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Masoro-Barshop Conference on Aging

October 09 - 12, 2025

The Mayan Dude Ranch, Bandera, Texas

“Dietary Approaches to Geroscience Intervention”

Registration is now OPEN.

Registration and abstract submission deadline is September 5, 2025.

Selected abstracts will be chosen for a short talk after each session.

Accepted abstracts will be published in a Special Issue of the Open Access journal Aging Pathobiology and Therapeutics (APT), the official journal of the Geropathology Research Network. If you do not wish for your abstract to be published, please inform the Barshop Institute by email (barshopinstitute@uthscsa.edu).

About the Conference

The Masoro-Barshop Conference on Aging is held each year in Bandera, TX, to assemble leaders in a thematic area of geroscience in an informal setting to maximize discussion on their recent research discoveries. This format provides opportunities for investigators and trainees to learn about this cutting-edge research and interact with leaders in the field. Held annually at the Mayan Dude Ranch in Bandera TX, this conference highlights rotating thematic areas of geroscience, since the process of aging is a complex biological phenomenon encompassing and affecting numerous changes at the cellular and physiological level. The conference is supported by the aging research programs associated with the Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies.

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS

Rozalyn Anderson, PhD
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Doug Mashek, PhD
University of Minnesota
Tracy G. Anthony, PhD
Rutgers University
Debora Melo van Lent, PhD
UT Health San Antonio
Sebastian Brandhorst, PhD
University of Southern California
Benjamin Miller, PhD
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
Yan Du, PhD, MPH, RN
UT Health San Antonio
James F. Nelson, PhD
UT Health San Antonio
Luigi Ferrucci, MD, PhD
National Institute on Aging
Satchidananda Panda, PhD
Salk Institute for Biological Studies
David Gius, MD, PhD
UT Health San Antonio
Courtney Peterson, PhD
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Cristal M. Hill, PhD
University of Southern California
Corinna Ross, PhD
Texas BioMedical Research Institute
Catherine Kaczorowski, PhD
University of Michigan
Elena Volpi, MD, PhD, FGSA
UT Health San Antonio
Pankaj Kapahi, PhD
Buck Institute for Research on Aging
Shangang Zhao, PhD
UT Health San Antonio
Dudley Lamming, PhD
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Daily Schedule

Upon ArrivalCheck-in: The Mayan Dude Ranch front desk
(room keys, map of ranch, sign-up for horseback riding)
1:00 - 4:00pBiology of Aging Student Presentations
1:00 - 6:00Check-in: Pick up name badges and goody bag
The Round Up Room (left of the front desk)
5:00 - 6:00Entertainment/Social Hour – Live snake show – Carl from Reptile Garden
6:00 - 7:30DINNER - BBQ
7:30 - 9:00pSession I
7:30 - 8:00James Nelson, PhD: “A brief history of calorie restriction research and Edward Masoro’s legacy.”
8:00 - 8:30Luigi Ferrucci, MD, PhD: “The centrality of mitochondrial health to aging”
8:30 - 9:00Dudley Lamming, PhD: “The regulation of healthy aging by dietary branched-chain amino acids”
7:00 - 8:30aBREAKFAST
9:00 - 12:00pSession II
9:00 - 9:30Douglas Mashek, PhD: "Metabolic and physiological effects of over or undereating"
9:30 - 10:00Cristal Hill, PhD: "Cellular and Molecular Adaptation during Dietary Protein Restriction Improves Health Span"
10:00 - 10:30Sebastian Brandhorst, PhD: "Fasting-Mimicking Diets improve Aging and Disease"
10:30 - 10:45Break/One-on-one discussion
10:45 - 11:15Elena Volpi, MD, PhD, FGSA:
11:15 - 11:45Debora Melo van Lent, PhD: "Clinical trials to inform the effect of nutrition on dementia risk"
11:45 - 12:00pSelected Abstract Speaker
12:00 - 1:30LUNCH
1:30 - 4:00pSession III
1:30 - 2:00David Gius, MD, PhD: "Ketogenic diet promotes the accumulation of cells expressing senescence markers"
2:00 - 2:30Catherine Kaczorowski, PhD: "Using Complex Genetics in Mice to Unlock the Secrets of Cognitive Resilience"
2:30 - 2:45Break/One-on-one discussion
2:45 - 3:15Pankaj Kapahi, PhD: "How dietary restriction influences brain aging and neurodegeneration"
3:15 - 3:45Shangang Zhao, PhD: "Repeated withdrawal of a GLPR agonist induces hyperleptinemia and deteriorates metabolic health in obese aging UM-HET3 mice"
3:45 - 4:00Selected Abstract Speaker
4:00 - 5:30Free Time and Entertainment
5:30 - 7:00POSTER SESSION - at the Pavilion
7:00 - 8:30DINNER - Mexican Fiesta
8:30 - 8:45Entertainment - Dance lessons at the Pavilion
7:00 - 8:30aBREAKFAST
9:00 - 12:00pSession IV - Moderator: Christopher Litwin
9:00 - 9:30Satchidananda Panda, PhD: "Circadian Rhythm theory for healthy lifespan"
9:30 - 10:00Courtney Peterson, PhD: "Can Intermittent Fasting Slow Primary and Secondary Aging in Humans?"
10:00 - 10:30Benjamin Miller, PhD: “An alternative perspective on protein supplementation for aging muscle”
10:30 - 10:45Break/One-on-one discussion
10:45 - 11:15Tracy Anthony, PhD: "Amino acid insufficiency and the integrated stress response"
11:15 - 11:30Selected Abstract Speaker
11:30 - 12:00Corinna Ross, PhD:
12:00 - 1:30pLUNCH
1:45 - 4:00pSession V - Moderator: Laurence Maeyens
1:45 - 2:15Yan Du, PhD: “Dietary Interventions to Promote Healthy Aging: From Evidence to Community Implementation”
2:15 - 2:45Rozalyn Anderson, PhD: "Caloric restriction in nonhuman primates"
2:45 - 3:00Break/One-on-one discussion
3:00 - 3:30Selected Abstract Speaker
3:30 - 3:45Selected Abstract Speaker
3:45 - 4:00Selected Abstract Speaker
4:00 - 6:45Free Time and Entertainment
6:45Gather for hayride
7:00 - 8:30DINNER - Hayride to Hicksville
7:00 - 8:30aBREAKFAST
8:30 - 9:30Cowboy Breakfast (optional)
Ride a horse or take a hay ride to an old-fashioned cowboy-style breakfast!
7:00 - 11:00aCheck-out and departure

Conference Sponsors

Important Information and Fees
2024 Conference pictures
2023 Conference pictures
2022 Conference pictures
Map of The Mayan Ranch. Click for larger view.