Research

Geropalooza

Geropalooza 2024

Please plan to join us from noon to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 31, 2024, for our second annual Geropalooza Research Symposium in the Beller Conference Center, Floor 1 of the Hemenway Building. REGISTER HERE

The event will again feature the Gerosprint lightning talk competition with the chance to win a grant to help with the described research. Abstracts will be accepted until October 4 and those chosen to present will be notified by October 11. GEROSPRINT ENTRY DETAILS

Our Keynote Speaker is Cathleen Sellner Colin-Emeric, MD, Chief of the Division of Geriatrics in the Department of Medicine and Senior Fellow in the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development at the Duke University School of Medicine. Dr. Colón-Emeric will discuss her work on assessing resilience in the setting of osteoporosis and longitudinally during aging. Dr. Colón-Emeric recently co-chaired the AGS/NIA R13 Bench-to-Bedside Conference Series Stress Tests and Biomarkers of Resilience.

The Landon Center on Aging and the Division of Geriatrics in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center co-host this symposium to support novel and collaborative studies relevant to aging, age-related diseases, healthspan, and longevity.

Geropalooza 2023

Audience during GeroSprint presentations

The Landon Center on Aging hosted the inaugural Geroscience Symposium, Geropalooza, on Wednesday, November 15 on the KUMC campus. The event featured a GeroSprint “lightning talk” challenge with a $10,000 pilot grant funding prize.

Renee Rogers with the division of Physical Activity and Weight Management was the grand prize winner for her presentation “Effects of second-generation incretin hormone agonists on body composition, physical function, and strength in older adults.”

The event also included a keynote speech by Dr. Stelios Andreadis, Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University at Buffalo, “Cellular Reprogramming for Reversing Stem Cell Aging: Implications for Vascular and Muscle Regeneration.”

The GeroSprint presentations included up to 20 slides, with the slides automatically advancing every 20 seconds. The presenters had 6 minutes and 40 seconds to make their pitch, and members of the audience voted to select the pilot grant winner.

The Landon Center on Aging and the Division of Geriatrics in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center were co-hosts of this symposium with the purpose of supporting novel and collaborative studies relevant to aging, age-related diseases, healthspan, and longevity.

GeroSprint Challenge Participants

Cole Bird: SINGS – Song-based Intervention for Neuromusculature in the Geriatric Swallow.
Candice Coffey: Improving Care and Communication in Older Adults through POCUS and PSAPs.
Olivia Eller: Repeated heat treatment to improve chronic pain, resilience, and frailty in aged mice.
Sodiq Fakorede: Impaired Visual and Somatosensory Processing During Dual-Task Postural Control in Older Adults with Cognitive Impairments.
Jullie Galliart & Denise Zwahlen: Retrieving moments of gratitude: An exercise for cognitive benefits for nursing home residents.
Renee Rogers: Effects of second-generation incretin hormone agonists on body composition, physical function, and strength in older adults.

GeroSprint presenters, (from left) Julie Galliart, Candice Coffey, Olivia Eller, Cole Bird, Sodiq Fakorede, Renee Rogers and Denise Zwahlen

Cole Bird during his presentation, "SINGS – Song-based Intervention for Neuromusculature in the Geriatric Swallow."

Sodiq Fakorede during his presentation, "Impaired Visual and Somatosensory Processing During Dual-Task Postural Control in Older Adults with Cognitive Impairments."

Dr. Stelios Andreadis, Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University at Buffalo, presenting “Cellular Reprogramming for Reversing Stem Cell Aging: Implications for Vascular and Muscle Regeneration.”

Dr. Kenneth Seldeen presents the grand prize award to Renee Rogers, division of Physical Activity and Weight Management, for her presentation, “Effects of second-generation incretin hormone agonists on body composition, physical function, and strength in older adults.”

Landon Center on Aging Director, Dr. Bruce Troen, speaking to Geropalooza attendee.