Nov. 14 Event @ GSA in Austin: “Living in Dog Years: The Science of How Dogs Age and the Implications for Human Aging”
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For Immediate Release |
Contact: Todd Kluss |
The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) is inviting journalists and members of the public for a free event on the science of dog aging at its 2019 Annual Scientific Meeting in Austin. Texas A&M Associate Professor Kate Creevy, DVM, MS, DACVIM (SAIM), will be among the speakers.
Event: “Living in Dog Years: The Science of How Dogs Age and the Implications for Human Aging”
When: Thursday, November 14, 2019, 7 to 9 p.m.
Location: JW Marriott Austin, Lone Star Ballroom D, Level 3
Cost: Free, but registration is required
Register: bit.ly/livingindogyears (Journalists wishing to attend GSA's meeting should request a complimentary GSA meeting media badge.)
Speakers:
- S. Michal Jazwinski, PhD, FGSA, President, The Gerontological Society of America, and John W. Deming, MD Regents Chair in Aging, Tulane University
- Marie A. Bernard, MD, Deputy Director, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health
- Kate Creevy, DVM, MS, DACVIM (SAIM), Chief Veterinary Officer, Dog Aging Project, and Associate Professor, Texas A&M University
- Matt Kaeberlein, PhD, FGSA, Director of the Dog Aging Project, and Co-Director, University of Washington Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging
Age is the greatest risk factor for many chronic conditions, such as obesity, arthritis, dementia, diabetes, and many cancers. This is true in people and also in our canine companions, who age about seven times more rapidly than humans.
The goal of the citizen science program The Dog Aging Project is to understand how genes, lifestyle, and environment influence biological aging in companion dogs. The project is conducting the first large-scale longitudinal study of canine aging in more than 10,000 dogs along with double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials to evaluate the efficacy of rapamycin to slow aging in dogs.
The results of this project will facilitate efforts to increase health span, the period of life spent free from disease, in companion animals and their people. At this session, attendees will learn about how the citizen science program was conceived and is being implemented, and how the results apply and may be translated to humans.
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The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) is the nation's oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to research, education, and practice in the field of aging. The principal mission of the Society — and its 5,500+ members — is to advance the study of aging and disseminate information among scientists, decision makers, and the general public. GSA’s structure also includes a policy institute, the National Academy on an Aging Society, and an educational unit, the Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education.
