Coordination and consolidation of European Biogerontology will represent a step forward en route towards the formation of a European College of Biogerontology. LINK-AGE will be a Coordination Action building upon, and very significantly extending, existing European research in this field. Such research is at present highly fragmented, limiting the ability to progress in an area of great economic and social importance for the future of Europe. LINK-AGE will provide an open, transparent mechanism to integrate research by adressing the following core objectives : 1)To identify and help implement common research strategies that will generate critical mass ans added-value from European biogerontology research. 2) To establish a process that will help bring new researchers into the field from new geographical regions within the wider European community. 3) To establish a process that will bring new researchers into the field from other research area within life sciences and health of relevance to ageing and longevity. 4) To establish a framework that will allow effective integration of research on different species to maximise the opportunities for synergy and interaction between researchers working on such species. To meet these objectives, LINK-AGE will establish it membership in an inclusive way, using clearly defined criteria for scientific quality and relevance to its objectives. It will support a closely coordinated programme of topic working groups, workshops and conferences, summer schools and dissemination activities. Through its dissemination activities, it will develop effective links with the wider public, industry, policy makers and stakeholder groups, in order that translation into benefit of emerging knowledge of the underpinning science of healthy ageing can be exploited as rapidly as possible. Links with industry will be of high priority, as will the potential to add value by developing links with researchers outside EU.
Keywords:
Ageing, Longevity, Genomics, Biotechnology
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