Winter 2009
e-Newsletter
Volume 3, Issue 1
The Science of Healthier Aging
1. Thoughts from AFAR - A Note from the Executive
Director ____________________________________________ Thoughts from AFAR - A Note from the Executive Director
As we
embark on 2009, we have a great deal to be grateful for. The sustained
support of our friends representing foundations, corporations, the
National Institute on Aging, and generous individuals, has allowed us to
stay the course in tough economic times. We believe that investing in
aging research will provide solid growth, because the strength of AFAR’s
investments is its people. And that never loses value.
All the best for a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year.
____________________________________________ Corporate and Scientific Leaders Honored for their
Contributions to Research on Aging
Peter D. Meldrum, of Myriad Genetics, Christoph Westphal, MD, PhD, of
Sirtris, and John W. Rowe, MD, of Columbia University, were among the
honorees at the AFAR annual awards dinner that took place on October 6,
2008, at New York City’s Grand Hyatt. The event, which attracted some 180
people from the corporate, scientific, and foundation communities, as well
as individual AFAR supporters, was held in conjunction with AFAR’s
scientific conference, Aging and Cancer: Two Sides of
the Same Coin. Both events raised more than $250,000 that will
support AFAR’s flagship research grant program, which funds early-career
scientists studying the biology of aging and age-related diseases and
disorders. To read about our 2008 Research Grant recipients, click here.
Other honorees included Arlan Richardson, PhD, of the University of
Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and Ana Maria Cuervo, MD, PhD,
of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
_____________________________________________ AFAR Hosts Conference on the Biology of Cancer
An overview of the conference proceedings can be found at www.afar.org/cancerconfproceedings.html.
To receive emailed or printed copies, please contact Stacey Harris,
director of communications at Stacey@afar.org or
212-703-9977.
A full program listing can be found at www.afar.org/cancerconf.html.
AFAR thanks conference organizers: board members Harvey Cohen, MD,
George M. Martin, MD, Roger McCarter, PhD, Dick Sprott, PhD, and Fox
Wetle, PhD, as well as Jean-Luc Vanderheyden, PhD, of GE Healthcare and
Margaret Yu, MD, of Myriad Pharmaceuticals.
The conference was sponsored by: an anonymous donor, Eli Lilly, The
Ellison Medical Foundation, GE Healthcare, Glenn Foundation for Medical
Research, Myriad Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, and the 2008 Dorothy Dillon
Eweson Lecture Series.
The meeting was also supported by 1R13AG033508-01 from the National
Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health.
_____________________________________________ Spotlight On: The Glenn Foundation for Medical
Research For more than two decades, the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research,
founded by philanthropist Paul F. Glenn, has been a consistent and loyal
supporter of AFAR. Recently, the Glenn Foundation committed $5 million to
support the AFAR Research Grant
Program and the Glenn/AFAR
Breakthroughs in Gerontology (BIG) Awards. AFAR Research Grants
provide start-up funding to scientists in the early phases of their
careers, enabling them to study the basic mechanisms of aging, age-related
diseases, and processes underlying common geriatric functional disorders.
The BIG Awards support innovative higher-risk research that may offer
significant promise of yielding transforming discoveries in the
fundamental biology of aging that could lead to major new insights into
the factors that regulate aging. [Read about the 2008 BIG award
winners.]
Paul Glenn had a remarkable vision about the promise of research on the
biology of aging years before the field of aging research even became a
field. Starting the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research in 1965 to
direct much needed funds to scientists studying the basic mechanisms of
aging processes, created awareness that such an area of scientific study
was needed and existed. Glenn understood early on that the way to combat
the diseases of aging was to focus on aging itself. His forward-thinking
vision has set a precedent that has encouraged other foundation,
corporate, government, and individual support for aging research.
Why do forward-thinking people like Paul Glenn partner with AFAR?
According to Paul Glenn, "AFAR is the only organization, other than the
National Institutes of Health, that has a peer review capability of
evaluating grant applications for research in the biology of aging."
That peer review process ensures that only the highest quality research
receives support.
Led by Glenn Foundation president Mark R. Collins, many of the nation’s
leading scientists in biogerontology owe their start to Glenn-supported
AFAR grants.
For more information about the work of the Glenn Foundation for Medical
Research, visit their web site at www.glennfoundation.org.
_____________________________________________ 10 Reasons AFAR Remains a Good Value Even before the financial downturn, AFAR’s administrative costs have
always been among the lowest in the nonprofit community. Ninety-five
percent of every dollar AFAR spends support research, meetings for
scientists to exchange new ideas and knowledge, and public education.
AFAR does this by:
1. Keeping staff small. _____________________________________________
Other
News
2. Corporate and Scientific Leaders
Honored for their Contributions to Research on Aging
3. AFAR Hosts Conference on the Biology of Cancer
4. Spotlight On: The Glenn Foundation for Medical
Research
5. 10 Reasons AFAR Remains a Good
Value
6. Grants and Other News
Honorees John W. Rowe, MD,
Columbia University, Ana Maria Cuervo, MD, PhD, Albert Einstein College of
Medicine, Christoph Westphal, MD, PhD, Sirtris, and Peter D. Meldrum,
Myriad Genetics.
John W.
Rowe, MD, accepts Honorary Leadership Award from AFAR President, Terrie
Fox Wetle, PhD.
AFAR
Board member Richard Besdine, MD, Board Chair Diana Jacobs Kalman,
Reverend Monsignor Charles Fahey, and former AFAR Board member Patrick
Waide. 
Nearly 100 scientist and
industry leaders attended AFAR’s scientific conference, Aging and
Cancer: Two Sides of the Same Coin? on October 6 and 7, 2008. The
event explored fundamental aspects of aging and cancer processes and their
interactions, both from the basic research and translational perspectives.
2. Collaborating with other like-minded
organizations to co-host and co-sponsor events and special reports.
3.
Minimizing printing and mailing costs by issuing materials on line.
4.
Limiting our solicitations, which prospective donors appreciate. According
to some AFAR donors, numerous mailings produce a waste of paper that in
these environmentally conscious times puts them off. Donors will for the
most part give annually.
5. Keeping programs large, administrative
functions small.
6. Handling special events in-house rather than hiring
meeting planners.
7. Recruiting volunteers.
8. Hiring interns (and
paying them).
9. Keeping costs low, getting multiple bids on projects,
and using independent vendors and freelancers.
10. Conducting a regular
audit of our fixed expenses: rent, telephone, employee benefits, and see
where costs can be reduced. For example, moving our office space to a less
popular part of town, saved thousands of dollars annually. The end result?
This unpopular area is now the hot place to be.
John Bonk
Jay Edelberg, MD, PhD
William J. Lipton
For more information about the American Federation for Aging
Research, please visit www.afar.org
and www.infoaging.org.
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