The second annual Y-Age Symposium hosted by the Yale Center for Research on Aging (Y-Age) filled The Anlyan Center at Yale School of Medicine on October 13 as scientists and researchers from Yale and beyond discussed the growing fields of human longevity, geroscience, and the biology of aging.
“I'm so glad that all of you are here. We have to make sure that we are involved in making the fundamental discoveries that will translate. It’s great to be able to assemble together and have a great day of science,” says Vishwa Deep Dixit, DVM, PhD, director of the Y-Age Center, Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Pathology and professor of immunobiology.
In welcoming the guests, Chen Liu, MD, PhD, chair of pathology at Yale School of Medicine, chief of pathology at Yale New Haven Hospital, and Anthony N. Brady Professor of Pathology, praised the growth of Y-Age under Dixit.
“Under the outstanding leadership of our director, Dr. Dixit, we’re building a vibrant collaborative community of investigators, exploring every dimension of aging, from the most fundamental molecular pathways to translational studies that aim to promote longevity and healthy living,” Liu says. “Aging research is more than just a scientific pursuit. It is also a deeply human one. We know that as the population around the world grows older, the challenges and opportunities that come with longevity have never been greater. Our work touches every life. Our faculty, trainees, and collaborators are helping to define what healthy aging could mean in the 21st century.”
Anthony Koleske, PhD, deputy dean for Research (Basic Science) and Ensign Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and of Neuroscience, says the study of aging is important to understand and treat diseases.
“We're making it a strategic priority here at the School of Medicine to address aging, because of its centrality, in basically every disease. Our goal is to make foundational discoveries in the basic science of aging, and then to translate that into better understanding, better treatments for disease, and with the real goal of increasing healthy aging and the so-called health span.”
Keynote speaker Venki Ramakrishnan, PhD, Professor, MRC Laboratory in Molecular Biology and Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, presented on, "Some thoughts on aging and the efforts to combat it,” and discussed his book, Why We Die: The New Science of Ageing and the Quest for Immortality.
While things such as size and ability to fly can increase longevity for certain animal species, the key to longevity for humans is wealth. Ramakrishnan, who is based in Cambridge, England, noted a UK study that showed that people in the top 10% of wealth in the UK live on average 10 years longer than those in the bottom 10% of wealth, despite universal healthcare. In the U.S., the disparity is 15 years. Poor people live shorter lives and spend more of it in poor health.
He also notes that the longest person to live was 122 years old, but while the number of centenarians is growing, the number of people living to 110 is not.
“This doesn't mean that we can't actually change it, but to change it, we have to change fundamental processes about aging, while still keeping us essentially human and it's not clear how that will be. So, I like to say that there's no physical or chemical law that we can't inhabit other galaxies, but it's not a realistic possibility.”