Bai, Hua

Abstract Geroscience research benefits from interdisciplinary approaches, team science, and collaborations, which collectively facilitate the discovery of aging mechanisms and their translation into tangible, clinical interventions. Since its inception in 2019, the Midwest Aging Consortium (MAC) has provided an engaging platform for aging researchers in the United States’ Midwest to connect, collaborate, and exchange ideas. The Sixth Annual Research Symposium of the MAC held at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in April 2025 highlighted the continued impact of the MAC in bringing together aging researchers, including many trainees and early career investigators, into a collaborative environment. This record-setting event featured interdisciplinary research on key aging mechanisms, including lipid metabolism, mitochondrial dysfunction, stress response, cellular senescence, and immune adaptations across organ systems. New therapeutic concepts and clinical trial approaches were presented. Cutting-edge methodologies including single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, metabolomics, and organoid cultures, to dissect aging process in tissue-specific and systemic contexts also were presented. Overall, the MAC symposium underscored the translational potential of geroscience and reinforced the MAC’s mission to accelerate aging research through regional collaborations and innovation.

Abstract As the healthcare burden caused by an increasingly aging population rapidly rises, a pressing need exists for innovative geroscience research that can elucidate aging mechanisms and precipitate the development of therapeutic interventions to support healthy aging. The Fifth Annual Midwest Aging Consortium Aging Research symposium, held from April 28 to 30, 2024, was hosted by The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, and featured presentations from investigators across the Midwestern United States. This report summarizes the research presented at the symposium, whose topics included cellular senescence and the aging brain, metabolism and metabolic interventions, nutrition, redox mechanisms and biomarkers, and stress mechanisms. Abstract presentations and short talks highlighted early-stage and young investigators, whereas 2 keynote presentations anchored the symposium. Overall, this symposium showed the robustness of aging research in the Midwest and underscored the advantages of a collaborative approach to geroscience research.

Abstract The Midwest Aging Consortium (MAC) has emerged as a critical collaborative initiative aimed at advancing our understanding of aging and developing strategies to combat the rising prevalence of age-related diseases. Founded in 2019, MAC brings together researchers from various disciplines and institutions across the Midwestern United States to foster interdisciplinary geroscience research. This report summarizes the highlights of the Fourth Annual Symposium of MAC, which was held at Iowa State University in May 2023. The symposium featured presentations on a wide array of topics, including studies on slow-aging animals, cellular senescence and senotherapeutics, the role of the immune system in aging, metabolic changes in aging, neuronal health in aging, and biomarkers for measuring the aging process. Speakers shared findings from studies involving a variety of animals, ranging from commonly used species such as mice, rats, worms, yeast, and fruit flies, to less-common ones like naked mole-rats, painted turtles, and rotifers. MAC continues to emphasize the importance of supporting emerging researchers and fostering a collaborative environment, positioning itself as a leader in aging research. This symposium not only showcased the current state of aging biology research but also highlighted the consortium’s role in training the next generation of scientists dedicated to improving the healthspan and well-being of the aging population.

Abstract The geroscience hypothesis suggests that addressing the fundamental mechanisms driving aging biology will prevent or mitigate the onset of multiple chronic diseases, for which the largest risk factor is advanced age. Research that investigates the root causes of aging is therefore of critical importance given the rising healthcare burden attributable to age-related diseases. The third annual Midwest Aging Consortium symposium was convened as a showcase of such research performed by investigators from institutions across the Midwestern United States. This report summarizes the work presented during a virtual conference across topics in aging biology, including immune function in the lung—particularly timely given the Corona Virus Immune Disease-2019 pandemic—along with the role of metabolism and nutrient-regulated pathways in cellular function with age, the influence of senescence on stem cell function and inflammation, and our evolving understanding of the mechanisms underlying observation of sex dimorphism in aging-related outcomes. The symposium focused on early-stage and emerging investigators, while including keynote presentations from leaders in the biology of aging field, highlighting the diversity and strength of aging research in the Midwest.

Abstract While the average human life span continues to increase, there is little evidence that this is leading to a contemporaneous increase in “healthy years” experienced by our aging population. Consequently, many scientists focus their research on understanding the process of aging and trialing interventions that can promote healthspan. The 2021 Midwest Aging Consortium consensus statement is to develop and further the understanding of aging and age-related disease using the wealth of expertise across universities in the Midwestern United States. This report summarizes the cutting-edge research covered in a virtual symposium held by a consortium of researchers in the Midwestern United States, spanning topics such as senescence biomarkers, serotonin-induced DNA protection, immune system development, multisystem impacts of aging, neural decline following severe infection, the unique transcriptional impact of calorie restriction of different fat depots, the pivotal role of fasting in calorie restriction, the impact of peroxisome dysfunction, and the influence of early life trauma on health. The symposium speakers presented data from studies conducted in a variety of common laboratory animals as well as less-common species, including Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila, mice, rhesus macaques, elephants, and humans. The consensus of the symposium speakers is that this consortium highlights the strength of aging research in the Midwestern United States as well as the benefits of a collaborative and diverse approach to geroscience.