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Special Events
Welcoming Conference Reception
Wednesday, December 10
4:30 - 7:00 p.m.
Plan to join your conference peers and friends for relaxation and delicious dining.
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Awards Luncheon
Friday, December 12
11:15 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
The luncheon will provide the perfect atmosphere to visit with colleagues and friends and honor the Aging Network's exceptional public servants. Awards are given by various professional associations to individuals and organizations whose contributions and accomplishments merit recognition. For more information, contact Maureen Squires: 217-785-8683.
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Opening General Session
Thursday, December 11
9:00 - 10:30 a.m.
"Navigating the Road to 100"
Presented by Thomas Perls, M.D., M.P.H.
 Dr. Perls is a physician and researcher in the study of aging at Boston University Medical School. As Associate Professor in Medicine and a Geriatrician he cares for older patients at Boston Medical Center. Since he first discovered that his centenarian patients were among his healthiest, Dr. Perls has become one of a handful of the world’s experts studying these exceptional human beings. For the past eight years, he has directed the New England Centenarian Study (NECS). Funded by The Institute for the Study of Aging, The Ellison Medical Foundation, The Alzheimer’s Association, and The National Institute on Aging, the NECS is the largest genetic and social study of centenarians and their families in the world.
Centenarians have a history of aging very slowly and have either markedly delayed or entirely escaped diseases normally associated with aging such, as Alzheimer's disease, cancer, stroke and heart disease. Dr. Perls and his colleagues recently discovered a key genetic region that plays a critical role in how centenarians age so well and live for such a long time. He is on the fast track to discovering these longevity-enabling genes, which could translate into the development of age-slowing and disease-retarding drugs. Both USA Today and The New York Times have recognized Dr. Perls for the potential far-reaching and dramatic impacts such discoveries could mean for today's baby boomers and future generations.
Findings from the study are presented in his book, Living to 100, Lessons in Maximizing Your Potential at Any Age. In addition, Dr. Perls created The Living to 100 Life Expectancy Calculator (visit www.livingto100.com). With multiple publications and presentations, Dr. Perls and the centenarian subjects have garnered a great deal of media attention including appearances on The Today Show, Good Morning America, Oprah, nightly news programs and NPR.
Centenarians represent a new paradigm of aging: The older you get, the healthier you’ve been. Although genetics plays an important role in getting to 100 years of age, the centenarian study and its collaborators show us that most people should be able to live to their late eighties in exceptional health. These 25 to 30 years beyond age 60 of good health could mean a gold mine of new possibilities and vast potential for today's baby boomers and future generations.
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