Keystone Symposia

Beaver Run Conference Center Floorplan

This meeting took place in 2023


Here are the related meetings in 2024:
Immunity and Aging (F3)

For a complete list of the meetings for the upcoming/current season, see our meeting list, or search for a meeting.

Molecular Basis of Healthy Aging (X6)


Organizer(s) Amy J. Wagers, Saul A. Villeda and Salvador Aznar Benitah
March 26—29, 2023
Beaver Run Conference Center • Breckenridge, CO USA
Abstract Deadline: Jan 30, 2023
Scholarship Deadline: Jan 30, 2023
Discounted Registration Deadline: Jan 25, 2023

Sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals


Summary of Meeting:
This meeting will explore the biological mechanisms that regulate trajectories of aging and enhance organismal resilience. Speakers will share lessons learned from multiple organ systems, organisms, and experimental model systems, with a broad scope spanning molecular to systems approaches. Emphasis will be placed on recent technological and conceptual innovations and translational opportunities that have opened new frontiers in the effort to protect health during aging. Particular topics of focus will include discussion of accelerated trajectories of aging as a result of stress, disease, genetic, epigenetic and external (sleep, nutrition, light and other pollution) influences, unique opportunities created by Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence for meta-analyses of aging trajectories and biomarkers, and novel therapeutic approaches including gene therapies, senolytic, senomorphic and immune modulating drugs, and cellular replacement therapies. Although the research areas covered in this meeting touch on several cross-cutting themes, many of the invited speakers and anticipated attendees do not typically interact, attending instead more narrow, organ- or cell type-specific conferences limited to consideration of the intersection with aging biology of just one of the focus areas proposed for inclusion in our conference (e.g., Aging and Regeneration, or Immunosenescence, or Neurodegeneration and Aging, or Gerontology). In this regard, our proposed conference will offer much greater opportunities for cross-fertilization of ideas and catalysis of novel research directions and collaborations than other aging-related meetings). In assembling the draft program, we also paid particular attention to ensuring representation of a diverse spectrum of researchers, in terms of primary discipline, experimental approach, education and training, geography and institutional affiliation, ethnicity, gender and career stage. We anticipate that the diversity of our roster of speakers, together with the intimate format of the Keystone Symposium, will provide a highly conducive atmosphere for the open, active and interdisciplinary exchange of ideas, as well as crucial opportunities for more junior scientists to receive mentorship and professional feedback and advice. Specific Aims of the meeting include: 1. To disseminate and discuss new information and novel concepts relevant to aging and resilience. 2. To develop integrative models of aging physiology and identify promising opportunities for advancing geroprotective therapies. 3. To catalyze new, interdisciplinary collaborations and novel lines of scientific investigation, based on cross-cutting interests and technological synergies. 4. To support the career development of early stage investigators, particularly those from demographic groups historically underrepresented in biological sciences.

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No registration fees are used to fund entertainment or alcohol at this conference

Conference Program    Print  |   View meeting in 12 hr (am/pm) time


The meeting will begin on Sunday, March 26 with registration from 16:00 to 20:00 and a welcome mixer from 18:00 to 20:00. Conference events conclude on Wednesday, March 29 with a closing plenary session from 17:00 to 19:00, followed by a social hour. We recommend return travel on Thursday, March 30 in order to fully experience the meeting.

SUNDAY, MARCH 26

16:00—20:00
Arrival and Registration

Colorado Ballroom Foyer
18:00—20:00
Welcome Mixer
No registration fees are used to fund alcohol served at this function.

Colorado Ballroom Foyer

MONDAY, MARCH 27

07:00—08:00
Breakfast

Summit Gallery
08:00—09:30
Welcome and Keynote Session (Joint)

Colorado Ballroom
* Vamsi K. Mootha, Massachusetts General Hospital, USA

* Amy J. Wagers, Harvard University, USA

Anne Brunet, Stanford University, USA
Mechanisms of Aging, Regeneration and 'Suspended Animation'

Nils-Goran Larsson, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
The Role of mtDNA Mutations in Disease and Aging

Coffee Break

09:50—11:15
Genomics and Epigenomics of Aging

Peaks 1-3
Michael A. Bonaguidi, University of Southern California, USA
Single Cell and Machine Learning Approaches to Uncover Molecular Determinants of Healthy Aging

* Pura Muñoz Cánoves, Altos Lab, USA
Improving Regeneration of Aged Muscles

Weiwei Dang, Baylor College of Medicine, USA
Short Talk: Altered Super Enhancer – Promoter Interactions Mediated by YY1 Underlie Age-induced Transcriptome

09:50—11:30
mtDNA Molecular Biology and Molecular Pathogenesis

Peaks 4 & 5
* Vamsi K. Mootha, Massachusetts General Hospital, USA

Agnel Sfeir, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, USA
Origins of the mtDNA Deletion

Claes Gustafsson, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Regulation of Mitochondrial Transcription in Mammalian Cells

Maria Falkenberg, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Mitochondrial DNA Replication in Mammalian Cells

11:15—17:00
On Own for Lunch

11:15—13:00
Poster Setup

Breckenridge Ballroom
13:00—22:00
Poster Viewing

Breckenridge Ballroom
15:00—16:30
Workshop 1

Peaks 1-3
Jonathan St. Ange, Princeton University, USA
EGL-30/GNAQ Activation Rejuvenates Age-related Cognitive Decline in Worms and Mammals

Farzaneh Atrian, UTHSCSA, USA
Formation of Circular RNAs Drive Neurotoxicity in Tauopathy

Xianxiao Zhou, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, USA
Gender-Consistent and Sex-Specific Molecular Changes during Brain Aging

* Andrei Seluanov, University of Rochester, USA
Increased Hyaluronan by Naked Mole-rat HAS2 Extends Lifespan in Mice

Lori Kregar, Sanger, UK
Lifelong Persistence of Somatic Epigenetic Changes in Humans

Gregor Bieri, University of California San Francisco, USA
The Exerkine Gpld1 Rejuvenates Cognition by Targeting GPI-anchored Proteins on the Aged Vasculature

14:30—16:30
Workshop 1

Peaks 4 & 5
* Dan Gottschling, Calico, USA

Pei-I Tsai, Nine Square Therapeutics, USA
Mitigation of Age-dependent Accumulation of Defective Mitochondrial Genomes

Paul Hwang, NHLBI, National Institutes of Health, USA
ER Stress Induction of WASF3 May Underlie Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Natalie Porat-Shliom, National Cancer Institute, NIH, USA
A Spatial Map of Hepatic Mitochondria Uncovers Functional Heterogeneity and Plasticity at the Tissue Scale

Gwo-Tzer Ho, University of Edinburgh, UK
Short-fragmented Circulating Mitochondrial DNA Released during Active Gut Inflammation Directly Triggers the cGAS-STING PathwayPand Plasmacytoid DC Type-1 Interferon Production in Inflammatory Bowel Diseas

Nicholas Burton, Van Andel Institute, USA
Complex I and Complex III Dysfunction Breaks the Link between Maternal Insulin Signaling and Adaptive Changes in Offspring Metabolism

Audrey A. Omidsalar, University of Southern California, USA
Common Mitochondrial Deletions in RNA-Seq: Evaluation of Bulk, Single-Cell and Spatial Transcriptomic Datasets

Katja G. Hansen, Harvard Medical School, USA
Spatial Distribution of Mitochondrial RNA Changes during Mitochondrial Transcription Inhibition

16:30—17:00
Coffee Available

Colorado Ballroom Foyer
17:00—19:15
Stress and Accelerated Aging

Peaks 1-3
* Emmanuelle Passegué, Columbia University, USA
Stress Pathways in Aging Stem Cells

Abigail Buchwalter, University of California, San Francisco, USA
Turnover and Replication Analysis by Isotope Labeling (TRAIL) Reveals the Long Lifetime and Tissue-Specific Accumulation of A-Type Lamins in Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome

Heinrich Jasper, Genentech, Inc. and Buck Institute for Research on Aging, USA
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Causes of Stem Cell Aging

Kai Mesa, New York University, USA
Short Talk: Spatiotemporal Uncoupling of Skin-resident Macrophage Proliferation and Niche Organization Contributes to Capillary aging

Koning Shen, University of California, Berkeley, USA
Short Talk: Inter-tissue Signaling of the Mitochondrial Unfolded Protein Response is Mediated through Germline Mitochondria

Yimin Zou, University of California, San Diego, USA
Short Talk: Mechanisms of Glutamatergic Synapse Degeneration in a Moue Model of Accelerated Brain Aging

17:00—19:00
Human Genetics and Markers of Rare Mitochondrial Disease

Peaks 4 & 5
* Vamsi K. Mootha, Massachusetts General Hospital, USA

David R. Thorburn, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Australia
mtDNA and Nuclear Genetic Basis of Mitochondrial Disease

Ekaterina Korotkevich, University of California, San Francisco, USA
Degeneration of Mitochondrial Genome with Age

Sara Nowinski, Van Andel Research Institute, USA
Short Talk: Insights into Mitochondrial Fatty Acid Synthesis Function from a Novel Mutation in Malonyl-CoA:ACP Transacylase (MCAT)

Erik McShane, Harvard University, USA
Short Talk: Kinetic Analysis of the Human OXPHOS Transcriptome Uncovers Principles of Mitochondrial Gene Expression

Jukka Kallijarvi, Folkhalsan Research Center, Finland
Short Talk: Respiratory Complex III Deficiency Drives c-MYC Overexpression and Illicit Cell Cycle Entry Leading to Senescence and Mitochondrial Segmental Progeria

Jelena Misic, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
Short Talk: Maintained Respiratory Chain Capacity in Mice with Severely Reduced Levels of Mitochondrial Respirasomes

19:15—20:15
Social Hour with Lite Bites
No registration fees are used to fund alcohol served at this function.

Breckenridge Ballroom
19:30—22:00
Poster Session 1

Breckenridge Ballroom

TUESDAY, MARCH 28

07:00—08:00
Breakfast

Summit Gallery
08:00—11:00
External Impacts on Trajectories of Aging

Peaks 1-3
Joseph S. Takahashi, HHMI/University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, USA
Circadian Clocks and Aging

* Salvador Aznar Benitah, ICREA and Institute for Research in Biomedicine, Spain
Tissue Communication During Health and Aging: Role of Systemic Clocks

Coffee Break

Rafael de Cabo, NIA, National Institutes of Health, USA
Gene-Environment Interactions Regulating Aging

Vera Gorbunova, University of Rochester, USA
Mechanisms of Longevity

Josiane Broussard, Colorado State University, USA
Short Talk: Sleep and Circadian Disruption Induce Accelerated Aging Across Multiple Physiological Systems

Haopeng Xiao, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/ Harvard Medical School, USA
Short Talk: Architecture of the Aging Outbred Brown Fat Proteome Defines Regulators of Metabolic Physiology

08:00—11:00
mtDNA Surveillance and Transmission

Peaks 4 & 5
* Dan Gottschling, Calico, USA

Cole M. Haynes, University of Massachusetts Medical School, USA
mtDNA Quality Control in Worm Germline

Liza A. Pon, Columbia University Medical Center, USA
Mitochondrial Quality Control and Aging

Coffee Break

Rahul Gupta, Harvard Medical School / Broad Institute, USA
Nuclear Genetic Control of mtDNA Homeostasis Revealed from >250,000 Human Genomes

Stella Victorelli, Mayo Clinic, USA
Short Talk: Sub-lethal Apoptotic Stress Enables mtDNA Release during Senescence and Drives the SASP

Nathaniel Kevin Mullin, University of Iowa, USA
Short Talk: Multimodal Single-cell Analysis of Non-random Heteroplasmy Distribution in Human Retinal Mitochondrial Disease

11:00—17:00
On Own for Lunch

11:00—13:00
Poster Setup

Breckenridge Ballroom
13:00—22:00
Poster Viewing

Breckenridge Ballroom
15:00—16:30
Career Roundtable (Joint)

Peaks 4 & 5
Heinrich Jasper, Genentech, Inc. and Buck Institute for Research on Aging, USA

Vera Gorbunova, University of Rochester, USA

Maria Falkenberg, University of Gothenburg, Sweden

Paul Hwang, NHLBI, National Institutes of Health, USA

Felipe Sierra, Hevolution, USA

16:30—17:00
Coffee Available

Colorado Ballroom Foyer
17:00—19:00
Aging and Inter-Tissue Communication

Peaks 1-3
Coleen T. Murphy, Princeton University, USA
The Role of Mitochondrial Dynamics and Metabolism on Reproductive Aging

Adam B. Schroer, University of California, San Francisco, USA
Young Platelet Factors Attenuate Inflammation and Rescue Cognition in Aging

Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk, UC Irvine, School of Medicine, USA
Short Talk: Co-aging and Molecular Mechanism of Age-related Changes in the Eye

Andrew Brack, University of California, San Francisco, USA
Short Talk: Muscle Stem Cell Dynamics and Resilience during Aging

17:00—19:00
Mitochondrial Cell Biology and Dynamics

Peaks 4 & 5
* Vamsi K. Mootha, Massachusetts General Hospital, USA

David C. Chan, California Institute of Technology, USA
Mitochondrial Dynamics in Mammals

Richard J. Youle, NINDS, National Institutes of Health, USA
PINK/PARKIN System and Neurodegeneration

Juan Ignacio Jiménez-Loygorri, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas Margarita Salas - CSIC, Spain
Short Talk; Fast and Quantitative Mitophagy Assessment in vitro and ex vivo using Flow Cytometry

Jara Tabitha Hees, Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, Germany
Short Talk: Insulin Signaling Regulates Pink1 mRNA Localization via Modulation of AMPK Activity to Support PINK1 Function in Neurons

Ewa Bomba-Warczak, Northwestern University, USA
Short Talk: Long-lived Proteins as Pillars of Lifelong Mitochondrial Function in Mammalian Neurons

Fabricio Loayza-Puch, German Cancer Research Center, Germany
Short Talk: P53 Regulates the Hypusination of eIF5A to Promote Mitochondrial Translation and Activity during Cellular Senescence

19:00—20:00
Social Hour with Lite Bites
No registration fees are used to fund alcohol served at this function.

Breckenridge Ballroom
19:30—22:00
Poster Session 2

Breckenridge Ballroom

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29

07:00—08:00
Breakfast

Summit Gallery
08:00—11:00
Mitochondrial Metabolism and Aging in Metazoan Models (Joint)

Colorado Ballroom
* Dan Gottschling, Calico, USA

Andrew G. Dillin, University of California, Berkeley, USA
Mitokines in Worms

* Edward Owusu-Ansah, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, USA
Regulation of Mitochondrial Complex I Assembly

Coffee Break

Meng C. Wang, HHMI/Janelia Research Campus, USA
Microbe-Mitochondria Interaction in Longevity Regulation

Noga Ron-Harel, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Israel
Mitochondria in T Cell Activation and Aging

Joshua D. Meisel, Mass General Hospital, USA
Short Talk: Mechanism of Hypoxia Rescue of Complex I Mutants Revealed through “Hypoxia-Mimetic” Genetic Suppressors

Kristopher Burkewitz, Vanderbilt University, USA
Short Talk: ER Calcium Signaling Coordinates Mitochondrial Adaptations to Stress and Promotes Longevity

11:00—17:00
On Own for Lunch

15:30—16:30
Workshop 2

Peaks 1-3
Cassandra Joan McGill, University of Southern California, USA
The Longevity-promoting Intervention 17α-estradiol Protects against Aging Phenotypes in APOE4 Mice

Laura Remesal Gomez, UCSF, USA
Targeting the Iron Associated Factor Ftl1 Restores Cognitive Function in Aging

Dengke Ma, University of California, San Francisco, USA
Insulin-mTOR Hyperfunction Drives Aging in a C. elegans Model of Alkuraya-Kučinskas Syndrome

* Rong Lu, University of Southern California, USA
Small Subsets of Stem Cells Drive the Variability in the Onset of Hematopoietic Aging Across Individual Mice

15:00—16:30
Workshop 2

Peaks 4 & 5
* David R. Thorburn, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Australia

Dipayan Chaudhuri, University of Utah, USA
The Mitochondrial Calcium Uniporter Compensates for Complex I Dysfunction

Friederike Benning, Massachusetts General Hospital, USA
Ancestral Sequence Reconstruction of Mitochondrial Mic60 and Implications for Crista Junction Stability

Seung-Hwa Woo, DGIST, South Korea
Mitochondrial ATP Transporter ANT2 Accelerates Wound Healing in Aged Skin via Regulating Energy Homeostasis and Inflammation

Heike Laman, University of Cambridge, UK
Study of a Conditional Mouse Model and Patient Mutations of Fbxo7/PARK15 to Understand the Interconnected Effects of Mitochondrial and Proteasome Dysfunction in Neurodegeneration

Michael A. Mandell, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, USA
TRIM5α Links Mitophagy with Retroviral Restriction

16:30—17:00
Coffee Available

Colorado Ballroom Foyer
17:00—18:45
Emerging Targets and Opportunities for Geroprotection

Peaks 1-3
* Amy J. Wagers, Harvard University, USA
Whole-body Gene Therapy for Wolfram Syndrome II Progeria in Mice

Makoto Nakanishi, University of Tokyo, Japan
Targeting Senescent Cells to Improve Age-related Disorders

Patrick T. Griffin, Harvard University, USA
Short Talk: TIME-Seq Enables Scalable and Inexpensive Epigenetic Age Predictions

17:00—19:15
Mitochondrial Redox Metabolism / Emerging Therapeutic Modalities

Peaks 4 & 5
* David R. Thorburn, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Australia

Ruma Banerjee, University of Michigan, USA
Choreography of Mitochondrial Cobalamin Trafficking

Bruce M. Spiegelman, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, USA
Mitochondrial Biogenesis and Energy Expenditure

Vishal M. Gohil, Texas A&M University, USA
Therapeutic Approaches to Disorders of Mitochondrial Copper Metabolism

Michio Hirano, Columbia University Medical Center, USA
Nucleoside Bypass Therapy for Mitochondrial Disease

Emily G. Tippetts, University of Utah, USA
Short Talk: Drug Discovery in Zebrafish Models of Leigh Syndrome

18:45—19:00
Meeting Wrap-Up: Outcomes and Future Directions (Organizers)

Peaks 1-3
19:15—19:30
Meeting Wrap-Up: Outcomes and Future Directions (Organizers)

Peaks 4 & 5
19:00—20:00
Social Hour with Lite Bites
No registration fees are used to fund alcohol served at this function.

Breckenridge Ballroom

THURSDAY, MARCH 30

08:00—08:00
Departure


*Session Chair †Invited, not yet responded.



Keystone Symposia thanks our Sponsor(s) for generously supporting this meeting:

GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals

We gratefully acknowledge the generous grant for this conference provided by:


National Institutes of Health

Grant No. 1 R13 AG081119-01

Funding for this conference was made possible (in part) by 1 R13 AG081119-01 from the National Institutes of Health. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention by trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.


We gratefully acknowledge additional in-kind support for this conference from those foregoing speaker expense reimbursements:



Novo Nordisk A/S


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Special thanks to the following for their support of Keystone Symposia initiatives to increase participation at this meeting by scientists from underrepresented backgrounds:


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If your organization is interested in joining these entities in support of Keystone Symposia, please contact: John Monson, Director of Corporate Relations, Email: johnm@keystonesymposia.org,
Phone:+1 970-262-2690

Click here for more information on Industry Support and Recognition Opportunities.

If you are interested in becoming an advertising/marketing in-kind partner, please contact:
Josh May, Director, Technology and Digital Media, Email: joshuam@keystonesymposia.org,
Phone:+1 970-262-1179