image: Steven N. Austad, PhD, to receive AFAR's inaugural
George M. Martin Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring Award
Credit: AFAR
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.
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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