Kaeberlein Earns GSA’s 2020 Robert W. Kleemeier Award

The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) — the nation’s largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to the field of aging — has chosen Matt Kaeberlein, PhD, FGSA, of the University of Washington as the 2020 recipient of the Robert W. Kleemeier Award.

This distinguished honor is given annually to a GSA member in recognition for outstanding research in the field of gerontology. It was established in 1965 in memory of Robert W. Kleemeier, PhD, a former president of the Society whose contributions to the quality of life through research in aging were exemplary.

The award presentation will take place at GSA’s 2020 Annual Scientific Meeting, which will be held from November 4 to 8 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This conference is organized to foster interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers, educators, and practitioners who specialize in the study of the aging process. Visit www.geron.org/2020 for further details.

Kaeberlein is a professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of Washington School of Medicine, where he also serves as director of the Healthy Aging and Longevity Research Institute, director of the Biological Mechanisms of Healthy Aging Training Program, co-director of the Dog Aging Project, and co-director of the Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging.

His research interests are focused on basic mechanisms of aging in order to facilitate translational interventions that promote healthspan and improve quality of life. Utilizing multiple model organisms, he has contributed many important discoveries, including seminal work defining the importance of sirtuins, the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), and the hypoxic response as evolutionarily conserved longevity pathways.

Kaeberlein is a GSA fellow, which represents the highest category of membership within the Society, and currently is serving as chair of GSA’s Biological Sciences Section. He is a past-president and incoming CEO of the American Aging Association and has served on its Executive Committee and Board of Directors since 2012. He has also served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

He has published nearly 200 papers in top scientific journals and serves on the editorial boards for several, including Science and eLife. He has been recognized with several other prestigious awards, including New Investigator awards from the Alzheimer’s Association and the Ellison Medical Foundation, the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research/American Federation for Aging Research Breakthroughs in Gerontology Award, the American Federation for Aging Research Vincent Cristofalo Rising Star Award in Aging Research, the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust Award, and the Nathan W. Shock Award from the National Institute on Aging.

###

The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) is the nation's oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to research, education, and practice in the field of aging. The principal mission of the Society — and its 5,500+ members — is to advance the study of aging and disseminate information among scientists, decision makers, and the general public. GSA’s structure also includes a policy institute, the National Academy on an Aging Society, and an educational section, the Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education.