President’s Opening Plenary & Keynote Address

The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) is excited to announce that Dr. Francis Collins will deliver the keynote address at GSA 2025. The address will be part of the President’s Opening Plenary Session on Wednesday, November 12, in Boston, MA - the official kickoff to the meeting.

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President's Opening Plenary | Schedule-of-Events

Wednesday, November 12
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Doors Open at 3:30 PM
Hynes Convention Center, Ballroom A-C, 3rd Floor

Keynote Reflections," an engaging on-stage conversation where the meeting keynote sits down with James Appleby CEO and President Marilyn Gugliucci. This session offers a unique opportunity to delve deeper into the keynote’s themes, explore their real-world implications, and connect them to the broader mission and vision of our organization. Through candid dialogue and audience questions, "Keynote Reflections" fosters thoughtful discussion, highlights diverse perspectives, and sets the stage for meaningful connections throughout the rest of the meeting.

Just us in the exhibit hall immediately following the President's Opening Plenary for the President's Welcome Reception and Exhibit Hall Opening and first poster session, beginning at 5:30 PM in Exhibit Hall C on the 2nd floor.

Keynote Speaker - Francis Collins

Francis Collins, MD, PhD, is a physician and geneticist known for his landmark discoveries of disease genes, for leading the Human Genome Project, for his 12 years as director of the National Institutes of Health, and for championing the harmony of science and faith. 

Collins is one of the best-known scientists of the current era. Under his direction from 1993 to 2003, the Human Genome Project produced a finished sequence of human DNA. He is an elected member of both the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007, and received the National Medal of Science in 2009. In 2020, he was elected as a foreign member of the Royal Society (UK) and was also named the 50th winner of the Templeton Prize, which celebrates scientific and spiritual curiosity. 

In 2006, he wrote about finding harmony between the scientific and spiritual worldviews in The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, which spent 20 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list. He subsequently founded The BioLogos Foundation in 2007, where he currently serves as a senior fellow. His most recent book is The Road To Wisdom: On Truth, Science, Faith, and Trust.

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