Contact: Stacey Harris
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AFAR Mourns the Death of Vincent Cristofalo

AFAR mourns the passing of esteemed and founding board member and past president Vincent Cristofalo, PhD who passed away in May. Dr. Cristofalo was an internationally known leader in aging research. A cell biologist, he was a pioneer in the study of cell aging, becoming one of the first researchers to document the dynamics and regulation of cell replication in the aging process.

His work helped us gain a greater understanding of the genetic, molecular and environmental mechanisms that influence the life of cells.

Dr. Cristofalo, was a former president of the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research and was founding director of the Institute of Aging at the University of Pennsylvania. He also was the founding director of the Institute of Aging at the Medical College of Pennsylvania. At the time of his death, he was a senior investigator at Lankenau and a professor of pathology, anatomy, and cell biology at Jefferson Medical College.

We are grateful for his longstanding commitment to aging research, leadership and dedication to AFAR.

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AFAR is a private, 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 $113 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).