History
AFAR’s founder, Irving S. Wright, MD, was among the first to look ahead to the medical needs of this growing population of older people.
Dr. Wright was an internationally recognized cardiologist and geriatrician who pioneered the modern use of anticoagulants in therapies like bypass surgery.
In 1981, he started AFAR to develop resources for scientific research on aging and clinical care for an aging society.
From our beginning, AFAR’s vision has been to fund and nurture talented scientists and physicians and encourage them to pursue lifelong careers in research focused on aging processes and age-related diseases.