Geroscience Los Angeles Meeting Celebrates SoCal Student and Trainee Aging Research

Scientists from across Southern California gathered for the second annual Geroscience Los Angeles Meeting (GLAM), a daylong conference spotlighting the work of students and trainee aging researchers, on September 6, 2024 at the California Science Center.

GLAM featured research talks by trainees, a student and trainee poster session, and 2-minute flash talks by undergraduate researchers. Laboratories from institutions across Southern California were represented, including USC, UCLA, Cedars-Sinai, UC Riverside, UC Irvine, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, UC San Diego, and Loyola Marymount University. Southern California currently represents the largest community of geroscience researchers in the world, with more funding from the National Institute of Aging than any other region, making GLAM a great venue for bringing together scientists at all levels and sparking collaboration, said USC Leonard Davis School Dean Pinchas Cohen.

Giving students at all levels and postdoctoral researchers opportunities to present research and network is a key focus for the annual event, as other scientific meetings focus on presentations by established researchers and faculty members, according to USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology Vice Dean and Professor Sean Curran, Associate Professor Bérénice Benayoun and Assistant Professor Ryo Sanabria, the event’s organizers. The lone faculty presentation was a keynote address by Helen Goodridge, professor of biomedical sciences at Cedars-Sinai.

In his opening remarks, Curran told the students and trainees presenting at GLAM that they would go on to influence further research directions in geroscience.

“You get to define what this field will look like,” he said.

Several students who took part in the poster session and flash talks said that GLAM was their first time ever presenting their research at a conference.

Emma Massey, a USC sophomore majoring in neuroscience and minoring in science, health and aging, presented her work on air pollution’s effects on brain health in both the poster session as well as a flash talk. Her work in the laboratory of University Professor and ARCO/William F. Kieschnick Chair in the Neurobiology of Aging Caleb Finch is her first time ever participating in research, and it has been an incredibly educational experience, she said. “My lab has been really great,” she said. “They’ve helped me learn a lot.”

Khristina Young, a research technician in the laboratory of USC Leonard Davis School Assistant Professor Cristal Hill, said she was “nervous but very excited” to take part in a poster session for the first time and discuss her investigation of how low-protein diets affect adipose tissue in mammals. “This has really furthered my love for research,” she said.

Janeel Calzaretta, a USC BS in neuroscience and MS in global health student, said she found participating in GLAM particularly valuable in regard to expanding her knowledge of paths in geroscience.

“Attending discussions deepened my understanding of the biological processes that drive aging while also highlighting a unique level of academic and professional rigor that drives research forward,” said Calzaretta, who is a GEMSTEM scholar conducting research in the lab of USC Leonard Davis School Assistant Professor Constanza Cortes. “I hope to emulate such qualities one day.”

With more than 400 registrants representing 29 institutions, the interest in GLAM shows how enthusiasm for aging research is growing, Sanabria said.

“I think it’s pretty clear from the rapid growth of GLAM that there is a thirst for this type of meeting in Southern California,” they said. “The exceptionally high quality of the talks also shows just how much trainees are committed to geroscience research, and we hope that this excitement continues in the coming years.”

Benayoun agreed and added that participant feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. She and Sanabria were inspired to create GLAM after their own valuable experiences sharing research at the Bay Area Aging Meeting (BAAM) as trainees themselves.

“I believed bringing a trainee-focused meeting to the LA area would be a fantastic way to energize our vibrant geroscience research community, and give trainees a chance (for many, their first chance!) to showcase their research to peers, mentors and other researchers,” she said. “I am glad the meeting was a success for these goals, as many trainees reached out to us to let us know!”

Cohen, who delivered closing remarks, thanked presenters and attendees and invited all to a reception following the meeting, which included “Lifespan Through Kimono,” a show featuring the kimono collection of the Yamano Gakuen in Tokyo, Japan.

Paraphrasing John F Kennedy, “It’s not enough to add years to our life; we must also add life to our years,” Cohen said. “Nothing celebrates life more than the connection between healthy aging and the arts.”

He also noted that next year will mark the 50^th anniversary of both the USC Leonard Davis School and the National Institute on Aging, and remarked how much the aging research field has grown.

“The USC Leonard Davis School has been a pioneer in aging research since its founding and has been a part of several of the biggest discoveries in geroscience,” Cohen said. “With future leaders of the field such as yourselves adding to our geroscience knowledge, I know that we can look forward to even more monumental advancements in aging.”

The event was organized by the Los Angeles Aging Research Alliance, a partnership between USC, UCLA, Cedars-Sinai and other area organizations involved in aging research to promote age-related advances and improve health and well-being across the lifespan. Event sponsors included the Hevolution Foundation and the USC-Buck Nathan Shock Center as well as VWR, Miltenyi Biotec, ActiveMotif, Caron Scientific, and 10X Genomics.