Alliance Bestows Awards at 20th Anniversary Dinner

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Senators Bayh and Hatch, and Nobel Laureate Robert Fogel, to be Honored by the Alliance for Aging Research at 20th Anniversary Awards Dinner

September 12th, 2006, Washington, D.C. – The Alliance for Aging Research, a non-profit organization that promotes scientific and medical research, will honor Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN), Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Professor Robert W. Fogel for their efforts to achieve healthier aging. The Alliance will present the awards at its 20th Anniversary Celebration and Awards Dinner on September 12, 2006, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, DC.

Senator Bayh will receive the Claude Pepper Award for Advancing Healthy Aging through Research. As a member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, Sen. Bayh is a strong advocate for affordable, quality health care and has worked to improve the Medicare program. In particular, he is committed to making long-term care more affordable and more flexible to meet the needs of families. He also co-chairs the Senate Medical Technology Caucus, which works to raise awareness about the need for patients to have access to new technologies.

Senator Hatch will receive the Connie Mack Award for Advancing Healthy Aging through Research. Senator Hatch is an ardent champion of stem cell research in order to help find cures for many diseases including diabetes, Parkinson, Alzheimer’s and cancer. As former chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Senator Hatch has worked to ensure greater access to quality, affordable health care and funding for medical research. As the ranking Republican member of the Senate Finance Committee, he has also worked to strengthen and improve the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

University of Chicago professor Robert W. Fogel will be honored as the Indispensable Person of the Year for his pioneering work and unique contributions to aging and longevity science. Professor Fogel is one of the leading scholars of what is known as the new economic history, or “cliometrics,” which uses quantitative methods as well as theory to explain economic and social change. Fogel also won the 1993 Nobel Prize in Economics for “renewing economic research.”

His research has focused on the study of mortality and chronic disease. To compare aging 100 years ago versus today, Fogel and his colleagues analyzed Old Civil War records in the National Archives, looking at the health of Civil War veterans over the course of their lives. The results show that not only are more individuals living longer, but they have increased in their size due to a more healthful environment. It appears that cleaner water and other public health advances, changes in personal habits, and strides in medicine have all contributed to the positive changes in aging.

The Alliance’s annual Awards Dinner brings together leaders from Congress, government agencies, private foundations and industry executives, scientists, researchers and consumer groups to celebrate leadership such as that of Senator Bayh, Senator Hatch, and Professor Fogel, to improve the lives of older Americans.

[Note to editors and reporters: Photos of the honorees are available upon request.]

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Founded in 1986, the Alliance for Aging Research is a nonprofit, independent organization dedicated to improving the health and independence of aging Americans through public and private funding of medical research and geriatric education. The Alliance combines the interest of top scientists, public officials, business executives, and foundation leaders to promote a greater national investment in research and new technologies that will prepare our nation for the coming senior boom, and improve the quality of life for today’s older generation.