Welcome to the SENS Foundation Academic Initiative’s new website. In addition to containing more comprehensive information about the Initiative and what it does, this site offers a number of new features, including a listing of outreach projects and a searchable database of member profiles. The site leaves plenty of room for the Initiative to grow into, thanks to its new committee pages, its new media section, and its more streamlined navigation.

The SENS Foundation Academic Initiative is pleased to announce that it will be awarding up to $30,000 in materials grants in 2012. These grants are available to undergraduate, graduate, and medical students, and may be used to cover the cost of laboratory materials for aging- and rejuvenation-related research projects. A typical grant will range from $500-$2000, but grants of up to $5000 may be awarded for group projects.

A new General Discussion forum specific to the Academic Initiative has been added to SENS Foundation's forums here. This forum provides people associated with the Initiative with a place to introduce themselves and discuss the future and direction of the AI. In the past, much of the Initiative’s internal communication has happened over email; while this will remain an invaluable tool, the forum will provide a more open and collaborative space for discussion.

The structure and website of the SENS Foundation Academic Initiative will be changing significantly in the coming months. The organization itself will be split into branches with their own purposes, while volunteers will serve on committees tasked with specific student-centric functions. The website, meanwhile, will reflect these changes while retaining many of its core functionalities (e.g. a main blog and a listing of updatable projects). More specific changes will be announced at or around the time of the SENS5 conference, to be held from August 31 to September 4.

SENS Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit which works to develop, promote and ensure widespread access to rejuvenation biotechnologies which comprehensively address the disabilities and diseases of aging. The Foundation combines significant direct research efforts with education, affiliation and outreach programs. The SENS Foundation Academic Initiative (AI) is the nexus of its educational activities, which includes student mentoring, small but growing grants and scholarship programs, and coursework development.

On May 4th, 2010 SENS Foundation Academic Coordinator Kelsey Moody announced that he will be resigning his position, having accepted an offer to work as a researcher for ImmunePath Inc., a venture-capitalist backed cancer immunotherapy startup in the bay area.  Kelsey will finish out the remainder of his contract and will begin working with ImmunePath on June 1st.

Tobi Oni has been working with the SENSFAI since 2009.  He's being recognized as our "Featured Student" for the month of April because of his dedication to aging research, and success in establishing a student research group at his home university SUNY Plattsburgh.

Researchers from the SUNY Plattsburgh Department of Psychology are nearing completion of a 6 month AI project aimed at identifying the psychological mechanisms responsible for the pro aging trance.  The manuscript is currently in preparation, and incorporates a novel model for the pro aging trance, based around classical terror management theory and learned helplessness.

SENS Foundation Academic Coordinator Kelsey Moody said, "This project is invaluable to our understanding of the public's perception of aging."