image: These are the BGRF & OUSS logos. view more
Credit: Biogerontology Research Foundation & Oxford University Scientific Society
Aug. 15, 2017, London, UK: The Biogerontology Research Foundation and the Oxford University Scientific Society announce a partnership to elevate the impact of their respective public education and outreach activities in the area of biogerontology and aging research.
"The Oxford University Scientific Society is proud to announce a collaboration with the Biogerontology Research Foundation. As a student society, it strives to advocate public understanding of science by hosting distinguished experts from a variety of disciplines ranging from life sciences and chemistry to engineering, information technology and even ethics. In addition, the OUSS will be looking to expand the range of events it organises to include conferences, hackathons and panel discussion. The Biogerontology Research Foundation's goals regarding longevity and healthy life extension align with our own and within the next academic year we will devote a portion of our efforts to promote the science of aging amongst the Oxford academic community." said Jakub Stefaniak, President of the Oxford University Scientific Society and Director of Public Outreach & Education of the Biogerontology Research Foundation.
The Biogerontology Research Foundation has always striven to keep public education and outreach regarding aging research, and encouraging young scientists to enter the field, among its top priorities, via its student internship program and through a variety of conferences and symposia held throughout the past decade. Their hope is to continue this tradition by strengthening their connections to leading university student societies like the Oxford University Scientific Society.
"The Biogerontology Research Foundation is proud to announce a partnership with the Oxford University Scientific Society. Public outreach and education is perhaps more important for biogerontology and the clinical translation of effective healthspan-extending interventions than for any other field within life-science given the massive potential that the field has to relieve suffering and lessen the economic burden associated with demographic aging with respect to how little funding the field receives. Educating both the public at large as well as young scientists about to choose a career path about the future promise of biomedical gerontology, and advocating for a paradigm shift in healthcare that emphasizes healthspan extension and compression of morbidity over sick care and single-disease treatment, has never been more important, and we hope to make a small but measurable impact on this front in the years to come." said Franco Cortese, Deputy Director & Trustee of the Biogerontology Research Foundation.
Part of this newly-announced partnership also involves the appointment of Jack Stefaniak, President of the Oxford University Scientific Society, as Director of Public Outreach and Education at the Biogerontology Research Foundation, where he will lead the foundation's outreach and education efforts, including organizing events, conferences, panel discussions, meet-ups and a monthly Biogerontology Research Foundation podcast.
"The Oxford University Scientific Society is one of the oldest and most reputable undergraduate science societies in the world providing students with access to some of the most prominent academic luminaries and industry thought leaders. Ageing is among some of the most prominent scientific and social challenges humanity is facing today and we are very happy to join forces with the OUSS to help develop experts and leaders in the field of biomedical gerontology." said Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, the Chief Scientific Officer of the Biogerontology Research Foundation.
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About the Biogerontology Research Foundation
The Biogerontology Research Foundation is a UK non-profit research foundation and public policy center seeking to fill a gap within the research community, whereby the current scientific understanding of the ageing process is not yet being sufficiently exploited to produce effective medical interventions. The BGRF funds and conducts research which, building on the body of knowledge about how ageing happens, aims to develop biotechnological interventions to remediate the molecular and cellular deficits which accumulate with age and which underlie the ill-health of old age. Addressing ageing damage at this most fundamental level will provide an important opportunity to produce the effective, lasting treatments for the diseases and disabilities of ageing, required to improve quality of life in the elderly. The BGRF seeks to use the entire scope of modern biotechnology to attack the changes that take place in the course of ageing, and to address not just the symptoms of age-related diseases but also the mechanisms of those diseases.
About the Oxford University Scientific Society
Established in 1882, Oxford University Scientific Society is one of the oldest science societies in the world. It organizes debates, events and talks, and offers its members the opportunity to listen to interesting and talented speakers who are at the forefront of their field. The society offers its members the opportunity to listen to interesting and talented speakers who are at the forefront of their field. The talks are held weekly and are intended to be of general scientific interest. Past talks have included Sir Martyn Poliakoff, Professor Alexander Halliday, and Sir Roger Penrose. The society also organises free or subsidized visits to places of scientific interest. Past events have included tours of the Joint European Torus project, the Bodleian Library, the Oxford Museum of the History of Science, the National Space centre in Leicester, the Body Worlds exhibition in London and the MINI factory in Oxford.