Alliance for Aging Research Celebrates 30 Years at Annual Bipartisan Congressional Awards Dinner

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Organization Honors Sen. Bill Cassidy, M.D., Rep. Maxine Waters, Laura L. Carstensen, Ph.D., and Robert Temple, M.D.

Alliance for Aging

Washington, D.C., September 20, 2016 – Today the Alliance for Aging Research (Alliance) celebrates 30 years of advancing science and enhancing lives as it honors Sen. Bill Cassidy, M.D., Rep. Maxine Waters (pictured above), Laura L. Carstensen, Ph.D., from Stanford University, and Robert Temple, M.D., from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at its 23rd Annual Bipartisan Congressional Awards Dinner at the Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington, D.C.

“This evening is special, as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Alliance for Aging Research. The individuals honored here tonight—Sen. Bill Cassidy, Rep. Maxine Waters, Dr. Laura Carstensen, and Dr. Robert Temple—all made their marks by going where no one else had thought to go, and by not wavering when they faced doubt or opposition,” says Susan Peschin, MHS, Alliance president and CEO. “And, our nation’s older adults, and all Americans, have benefited as a result of their courage and dedication.”

Cassidy (R-LA) receives this year’s Distinguished Public Service Award for his efforts in the Senate to improve mental health care and increase funding for Alzheimer’s disease research.

–  Waters (D-CA) is the recipient of the Claude Pepper Award for Advancing Healthy Aging, named in memory of the Florida legislator. In her legislative career, she has advanced public policies that have expanded access to health care services for millions, including those with diabetes, cancer, HIV/AIDS, and Alzheimer’s disease. This award was underwritten by the Claude Pepper Foundation.

Carstensen is given the Silver Innovator Award for her work in exploring innovative ways to solve the problems of people over age 50, while improving the well-being of people of all ages. She is a widely published expert, and her TED Talk has been viewed more than a million times. The Silver Innovator Award was underwritten by Endo Pharmaceuticals.

Temple receives the first ever Daniel Perry Founder’s Award, which is named in honor of Perry, who founded the organization in 1986. The award is given to an individual who has made indispensable contributions to science and healthy aging. Throughout his career, and currently as CDER’s deputy center director for Clinical Science and acting deputy director of the Office of Drug Evaluation I (ODE-I), Temple has played a vital role in the FDA’s drug development process, through which Americans have access to the latest innovative, life-changing therapies.

For more information about the dinner and awardees, please visit here. To learn more about the Alliance’s 30-year history, please visit its anniversary page. For inquiries, please contact Noel Lloyd at 202.370.7852 or nlloyd@agingresearch.org.

About the Alliance for Aging Research
The Alliance for Aging Research is the leading non-profit organization dedicated to accelerating the pace of scientific discoveries and their application in order to improve the universal human experience of aging and health. The Alliance was founded in 1986 in Washington, D.C., and has since become a valued advocacy organization and a respected influential voice with policymakers. Visit agingresearch.org for more information.