W. Andrew Achenbaum
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231164429
- eISBN:
- 9780231535328
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231164429.003.0007
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health
This chapter details Robert Butler's establishment of the International Longevity Center (ILC) at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in 1990. Butler's wide-ranging agenda at ILC built on priorities at ...
More
This chapter details Robert Butler's establishment of the International Longevity Center (ILC) at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in 1990. Butler's wide-ranging agenda at ILC built on priorities at National Institute of Aging (NIA): identifying genetic differences associated with life-span differences among species; generating animal models to identify genes responsible for life-span extension and senescence; determining linkages between DNA polymorphisms and longevity or age; evaluating the role of oxidative damage in senescence; and extending several decades of study on caloric reduction to prompt surrogate interventions to retard senescence without harming subjects. The chapter also discusses the publication of Butler's book The Longevity Revolution: The Benefits and Challenges of Living a Long Life (2008).Less
This chapter details Robert Butler's establishment of the International Longevity Center (ILC) at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in 1990. Butler's wide-ranging agenda at ILC built on priorities at National Institute of Aging (NIA): identifying genetic differences associated with life-span differences among species; generating animal models to identify genes responsible for life-span extension and senescence; determining linkages between DNA polymorphisms and longevity or age; evaluating the role of oxidative damage in senescence; and extending several decades of study on caloric reduction to prompt surrogate interventions to retard senescence without harming subjects. The chapter also discusses the publication of Butler's book The Longevity Revolution: The Benefits and Challenges of Living a Long Life (2008).
W. Andrew Achenbaum
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231164429
- eISBN:
- 9780231535328
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231164429.001.0001
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health
Robert Neil Butler (1927–2010) was a scholar, psychiatrist, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author who revolutionized the way the world thinks about aging and the elderly. One of the first psychiatrists ...
More
Robert Neil Butler (1927–2010) was a scholar, psychiatrist, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author who revolutionized the way the world thinks about aging and the elderly. One of the first psychiatrists to engage with older men and women outside of institutional settings, Butler coined the term “ageism” to draw attention to discrimination against older adults and spent a lifetime working to improve their status, medical treatment, and care. Early in his career, Butler seized on the positive features of late-life development—aspects he documented in his research on “healthy aging” at the National Institutes of Health and in private practice. He set the nation's age-based health care agenda and research priorities as founding director of the National Institute on Aging and by creating the first interprofessional, interdisciplinary department of geriatrics at New York City's Mount Sinai Hospital. In the final two decades of his career, Butler created a global alliance of scientists, educators, practitioners, politicians, journalists, and advocates through the International Longevity Center. The book follows this pioneer's significant contributions to the concept of healthy aging and the notion that aging is not synonymous with physical and mental decline. Emphasizing the progressive aspects of Butler's approach and insight, the book affirms the ongoing relevance of his work to gerontology, geriatrics, medicine, social work, and related fields.Less
Robert Neil Butler (1927–2010) was a scholar, psychiatrist, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author who revolutionized the way the world thinks about aging and the elderly. One of the first psychiatrists to engage with older men and women outside of institutional settings, Butler coined the term “ageism” to draw attention to discrimination against older adults and spent a lifetime working to improve their status, medical treatment, and care. Early in his career, Butler seized on the positive features of late-life development—aspects he documented in his research on “healthy aging” at the National Institutes of Health and in private practice. He set the nation's age-based health care agenda and research priorities as founding director of the National Institute on Aging and by creating the first interprofessional, interdisciplinary department of geriatrics at New York City's Mount Sinai Hospital. In the final two decades of his career, Butler created a global alliance of scientists, educators, practitioners, politicians, journalists, and advocates through the International Longevity Center. The book follows this pioneer's significant contributions to the concept of healthy aging and the notion that aging is not synonymous with physical and mental decline. Emphasizing the progressive aspects of Butler's approach and insight, the book affirms the ongoing relevance of his work to gerontology, geriatrics, medicine, social work, and related fields.
