1981
Irving S. Wright, MD, gathers aging research leaders at the annual meeting of the American College of Physicians in New Orleans and founds AFAR.

1982
The first AFAR Research Grants are awarded.

First Irving S. Wright Award given to Nathan W. Shock, PhD.

1984
First AFAR state affiliate formed in Ohio.

1986
Charles A. Dana/AFAR Traveling Scholars Program established to encourage interest in geriatric medicine among future physicians.

1987
George E. Doty is elected Chair of the Board of Directors.

The Merck Company Foundation sponsors new fellowships in geriatric clinical pharmacology.

1988
AFAR holds first grantee conference, bringing scientists together to share information, discuss research and create opportunities for future cooperation.

1991
The John A. Hartford Foundation funds new Gero-Physician-Scientist Training Program to provide physicians in various specialties an opportunity to pursue training and research in geriatric medicine.

1993
Hadley Ford is elected Chair of the Board of Directors.

1994
AFAR receives $14 million grant from The John A. Hartford Foundation, The Atlantic Philanthropies and The Commonwealth Fund to administer the Paul Beeson Physician Faculty Scholars in Aging Research Program, the nation's largest non-governmental award program in academic geriatrics and aging research.

AFAR and The John A. Hartford Foundation collaborate to start the Hartford/AFAR Medical Student Geriatric Scholars Program.

The Glenn Foundation for Medical Research funds new Glenn/AFAR Student Scholarship Program for Research in the Biology of Aging.

Annual AFAR Research Grants top $1 million.

1996
AFAR launches four-part media briefing series on older women's health with support from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation.

AFAR develops a website, www.afar.org.

1997
AFAR launches Dorothy Dillon Eweson Lecture Series to educate medical specialists on advances in aging research within their own fields.

Diane Nixon names grant in memory of her mother, Nan Allen Nixon.

The John A. Hartford Foundation funds AFAR to establish a Coordinating Center for the Hartford Foundation's Centers of Excellence Initiative.

AFAR launches Lifelong, a newsletter for older patients published in Geriatrics magazine.

The Merck Company Foundation and AFAR create the Merck/AFAR Research Scholarships in Geriatric Pharmacology.

First "Friends of AFAR" dinner is held in New York City.

AFAR goes global with the first International Conference on Biomedical Aspects of Aging Research held in Venice, Italy.

Sponsors of the Paul Beeson Physician Faculty Scholars in Aging Program commit additional $14 million to fund 31 new Scholars.

1998
The John A. Hartford Foundation and AFAR create the Academic Fellowship Program in Geriatric Medicine and Geriatric Psychiatry.

1999
Pfizer Inc joins with AFAR to create the Pfizer/AFAR Research Grant Program.

2000
AFAR and the Institute for the Study of Aging create the AFAR/ISOA Program for Drug Discovery in Cognitive Decline and Alzheimer's Disease.

The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation adds support for local medical students through the AFAR/Samuels Foundation Medical Student Geriatric Scholars Program.

AFAR launches Infoaging.org, a consumer information website.

The Starr Foundation joins the team of Beeson Program sponsors.

2001
AFAR and the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research create awards program for post-doctoral fellows.

Foundation for Fighting Blindness and AFAR establish a joint program for career development awards in support of research on age-related macular degeneration.

2002
AFAR receives funding from the Merck Company Foundation with a matching grant from the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research to co-fund a segment of the Science of Aging Knowledge Environment (SAGE-KE) project.

The William Randolph Hearst Foundation contributes to the AFAR Research Grant Program.

2003
AFAR launches upstate affiliate program in Rochester, NY, funded by The Starr Foundation.

The Ellison Medical Foundation and AFAR team up to support senior postdoctoral fellows.

AFAR and the Merck Institute on Aging and Health create HealthCompass.org.

2004
Diana Jacobs Kalman elected Chair of the Board of Directors.

AFAR launches southeast affiliate at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.

AFAR celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Beeson Program with the added support of the National Institute on Aging and the new name of The Paul B. Beeson Career Development Awards in Aging Research.

The Pfizer/AFAR Innovations in Aging Research Award is created.

The William Randolph Hearst Foundation adds support to the Medical Student Geriatric Scholars Program.

The Terrapin Society, AFAR's planned giving program, is created.

2005
The Glenn Foundation and AFAR collaborate to create the Glenn/AFAR Breakthroughs in Gerontology (BIG) Award, which provides funding for "high-risk, high-yield" research.

AFAR, The John A. Hartford Foundation and other foundations partner with the NIA on the Medical Student Geriatric Program, renamed the Medical Student Summer Research Training in Aging Program. Foundations include The William Randolph Hearst Foundation, The Cleveland Foundation, Cardinal Health Foundation, Lillian R. Gleitsman Foundation, Community Health Foundation of Western & Central New York, The New York Community Trust and an anonymous donor.

The Novartis Foundation joins with AFAR to establish the Aging Well Initiative.

2006
The Julie Martin Mid-Career Award in Aging Research is created by The Ellison Medical Foundation.

The Fannie E. Rippel Foundation establishes the Fannie E. Rippel Foundation/AFAR New Investigator Awards on Gender Differences in Cardiovascular Disease in Older Adults.

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