Contact: Stacey Harris
212-703-9977

AFAR celebrates the life and mourns the passing of Paul Beeson, MD, who died August 14 at the age of 97.

Dr. Beeson was a visionary in the field of aging research and geriatric medicine. As a consummate researcher, clinician and teacher, he recognized early on the need for a greater focus on the study of aging integrated with the training of more physicians specializing in geriatrics.

His pivotal 1978 Institute of Medicine Study on “Aging and Medical Education,” set a new course in academic medicine, integrating medical, academic and scientific training of junior investigators who have become leaders in geriatric medicine and clinical care.

Dr. Beeson’s influence on the field of aging research was recognized long before his death through the creation of the Paul B. Beeson Career Development Awards in Aging Research Program which has supported some of the brightest scientific minds in the field of aging.

Created to address the dearth of physicians and other clinically trained individuals specializing in geriatrics, the Beeson program has nurtured leaders who will go on to train the next generation of leaders. This may be Dr. Beeson’s most enduring legacy.

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AFAR is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to support biomedical research on aging. It is devoted to creating the knowledge that all of us need to live healthy, productive, and independent lives. Since 1981, AFAR has awarded nearly $133 million to more than 2,500 talented scientists as part of its broad-based series of grant programs. Its work has led to significant advances in our understanding of the aging process, age-related diseases, and healthy aging practices. AFAR communicates news of these innovations through its organizational web site www.afar.org and educational web sites Infoaging (www.infoaging.org) and Health Compass (www.healthcompass.org).