VITAL

Agenda for VITAL symposium: Oct 29, 2026

TBA

Keynote Speakers

Andrew Dillin, PhD is a Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Dr. Dillin’s research focuses on understanding why aging organisms lose control of protein homeostasis and how this loss leads to organismal aging and declining health. Using C. elegans and mammalian systems, his lab studies how cells respond to environmental and proteotoxic stress and how these processes contribute to aging and age associated disease. By developing approaches to manipulate signaling pathways and proteins, Dr. Dillin aims to uncover fundamental mechanisms of aging and inform therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, and Parkinson’s diseases.

Andrew Yang, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Gladstone Institutes and UCSF Department of Neurology. His lab develops tools to study communication between the brain and body, with a focus on the blood-brain barrier and neuroimmune interactions. His work is revealing the BBB as a selective gateway for neuroprotective proteins, and that the CNS regulates immune cell residency in unexpected ways. He is a recipient of the NIH Director’s Early Independence Award, and was named a Searle Scholar and MIT Technology Review’s Innovator Under 35. He completed his Ph.D. at Stanford University before starting his independent lab as a UCSF Sandler Fellow.

VITAL 2026 committee members: 

1. Keynote: José Adan Arevalo, Parminder Singh
2. Talks & Posters: Laurel Koch, Hashan Jayarathne
3. Refreshments: Cristian Geronimo-Olvera
4. Swag: Caitlyn Fastenau, Bijoya Sen
5. Funding: Parminder Singh, Annalise Schweickart