinois Chicago
Doris Molina-Henry, PhD, Scholar, USC Schaeffer Institute, Assistant Professor of Research Neurology
Nancy Jecker, PhD, Professor of Bioethics and Humanities, University of Washington School of Medicine
DEMOCRATIZING THE PRINCIPLE OF GEROSCIENCE | 12:15 – 1:00 PM
This session will present tools and interventions that can facilitate democratization of the geroscience principle. Most of the geroscience discussion focus on the potential of gerotherapeutics, and less about opportunities to modulate the biology of aging though changes in behavior (e.g., diet, exercise, sleep) and social determinants of health (e.g., pollution, food deserts, the built environment). Speakers will discuss how these goals could be facilitated by emerging wearable devices, for example, movement trackers, glucometers, software for tracking food intake, and as well as the potential utility of biological clocks to change health related behaviors.
Moderator: Michele K. Evans, MD, Deputy Scientific Director and Chief, Health Disparities Research Section, National Institute on Aging / National Institutes of Health
Roland J. Thorpe, Jr., PhD, Professor, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University
Josh Denny, MD, MS, CEO, All of Us Research Program, National Institutes of Health
COMMUNICATION ABOUT GEROSCIENCE TO COMBAT AGEISM | 1:45 – 2:45 PM
This session will provide a frame for how geroscience fits into the natural process of aging. Speakers will explore ways to communicate about geroscience that not only avoid stigmatization of older adults and the aging process but help address ageism. Speakers will also discuss how ageism and disparities in healthspan could affect the perception of geroscience interventions. Given that aging is both a natural phenomenon and an important phase in the life course, speakers will explore how extending healthspan can unlock benefits for individuals and society.
Moderator & Speaker: Becca Levy, PhD, Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences) and Psychology, Yale University
Lisbeth Nielsen, PhD, Director, Div. of Behavioral and Social Research, National Institute on Aging
Mary Tinetti, MD, Gladys Phillips Crofoot Professor of Medicine (Geriatrics) and Professor in the Institution for Social and Policy Studies, Yale University
MEANINGFUL GEROSCIENCE OUTCOMES FOR SOCIETY | 3:00 – 4:00 PM
This session will discuss the primary objectives of geroscience and desired outcomes at a societal level. Speakers will identify critical considerations in identifying endpoints and performing clinical trials in this space. Speakers will also discuss how geroscience interventions would be implemented or prescribed and which ages and populations should be prioritized for treatment. Speakers will explore how various stakeholders (researchers, policymakers, payers, consumers, etc.) might define success for geroscience interventions and the potential costs and benefits of geroscience to healthcare systems.
Moderator: Meena Seshamani, MD, PhD, Deputy Administrator and Director, Center for Medicare
Stephen Kritchevsky, PhD, Professor, Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Wake Forest University
Raymond Jetson, President, Aging While Black
Luigi Ferrucci, MD, Scientific Director, National Institute on Aging
REFLECTIONS AND WORKSHOP WRAP UP | 4:00 – 4:30 PM
