2026 Healthy Aging Symposium
From Cells to Society: The Science of Extending Healthspan
Please join us for the launch of the annual Healthy Aging Symposium at Harvard, hosted by the Healthy Aging Initiative at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and supported by the Danone Institute North America (DINA). The inaugural Healthy Aging Symposium will be held October 9, 2026, at the Joseph B. Martin Conference Center in the Veritas Science Center. The symposium will showcase cross-disciplinary excellence in healthy aging research, spanning biological sciences, social sciences, nutrition, environmental health, epidemiology and policy. This event is free and open to students, researchers, community stakeholders, and industry professionals from the Boston/Cambridge innovation ecosystem. Registration priority will be given to Harvard students and faculty, depending on numbers.
The symposium will be a full day event, in-person only, with talks from experts in the field, panel discussions, and time for rising stars and trainees to show how their work fits into the rapidly growing science of healthy aging. We will provide coffee and a continental breakfast, boxed lunches, and there will be an evening wine & cheese reception to close out the day. If you are interested in attending, please fill out the registration form, and we will reach out closer to the date with more details. If you have questions, please contact Kelsey Hunt (khunt@hsph.harvard.edu).
Now Accepting Poster Abstract Submissions!
Please submit an abstract for consideration for the poster session during our evening reception. Abstracts may present original research, practice, theory, methods, or technological innovations related to Healthy Aging.
Guidelines:
- Open to Harvard graduate students (Master’s or Doctorate), postdoctoral fellows, and faculty.
- Research abstracts should use the following headings: Background, Objectives, Methods, Results, and Conclusions.
- Abstracts must be work that has not yet been published.
- Use 12 point font and a maximum of 350 words. Include your poster title, collaborators, and organizations/affiliations.
- Please submit your abstract through the abstract submission form before midnight on Tuesday, September 8, 2026. Selections will be made by Wednesday, September 16, and we will send out notifications along with further information about poster board dimensions at that time.
Tentative Symposium Agenda
9:00-9:30am
9:30-10:00am
10:00-10:45am
10:45-11:35am
Nutrition and Healthy Aging
11:35-11:55am
11:55am-12:45pm
Break
Aging Biomarkers: Microbiome + Multi-omics: Diet ↔ Microbiome ↔ Host Aging Biology
12:45-1:15pm
1:15-2:15pm
2:15-3:05pm
Panel Discussion with Morning Speakers
Lunch
Environment, Immunity & Infectious Challenge: Exposures and Immune Resilience Across the Lifespan
3:05-3:55pm
Cohorts: Epidemiology from Nutrition to Behavioral Sciences: “Proof in People” and Lifecourse Trajectories
3:55-4:15pm
4:15-4:45pm
4:45-5:30pm
5:30-6:00pm
6:00-7:00pm
Closing Remarks
Poster Session & Wine and Cheese Reception
Elements Cafe
Supported by
ⓘ Harvard Chan School hosts a diverse array of speakers, invited to share both scholarly research and personal perspectives. They do not speak for the School, and hosting them does not imply endorsement of their views, organizations, or employers.