Check out GSA’s New Fellows Forum — Insights on Aging Biology

By CEO James Appleby, BSPharm, MPH

The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences — GSA’s top-rated journal as measured by impact factor for 10 years running — has introduced a new feature within its biological sciences pages that will be of interest to all members. The recently launched Fellows Forum enhances the journal’s connections to the GSA membership by providing a platform for fellows in our Biological Sciences Section to share their insights and experience in the field of aging biology.

The idea was conceived by Co-Editor-in-Chief Rozalyn Anderson, who then operationalized and implemented this innovation with Co-Editor-in-Chief David Le Couteur and Managing Editor Kathleen Jackson. I applaud the team for finding ways to elevate the work of our members and share the powerful impact they’ve had in the field.

To initiate the series, some of our senior-most fellows have been asked to address the current state of biology of aging research and to explore issues of interest to the biology of aging community. The contributions range from historical perspectives and reflections on the field to emerging concepts relevant to aging biology.

Last month, former GSA President Arlan Richardson kicked things off with “You Have Come A Long Way Baby: Five Decades of Research on the Biology of Aging From the Perspective of a Researcher Studying Aging.” This is recommended reading from my perspective, as it gives a concise history of biological aging research in a format that’s easy to digest.

The second entry in the series, “Review of How Genetic Research on Segmental Progeroid Syndromes Has Documented Genomic Instability as a Hallmark of Aging But Let Us Now Pursue Antigeroid Syndromes!” comes to us from another former GSA president, George Martin, along with co-authors Fuki Hisama and Junko Oshima. Martin is often referred to as the father of modern geroscience. This new piece discusses how rare genetic variants can be informative about geriatric diseases and syndromes.

Ultimately, the editors hope that the Fellows Forum will ignite discussion across the journal’s readership and at the same time illustrate the extraordinary breadth of aging research.