Aging is the major risk factor for most chronic diseases and a central driver of declining tissue and organismal function. The field is entering a new phase, enabled by advances in biomarkers, molecular profiling, functional phenotyping, and mechanistic biology. A major challenge is to determine which age-associated changes reflect functional decline, which mechanisms drive loss of resilience and disease vulnerability, and which processes can be modified to improve human health.

This Keystone Symposia conference on Aging: Decoding Functional Decline and Advancing Therapeutic Strategies will connect how aging is measured, how functional decline arises, and how these insights can inform intervention. The program will highlight advances in functional readouts and biomarkers, mechanisms of tissue decline, translational models, and therapeutic development. Attendees will gain exposure to emerging concepts and unpublished findings, while identifying opportunities for collaboration and translation.

The conference will convene investigators in aging biology, immunology, stem cell and regenerative biology, cancer biology, mitochondrial biology, human aging, computational and biomarker research, clinical geroscience, and industry. Bringing these communities into direct dialogue will allow molecular mechanisms, human studies, and therapeutic development to inform one another.

Rather than organizing the conference around a conventional catalogue of aging hallmarks, the program is structured around connected questions: How should aging and functional decline be measured? What determines resilience or vulnerability with age? Which biological changes are causal and actionable? How can mechanistic insights be translated into meaningful interventions? As measurement, mechanism, and therapeutic development increasingly converge, this conference will help define priorities for the next phase of aging research.

Unique Career Development Opportunities

This meeting will feature a Career Roundtable where trainees and early-career investigators will have the opportunity to interact with field leaders from across academic and industry sectors for essential career development advice and networking opportunities. Find out more about Career Roundtables here: https://www.keystonesymposia.org/diversity/career-development-initiatives