image: On May 12, 2025, at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Aging Association(AGE) in Anchorage, Alaska, the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) will host an awards ceremony to present the 2025 Vincent Cristofalo Rising Star Award in Aging Research to Daniel W. Belsky, PhD. Dr. Belsky will share a lecture on the quantification of biological aging.
Credit: Image courtesy of Columbia University.
New York, NY and Anchorage, AK — On May 12, 2025, at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Aging Association (AGE) in Anchorage, Alaska, the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) will host an award ceremony to present the 2025 Vincent Cristofalo Rising Star Award in Aging Research to Daniel W. Belsky, PhD. The event will be held from 1-2pm AKDT in the Tikahtnu Ballroom of the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center. The award will be presented by AFAR Scientific Director Steven N. Austad, PhD.
The Vincent Cristofalo Rising Star Award in Aging Research is named in honor of the late Dr. Cristofalo, who dedicated his career to aging research and encouraged young scientists to investigate important issues in the biology of aging. Established in 2008, the award is a framed citation and carries a cash prize of $5,000.
Daniel W. Belsky, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology in the Mailman School of Public Health (Department of Epidemiology and Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center) at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC). Sitting at the intersection of public health, population and behavioral science, and genomics, the Belsky Lab's research aims to bring breakthroughs from aging biology into public health with the goal of increasing healthy lifespan for all. He is recognized for advancing the development of biomarkers in aging He is recognized for advancing the development of biomarkers in aging.
Upon accepting AFAR's Cristofalo Award at the May 12th event, Dr. Belsky will share a lecture on the quantification of biological aging. He notes: "The critical challenge in translational geroscience is the need for biomarkers we can measure in the short term that are able to forecast long-term impacts of intervention on healthspan and lifespan. Our contributions to this effort include the development of molecular speedometers – single-timepoint biomarkers that measure the rate at which a person is aging; the focusing of biomarker validation on healthspan rather than lifespan; and the testing of aging biomarkers in clinical trials of candidate geroprotective therapies."
Named after individuals whose dedication and discoveries have made incomparable contributions to field of aging research and have inspired generations of investigators, AFAR's annual AFAR Scientific Awards of Distinction also include the George M. Martin Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring Award, the Irving S. Wright Award of Distinction, and the Terrie Fox Wetle Rising Star Award in Health Services and Aging Research. The awards are nominated by peers and selected by a panel of leading aging researchers. Learn more about past honorees here.
For more insights from Dr. Belsky, read AFAR's Ask the Expert Interview here.
For more information and to register for the AGE Meeting, visit www.americanagingassociation.org/annual-meeting.
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About AFAR - The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) is a national non-profit organization that supports and advances pioneering biomedical research that is revolutionizing how we live healthier and longer. For more than four decades, AFAR has served as the field’s talent incubator, providing $212,500,000 to 4,460 investigators at premier research institutions to date—and growing. A trusted leader and strategist, AFAR also works with public and private funders to steer high quality grant programs and inter-disciplinary research networks. AFAR-funded researchers are finding that modifying basic cellular processes can delay—or even prevent—many chronic diseases, often at the same time. They are discovering that it is never too late—or too early—to improve health. This groundbreaking science is paving the way for innovative new therapies that promise to improve and extend our quality of life—at any age. Learn more at www.afar.org.