Webinars covering a broad range of topics related to the study of aging have been scheduled for this fall, with the first one on Sept. 23 providing an update to the research community on the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

CLSA co-principal investigator Susan Kirkland will talk about the various milestones achieved by the study in the past year, and provide descriptive statistics of study participants at baseline, in a presentation at 1 p.m. (ET) on Wednesday, Sept. 23.

Dr. Kirkland, professor in the Departments of Community Health & Epidemiology and Medicine at Dalhousie University, will also discuss the future availability of Comprehensive data and biospecimens, and how the second wave of data collection is being rolled out.

The webinar will be of interest to researchers or students who are involved in studying the many aspects of aging, as well those working for agencies or organizations involved with research or providing care and services to older populations.

The CLSA has completed its baseline recruitment and data collection of 51,338 participants aged 45 to 85, from across Canada. Data collection will occur once every three years over a period of 20 years.  As data is collected it will become part of a research platform that will enable the continuing study for decades to come of how various factors influence health and the development of disease and disability as people age.

Future CLSA webinars include Dr. Brent Richards of McGill University, who will discuss the genetics of osteoporosis on Oct. 19, and Dr. Bill Leslie from the University of Manitoba, who will describe fracture risk assessments on Nov. 16.