News Release

Lipsitz to receive GSA's 2010 Joseph T. Freeman Award

Grant and Award Announcement

The Gerontological Society of America

The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) — the nation's largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to the field of aging — has chosen Lewis Lipsitz, MD, of Hebrew SeniorLife as the 2010 recipient of the Joseph T. Freeman Award.

This honor, given annually, is a lectureship in geriatrics and is awarded to a prominent physician in the field of aging — both in research and practice — who is a member of the Society's Health Sciences section.

The award presentation will take place at GSA's 63rd Annual Scientific Meeting, which will be held from November 19 to 23, 2010, in New Orleans, LA. 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/2010 for further details.

The Joseph T. Freeman Award was established in 1977 through a bequest from a patient's estate as a tribute to a leading physician and one of the Society's distinguished members and past presidents. The winner traditionally presents a lecture at the Annual Scientific Meeting the following year.

Lipsitz is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, chief of the Gerontology Division at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and co-director of the Institute on Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife, where he holds the Irving and Edyth S. Usen Family Chair in Geriatric Medicine.

He has been an instrumental leader in defining the science of geriatric medicine — in particular, the understanding of abnormal blood pressure regulation and its relationship to the development of falls and syncope in the elderly. His initial prospective clinical investigations led to the recognition that nearly one third of syncopal episodes in frail elderly patients are related to hypotensive responses to common daily stresses.

His current research is focused on age-related abnormalities in blood pressure regulation and postural control that pre-dispose elderly people to falls, syncope, and cognitive impairment.

Lipsitz is also a GSA fellow, which represents the Society's highest class of membership.

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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 5,200+ 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 branch, the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education.


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