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Beeson Award Goes Global: Largest Prize in Academic Geriatrics Awarded to Researchers in Ireland and Northern Ireland

NEW YORK, June 26, 2007 --The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) and The Atlantic Philanthropies are pleased to announce the first recipients of the Paul Beeson Career Development Awards in Aging Research, part of the program's extension to the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The program, an expansion of the American model, seeks to create a cadre of leading physician-scientists throughout the Island of Ireland who are committed to academic careers in aging research, teaching, and practice.

Bernadette McGuinness, M.D., MRCP, Research Fellow/Specialist Registrar, Queen's University of Belfast, and Patricia Kearney MB BCh BAO, Ph.D., Clinical Research Fellow at Trinity College Dublin, are the first recipients of the Beeson Award in Ireland, and will both receive $450,000 over a three-year period to conduct their research. Dr. McGuinness's research, Platelet ß-secretase in Mild Cognitive Impairment, will focus on understanding the role ß-secretase plays in the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Kearney's research, Biopsychosocial Factors and Vascular Disease in an Ageing Cohort of Irish Adults will seek to study cardiovascular disease risk and the psychosocial factors affecting cardiovascular disease in participants enrolled in a 10-year study of adults over age 50.

Both the Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland, like other nations, face dramatic demographic shifts over the next 20 years as the proportion of the population over the age of 65 increases to 19% in the Republic and 22% in the North. Older adults in Ireland are major users of medical care which adds a burden to the nation's healthcare system and creates a greater need for more researchers and clinicians to understand and treat the special needs of a geriatric population. Academic physician scientists are needed in Ireland to pursue research questions regarding the care of older adults, teach future providers, and encourage more clinicians to pursue careers in geriatric medicine.

"We are pleased to once again partner with AFAR to support and sustain the careers of the brightest physician-scientists, now in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and in the process continue to invest in the health care and aging research infrastructure throughout Ireland," said Laura Robbins, Program Executive at the Atlantic Philanthropies. "The award recipients will become the next leaders in the field of aging research -- helping to train others, build Ireland's capacity to provide high-quality care for older adults and advance knowledge of effective geriatric care," she added.

"The expansion of the Beeson program to Ireland demonstrates an extraordinary commitment on the part of The Atlantic Philanthropies to encourage the growth and development of the field of geriatrics throughout Ireland," said Stephanie Lederman, Executive Director of the American Federation for Aging Research. "This support will create an elite core of physician-scientists in the field of aging research who can serve as mentors to other scientists coming up through the ranks."

The Paul B. Beeson Career Development Awards in Aging Research Program was created in 1994 to address a critical need for more physicians trained in geriatrics and to advance the field of aging research in the United States. With start up funding from organizations that included The John A. Hartford Foundation and The Atlantic Philanthropies, the program has awarded more than $68 million to 138 researchers. It has since become the premier grant award in aging research in the nation.

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About The Atlantic Philanthropies
The Atlantic Philanthropies are dedicated to bringing about lasting changes in the lives of disadvantaged and vulnerable people. Atlantic focuses on critical social problems related to ageing, disadvantaged children & youth, population health, and reconciliation & human rights. Programmes funded by Atlantic operate in Australia, Bermuda, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United States and Viet Nam. The organisation's self-imposed expiration date for completing active grantmaking by 2016 has been established in keeping with the high-impact "giving while living" philosophy of its founder, Charles F. Feeney. Since its inception in 1982, Atlantic has made more than 4,320 grants totaling more than $4 billion. To learn more, please visit www.atlanticphilanthropies.org.

About the American Federation for Aging Research
AFAR is a nonprofit 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 approximately $100 million to more than 2,400 talented scientists as part of its broad-based series of grant programs. Its work has led to significant advances in our understanding of the aging process, 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).

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