The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) — the nation's largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to the field of aging — has chosen S. Michal Jazwinski, PhD, of Tulane University as the 2011 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 64th Annual Scientific Meeting, which will be held from November 18 to 22 in Boston, MA. 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/annualmeeting for further details.
At Tulane University, Jazwinski is the John W. Deming, MD, Regents Chair in Aging, director of the Tulane Center for Aging, and a professor of medicine and biochemistry. His work focuses on the areas of genetics of aging, molecular genetics, and population genetics.
Jazwinski was the first investigator to show that caloric restriction increases the replicative lifespan of yeast, as well as the first to show that the manipulation of a specific gene also affects the replicative lifespan of yeast. His research in the early 1990s resulted in yeast becoming one of the three invertebrate models that are now used by scholars throughout the world to identify genes involved in aging and caloric restriction. During the past decade, his research interests have expanded to human aging and have become interdisciplinary. His recent publications underscore the role of gene-gene interactions in human longevity and healthy aging. He has authored over 150 articles appearing in some of the most prestigious journals in the biological sciences, such as the Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological and Medical Sciences, Science, The Proceedings National Academy of Sciences USA, and The Journal of Biological Chemistry.
He additionally has held numerous leadership roles in the field of aging over the past two decades. He is a previous chair of the Gordon Research Conference on the Biology of Aging and recently served on the National Institute on Aging's National Advisory Council on Aging. Within GSA, he has been a chair of Biological Sciences Section, a member of the Publications and Public Policy Committees, a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences, and the local arrangements chair for GSA's 2010 Annual Scientific Meeting in New Orleans. Jazwinski also is a GSA fellow, which represents the Society's highest class of membership. Jazwinski received his PhD from Stanford University under the direction of Nobel Prize winner Arthur Kornberg, MD, and conducted his post-doctoral research at Rockefeller University under another Nobel Prize winner, Gerald Edelman, MD, PhD.
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 5,400+ 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.