NIA at 50: Let’s Celebrate 50 Years of Leadership in Aging Research

GSA stands with the many organizations in our field observing the 50th anniversary of the National Institute on Aging (NIA)! Thanks in part to the advocacy work of pioneering GSA members, The Research on Aging Act became law in May 1974, authorizing the creation of NIA. It was officially established as an agency of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in October 1974.

NIA has started a collection of blog posts commemorating the anniversary. Director Richard Hodes made the inaugural post, “NIA at 50: Celebrating aging research advances and career opportunities,” which among other things, highlights that soon “NIA will release a request for information pertaining to our 2025-2030 Strategic Directions for scientific priorities.” The NIH Record also published a celebratory article in May.

Later this year, GSA’s journals will publish a collection of papers related to the anniversary, and we will welcome NIA representatives to our Annual Scientific Meeting in Seattle this November.

GSA has been a proud NIA partner for the past five decades. We were a co-founder and have served as chair of the Friends of NIA coalition and supported the NIA Butler-Williams Scholars program for junior faculty. The agency has long supported our Biological Sciences programming and Diversity Mentoring & Career Development Workshop, and last year we were granted a major cooperative agreement to run the National Coordinating Center for the Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research program.

NIA oversees the world’s largest research enterprise focused on aging, providing essential support to the scientific endeavors of many GSA members. Let us congratulate the NIA team members in our midst for their commitment to supporting researchers and advancing groundbreaking science!