Meet the Speakers of "Aging Brains, Aging Vessels"
By Nicolette Calcavecchia
"Aging Brains, Aging Vessels"
A Sylvan M. Cohen Annual Retreat and extension of the 2026 NAA Conference
Co-sponsored by the Penn Cardiovascular Institute and the North American Artery Society
May 8, 2026
12:00 - 5:00pm
Smilow Center for Translational Research, Rubenstein Auditorium and Lobby
and online
Learn more and view the full schedule here.
Register to attend
Meet the Speakers
Keynote Speaker:
Roxana Carare, MD, PhD
University of Southampton
Roxana Carare qualified in Medicine in Bucharest in 1994. During her basic clinical training, she became fascinated by anatomy and completed her PhD in neuropathology in 2006, in the University of…
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Eddie Lee, MD, PhD named Director of CNDR
By Nicolette Calcavecchia
Congratulations to IOA Co-Director Eddie Lee, MD, PhD, on being named Director of the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research (CNDR) at the University of Pennsylvania, following the leadership of Virginia M.-Y. Lee, PhD.
“Virginia is a generational inspiration. I have learned so much from her about science, how to approach leadership, and what it means to have an impact on the world,” says Dr. Lee. “Her work laid the foundation for the entire field of neurodegenerative diseases.”
In his new role as Director of CNDR, Dr. Lee will prioritize (1) enhancing pathology, biomarker, and genomic infrastructure, including digital…
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IOA Member Spotlight: Nirmala Nirinjini Naidoo, PhD - Understanding how disrupted sleep affects the brain
By Nicolette Calcavecchia
Nirmala Nirinjini Naidoo, PhD
Research Professor of Medicine (Sleep Medicine), University of Pennsylvania
Biography
Nirmala Nirinjini Naidoo, PhD, is a Research Professor of Medicine (Sleep Medicine) and Chair of the Chronobiology and Sleep Institute Seminar Series at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Naidoo’s research focuses on proteostatic mechanisms underlying age related changes in sleep and wake regulation. She has established that sleep loss or sleep disturbances induce endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress that up-regulates an adaptive homeostatic signaling pathway, the unfolded protein response (UPR). She has demonstrated that the UPR and proteostasis become impaired with aging. ER stress and the UPR are critical to…
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Aging Reimagined: Innovation in the Era of AI
By Nicolette Calcavecchia
On Friday, November 21, the Institute on Aging and PennAITech—funded by the National Institute on Aging (Grant No. P30AG073105) hosted the Sylvan M. Cohen Annual Retreat and Poster Session, showcasing how artificial intelligence (AI) is driving new breakthroughs and transforming aging-related research and care.
The keynote address was delivered by Amanda Lazar, PhD, Associate Professor in the College of Information Studies and Director of the Health, Aging, and Technology (THAT) Lab at the University of Maryland. Dr. Lazar kicked off the symposium with her talk, “Redrawing the Boundaries of Innovation: Making AI Work in Real Life.” Her research centers…
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Over $34K raised at Penn Medicine's 14th Annual 5K for the IOA and Memory Mile Walk
By Nicolette Calcavecchia
This year marked Penn Medicine's 14th annual 5K for the IOA and Memory Mile Walk! Nearly $35K was raised to support the Joseph A. Brennan Research Scholar Award, contributing to aging-related research and care at Penn's Institute on Aging.
This year's stats:
- 199 Runners and Walkers
- 42 Volunteers
- $34,645 estimated raised
View Race Results here.
View Race Photos here.
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