The private, not-for-profit Alliance for Aging Research is the nation's leading citizen advocacy organization for improving the health and independence of Americans as they age. The Alliance was founded in 1986 to promote medical and behavioral research into the aging process. Since then, and as the explosion of the Senior Boom approaches, the Alliance has become the voice for Baby Boomer health by developing, implementing and advocating programs in research, professional and consumer health education and public policy.

Description:
Simply speaking, the Alliance strives to advance science and enhance lives through a variety of activities and initiatives. The Alliance efforts have made aging research a fast growing priority for medical research today. Since the Alliance was formed in 1986, federal support for aging research has more than tripled, private research and development in aging-related health has reached an all time high, and new discoveries are making a lasting difference to the lives of millions of Americans.

Advancing Science
The Alliance...

Fights for federal legislation that will advance medical breakthroughs by working with policymakers in the nation's capital and across the country;

Builds coalitions of diverse organizations and individuals to bring visibility and support to aging research;

Encourages greater funding for the National Institutes of Health and other public health agencies;

Promotes greater private sector research efforts which compliments public funding;

Advocates for more research dollars to go to age-related diseases such as Alzheimer's, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis and Parkinson's, as well as better scientific understanding of the aging process;

Sponsors, with help from donor friends, the Paul Beeson Physician Faculty Scholars in Aging Research Program, the largest non-governmental fellowship award to stimulate research, teaching and practice of geriatric medicine in the U.S.; and

Leads the charge to ensure increased training in geriatrics for all healthcare providers.

Enhancing Lives

The Alliance...

Conducts grassroots education campaigns for health professionals and the public on diseases which disproportionately effect the elderly, such as congestive heart failure, incontinence, macular degeneration and high blood pressure;

Conducts studies and surveys that examine important medical, behavioral and social issues associated with longevity, including a widely-quoted survey of American's attitudes toward health and aging;

Serves as a clearinghouse for reliable information on the health and well-being or older people, and on trends associated with that group; and

Creates and disseminates health education materials to consumers in a variety of formats.

History:
In 2006 the Alliance celebrated its 20th anniversary. During its first two decades, the Alliance has played a leadership role in advancing the science of aging, educating consumers and health care professionals about healthy aging, and advocating public policies that promote aging research and quality of life for older Americans.



Milestones

1986
Alliance for Aging Research is launched.

1987
The Alliance plays host to an international conference on Capitol Hill titled “The Promise of Productive Aging: The Future for the U.S. and Japan.”

1988
The Alliance organizes more than 50 disease-specific groups to challenge Congress to increase federal funding for aging-related health research to $1 billion.

1989

The Alliance hosts the largest public gathering to date to consider potential medical and health benefits of sequencing the human genome; featuring pioneering scientists: James Watson, Leroy Hood and Thomas Caskey.

The Alliance testifies to a Senate Committee that federal efforts to understand genetic basis of age-associated diseases could increase healthy aging and moderate health care spending for older Americans.

1992
Alliance helps develop hearings of the House Select Committee on Aging on shortfall of geriatric training in U.S. medical schools and cost effective benefits of aging research.

1993
Alliance and NIA release initial results of National Health and Retirement Survey regarding health and economic status of older Americans.

1994
The Alliance launches a nationwide campaign to build awareness about causes and new treatments for congestive heart failure, the leading cause of hospitalization among the elderly

1995
White House Conference on Aging adopts a resolution championed by the Alliance to make federal funding for aging research equal to 1% of federal health care expenditures for older Americans. Alliance and American Federal for Aging Research (AFAR) produce Putting Aging on Hold: Delaying the Diseases of Aging and distribute to delegates at the conference.

1996
The Alliance launches a three-year national high blood pressure education campaign aimed at older women.

“Seven Deadly Myths: Uncovering the Facts about High Costs of the Last Year of Life” is released by the Alliance to correct misunderstandings about end of life care of older people.

1997
The Alliance begins its “Increasing Public Awareness about Age-Related Macular Degeneration” program.

1998
Senators Connie Mack (R-FL) and John Glenn (D-OH) are honored for their contributions to science and healthy aging at the Alliance’s annual Bipartisan Congressional Awards Dinner.

1999
Senators Chuck Grassley and John Breaux of the Senate Special Committee on Aging help the Alliance call attention to its latest study of the hidden costs to U.S. health care that stem from loss of independence among older Americans.

Alliance helps launch the Patients’ Coalition for urgent Research (Patients’ CURe) to highlight the stake of people with life-threatening diseases to speak out for public funding and accountability for human embryonic stem cell research.

2000
Alliance convenes a symposium on Capitol Hill to explore possibilities of broader coverage of prescription drugs under Medicare; report is produced in cooperation with the Senate Special Committee on Aging.

2001
Interactive and innovative web module, Genetics in Aging, is launched on Alliance web site: www.agingresearch.org.

2003
In partnership with the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Roll Call editor, Mort Kondracke, the Alliance launches its SAGE Crossroads program to facilitate the live and on-line (www.sagecrossroads.net) exchange between aging experts around issues of aging research and public policy.

2004
Alliance Executive Director, Daniel Perry, begins his service as President of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR), a coalition leading the efforts to advance research and technologies in regenerative medicine, including stem cell research and somatic cell nuclear transfer, in order to cure disease and alleviate suffering.

2005
The Alliance supplies the 2005 White House Conference on Aging with white papers on aging related research and on geriatric training/workforce issues. The Alliance succeeds in getting delegates of the White House Conference on Aging to adopt aging research as one of its Top 50 priorities for implementation by the White House policy committee.

Friends of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) established and chaired by Daniel Perry, in order to advocate for NIA and increase visibility of their research.

2006
ACT-AD coalition launched to accelerate the development of cure and treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. The coalition is dedicated to increasing public and government recognition that Alzheimer’s is a life-threatening disease that requires urgent attention. The coalition is chaired by Alliance Executive Director Daniel Perry.

The Alliance releases The Silver Book: Chronic Disease and Medical Innovation in an Aging Nation, an online almanac, along with the results of a national survey on the public’s knowledge of chronic disease, at a press conference.

Contact person: Jared Cohen, Director Of Development, (phone), (email)
Main office number: (202) 293-2856
Office fax number: (202) 785-8574

Address:

2021 K Street, NW #205 Washington, DC 20006 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.agingresearch.org

Miscellaneous Information

Besides English, which languages are spoken at your agency?
	No others
What is the minimum age for volunteers at your agency?
	21
Is your agency wheelchair accessible?
	Yes
Does your agency have the capacity to host groups of more than 10?
	No
Does your agency have the capacity to host groups of more than 20?
	No