Senescence is known in the field of biology as the aging process of cells until they stop dividing but do not die. It is an important factor in aging and can be related to the development of various diseases.
On 9 May 2025, the UB – Dr. Antoni Esteve i Subirana Chair for Research in Pharmacology organized the symposium Senescence and ageing, challenges of pharmacology research, in which a dozen researchers presented their advances in this field for a whole day. The symposium took place in the Aula Magna of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences of the University of Barcelona.
The day opened with a first session on molecular mechanisms of senescence and ageing and the identification of pharmacological targets, which featured the following presentations:
1. Cellular senescence and the immune system: new weapons and new challenges
José A López Domínguez
University of Salamanca
2. Senolytics and beyond: targeting the molecular mechanisms of cellular senescence
Ana Guerrero
University of Barcelona
3. RNA-based mechanisms that regulate cellular senescence
Marta Montes
University of Cantabria
4. Cronoquines: healthy aging and longevity. Klotho as a paradigm
Miguel Chillón
ICREA / Autonomous University of Barcelona
This was followed by Manuel Serrano, from the Cambridge Science Institute and Altos Labs, who gave the inaugural conference Mitochondria as a pharmacological target against cellular senescence.
The second session of the symposium, entitled Pharmacological and non-pharmacological modulation in senescence and ageing, featured the following presentations:
5. Second generation senotetherapies for healthy aging: beyond senolytics
Salvador Macip
Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center / Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
6. Melatonin in aging and frailty
Darío Acuña-Castroviejo
University of Navarra
7. Physical exercise and muscle aging
Carmen Gómez-Cabrera
University of Valencia
Finally, the third session of the symposium focused on strategies to increase quality of life during aging and will feature the following presentations.
8. When is aging successful? Brain factors and mechanisms
David Bartrés-Faz
University of Barcelona
9. Major and clinical trials: a challenge to be solved
Leocadio Rodríguez
University Hospital of Getafe / CIBERFES
10. Review of medication through the process of person-centered care in the elderly population
Carol Rovira Algara
Management of Primary Care and the Community of Central Catalonia, Catalan Institute of Health
