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Age Boom Academy 2009

NEW YORK (June 15, 2009) — The International Longevity Center has just completed its 10th annual Age Boom Academy for Journalists which was presented in cooperation with the American Federation for Aging Research from May 31 to June 5. The event featured presentations by leading experts on aging and longevity research who spoke about demographic changes, economic, political and policy trends, drug discovery and finding a cure for Alzheimer's disease as well as financial security for Boomers and the crisis in caregiving, among others.

Journalists from The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, and Forbes, as well as representatives from other newspapers, magazines and digital media were selected for competitive fellowships to attend this year's Age Boom Academy. Speakers included Nobel laureate and economist Robert Fogel of the University of Chicago, Alzheimer's expert George Martin of the University of Washington, Nir Barzilai of Albert Einstein College of Medicine's Institute for Aging Research, Linda Fried, dean of Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health, former Aetna and Mount Sinai CEO John W. Rowe, David Sinclair of Harvard's Paul F. Glenn Laboratories, Jack Rosenthal of the New York Times Company Foundation and Steven Austad of the University of Texas among others.

The event was sponsored by the New York Times Company Foundation with additional support from the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research and MetLife Foundation.

Since 2000, the Academy has awarded fellowships to some 140 journalists involved in covering the multi-faceted nature of population aging and longevity. They continue to associate through a social networking site where they share stories and sources in an effort to improve the quality of aging coverage at a time when the U.S. and global population is growing older, which is sometimes described as "the singular demographic of our time." Dr. Robert N. Butler, president and CEO of the ILC-USA, one of the world's leading authorities on geriatric medicine, leads many of the sessions and presented opening remarks on "A New Deal for Longevity" in which he highlighted the importance of new scientific discoveries on aging and aging policy.

Journalists attending the Academy were also hosted for group discussions and tours by the New York Times Company Foundation in Manhattan and the Hebrew Home for the Aged in Riverdale, NY.

The ILC-USA is a policy research center concerned with healthy aging, productive engagement and quality of life for older persons as well as the impact of aging and longevity on society in general. It is located at 60 East 86th Street in New York City and has 10 sister center around the world

The American Federation for Aging Research is a non-profit organization whose mission is to support biomedical research on aging. It is devoted to creating the knowledge that all of us need to live healthy, productive, and independent lives. Since 1981, AFAR has awarded more than $113 million to nearly 2,500 talented scientists as part of its broad-based series of grant programs. Its work has led to significant advances in our understanding of aging processes, age-related diseases, and healthy aging practices. AFAR communicates news of these innovations through its organizational web site www.afar.org and educational web sites Infoaging (www.infoaging.org) and Health Compass (www.healthcompass.org.).

Help us to fund next year's Age Boom Academy for Journalists! The ILC-USA will need your help to make the 2010 Academy possible...If you or your company/foundation can make a contribution, please contact: Heather Sutton, Director of Development/Corporate Relations at heathers@ilcusa.org or call 212-517-1307 or donate on our webpage www.ilcusa.org/donate.

Keywords: Age Boom Academy

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