Steven N. Austad, PhD, to receive inaugural George M. Martin Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring Award
New AFAR Scientific Award of Distinction celebrates the transformative role of exceptional mentorship in aging research
2024-11-04
(Press-News.org)
New York, NY–The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) is pleased to announce the recipient of the inaugural George M. Martin Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring Award: Steven N. Austad, PhD, Protective Life Endowed Chair in Healthy Aging Research and a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).
The Award is named in honor of George M. Martin, MD (1927-2022), a pioneer in the field of aging research and AFAR’s Scientific Director for more than a decade. A Professor of Pathology at the University of Washington, Dr. Martin devoted his long, distinguished career to growing the field of aging research while fostering the careers of junior colleagues. The new generations of aging researchers represent one of his most enduring and powerful contributions. In his honor, AFAR established the George M. Martin Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring Award to recognize individuals who during their careers have demonstrated extraordinary mentorship in the field of aging research. The award carries a cash prize of $5,000 and is one of AFAR’s four annual Scientific Awards of Distinction.
“Like this award’s namesake, Dr. Austad has been exemplary at transferring knowledge and leaderships skills, while fostering values of long-term relationships and dedication to the field of aging research,” notes Stephanie Lederman, EdM, AFAR Executive Director. “The scientific and interpersonal contributions of both Dr. Austad and Dr. Martin reverberate across the field of aging research and beyond.”
Steven N. Austad, PhD, is the Protective Life Endowed Chair in Healthy Aging Research and a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). He is also founding director of UAB’s Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging and co-director of the UAB Integrative Center for Aging Research. He also serves as co-principal investigator of the National Institute on Aging’s Nathan Shock Centers Coordinating Center and is AFAR’s Scientific Director.
Dr. Austad’s multiple-award-winning research uses a variety of traditional and nontraditional animal species, employing both laboratory and field studies, to seek to discover underlying causes of aging with a long-term goal of developing interventions that slow the age-related decay in human health. He is the author or editor of five books and more than 200 scientific papers and book chapters covering nearly every aspect of the biological aging process from the level of cells to the level of populations. He also serves as well on the External Advisory Committee of the Mayo Clinic’s Kogod Center on Aging and the Observational Study Monitoring Board of the multi-institutional NIH-supported Longevity Consortium.
Dr. Austad also maintains a keen interest in communicating science to the general public. In that capacity, he has written more than 150 essays and op-eds for print and electronic media has previously served on the Science Advisory Board of National Public Radio and has been a consultant for exhibitions on aging to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (Portland, Oregon), the Perot Museum of Nature and Science (Dallas, Texas), and the American Museum of Natural History (New York City). He has written popular science articles for numerous publications including Natural History magazine, Scientific American, National Wildlife, and International Wildlife. His trade book, Why We Age (1997, 1999), has been translated into eight languages. His latest book, Methuselah’s Zoo: what nature can teach us about living longer, healthier lives (MIT Press), is out now.
Shares Dr. Austad: “Dr. Martin’s curiosity was unparalleled: he never missed the opportunity to meet and learn from colleagues, he almost always was the first to ask a question after a lecture, and never failed to stop at every poster at a conference. He encouraged investigators at various points in their career to remain committed to scientific rigor, collaboration in the field, and the promise of healthy aging. It is an honor almost beyond words to receive this award named after a researcher and friend whom I have so long admired, from an organization I that I value so much.”
Dr. Austad will receive the award in a ceremony hosted by AFAR at the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) Annual Scientific Meeting in Seattle, WA on Thursday, November 14 from 6:30 pm-9:00 pm PT. The award will be presented by Dr. Martin’s grandson, Benjamin Barad, PhD, Assistant Professor in Chemical Physiology and Biochemistry at Oregon Health & Science University and the third generation of scientists in the Martin family lineage.
The George M. Martin Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring Award is one of AFAR’s four annual Scientific Awards of Distinction, in addition to the Vincent Cristofalo Rising Star Award in Aging Research, the Terrie Fox Wetle Rising Star Award in Health Services and Aging Research, and the Irving S. Wright Award. Nominations for the awards are judged by a panel of leading aging researchers.
Learn more about Dr. Austad’s research and accomplishments at www.stevenaustad.com. Learn more about AFAR’s Scientific Awards of Distinction here.
###
About AFAR - The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) is a national non-profit organization that supports and advances pioneering biomedical research that is revolutionizing how we live healthier and longer. For more than four decades, AFAR has served as the field’s talent incubator, providing $212,500,000 to 4,460 investigators at premier research institutions to date—and growing. In 2024, AFAR expects to provide approximately $12,270,00 to 60 investigators. A trusted leader and strategist, AFAR also works with public and private funders to steer high quality grant programs and inter-disciplinary research networks. AFAR-funded researchers are finding that modifying basic cellular processes can delay—or even prevent—many chronic diseases, often at the same time. They are discovering that it is never too late—or too early—to improve health. This groundbreaking science is paving the way for innovative new therapies that promise to improve and extend our quality of life—at any age. Learn more at www.afar.org
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2024-11-04
New York, NY – The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), is pleased to recognize the exemplary contributions of Jeremy D. Walston, MD, to the field of aging research through the 2024 Irving S. Wright Award of Distinction. This award is named in honor of AFAR’s founder and recognizes exceptional contributions to basic or clinical research in the field of aging. Established in 1982, the award is a framed citation and carries a cash prize of $5,000.
Dr. Walston, the Raymond and Anna Lublin Professor of Geriatric Medicine at Johns Hopkins University (JHU), holds multiple leadership roles at JHU, including Director of the Human Aging Project, ...
2024-11-04
SAN ANTONIO — November 4, 2024 —Southwest Research Institute has received two contracts totaling $23 million from the U.S. Air Force for a program to address aging aircraft structures and material degradation. Under these contracts, the Institute will help the Air Force modernize methods to sustain the T-38 Talon, the A-10 Thunderbolt and the B-52 Stratofortress. All three military aircraft first came into service more than 45 years ago.
“SwRI will assist with the full spectrum of structural sustainment for these aircraft,” said Luciano Smith, manager of SwRI’s Structural Integrity Group. “Our analyses will help the Air Force know ...
2024-11-04
Insilico Medicine(“Insilico”), a global leading generative artificial intelligence (AI)-driven biotechnology company, today announced it has signed a Revolving Loan Facility of up to US$100 million with HSBC, one of the world's largest banks and financial services institutions. HSBC’s customized financing solution will support Insilico’s global development centered on multiple sites, as well as the expansion of innovative advantages, thus driving the economy growth in the Greater Bay Area.
Insilico is committed to driving advancements in healthcare using cutting-edge AI technology, reducing costs and improving efficiency in early-stage ...
2024-11-04
Alongside artificial intelligence, quantum computing is one of the fastest-growing subsets in the high-performance computing community. But what happens when this relatively new and powerful computing method reaches the limit of the cyberinfrastructure and network security capabilities of today?
Researchers at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications are addressing this issue before it becomes a problem.
“The problem is urgent because practical quantum computers will break classical encryption in the next decade,” ...
2024-11-04
Researchers from Peking University have developed a novel noninvasive choroidal angiography method that enables layer-wise visualization and evaluation of choroidal vessels using deep learning. This new approach, published in Health Data Science, employs an advanced segmentation model that can handle varying quality of optical coherence tomography (OCT) B-scans, making it a promising tool for clinical applications in diagnosing retinal diseases.
Choroidal Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (C-OCTA) offers a significant improvement in the analysis of choroidal vessels, a critical component in the ...
2024-11-04
CLEVELAND—Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating disease of the brain and spinal cord that impacts millions worldwide.
In MS, the immune system mistakenly attacks the myelin sheath—a protective layer surrounding nerve cells in the nervous system. The loss of myelin, combined with ongoing inflammation, causes dysfunction and death of nerve cells, making the disability worse, such as difficulties with movement, coordination, and sensation.
Treatments now focus on reducing attacks on myelin, but don’t address nerve-cell damage and death.
But with $1 million from the National Multiple ...
2024-11-04
Nationwide, fewer people smoke than did a decade ago, but the proportion who smoke menthol-flavored cigarettes is on the rise.
More than 9 million adults, or about 32 percent of all smokers, use menthol cigarettes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Virginia, the proportion stands higher, at 38 percent.
A team of researchers including Roberta Freitas-Lemos, assistant professor at Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, found that if menthol products were unavailable, smokers found replacement therapies such as nicotine gum and lozenges were practical alternatives, potentially improving health outcomes for people who use menthol ...
2024-11-04
Physicians are a vital component of the healthcare landscape and along with other medical professionals, they ensure timely diagnosis, treatment, and management of complex illnesses. They regularly work extended and overnight shifts, often at the cost of sleep. However, the long duty hours of physicians can lead to physical and mental exhaustion, resulting in negative consequences such as depression and burnout. Consequently, this can affect their level of alertness and thus the quality of patient care. To protect the health of Japanese physicians, a duty hour reform went into effect ...
2024-11-04
Stem cells grown in microgravity aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have unique qualities that could one day help accelerate new biotherapies and heal complex disease, two Mayo Clinic researchers say. The research analysis by Fay Abdul Ghani and Abba Zubair, M.D., Ph.D., published in NPJ Microgravity, finds microgravity can strengthen the regenerative potential of cells. Dr. Zubair is a laboratory medicine expert and medical director for the Center for Regenerative Biotherapeutics at Mayo Clinic in Florida. Abdul Ghani is a Mayo Clinic research technologist. Microgravity is weightlessness ...
2024-11-04
Toronto, ON, November 4, 2024 – People with a history of concussion face a 25% higher risk of having severe mental health issues after childbirth, according to a new study from ICES and the University of Toronto.
The research underscores the importance of identifying individuals with past concussions early in their prenatal care and highlights the need for long-term, trauma-informed support to safeguard their mental health.
“We found that individuals with a history of concussion were significantly more likely to experience serious mental health challenges, ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Steven N. Austad, PhD, to receive inaugural George M. Martin Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring Award
New AFAR Scientific Award of Distinction celebrates the transformative role of exceptional mentorship in aging research