The Age Boom Academy is a joint project of the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center and Columbia School of Journalism. It is currently led by Dr. Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH, and Bruce Shapiro. The Age Boom Academy received generous grant support from the RRF Foundation for Aging as well as additional funding from the AARP Foundation.
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Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH
Dean and DeLamar Professor, Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health Director, Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center |
Dr. Fried is a leader in the fields of epidemiology and geriatrics, and has dedicated her career to the science of healthy aging and creating the basis for a transition to a world where health span matches our increased life expectancies, and where greater longevity benefits people of all ages. Director of the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center, Dr. Fried also serves as Dean at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health where she is appointed as DeLamar Professor of Public Health and Professor of Epidemiology, as well as professor of medicine at The College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Senior Vice President of the Columbia University Medical Center. Previously, she served as the Mason F. Lord Professor of Geriatric Medicine and director of the division of geriatric medicine and gerontology and of The Center on Aging and Health at Johns Hopkins.
An internationally renowned scientist, and author of over 500 peer reviewed articles, she has done seminal work in defining frailty as a medical condition, illuminating the causes and the potential for prevention of frailty, disability and cardiovascular disease as keys to optimizing health for older adults. Her areas of expertise are Aging and Elderly, Gerontology, Healthy Aging and Longevity, and Social Capital Development. An elected member of the US National Academy of Medicine, Dr. Fried serves on the NAM Executive Council. She is co-chair on the NAM Commission for a Global Roadmap on Healthy Longevity. She serves as Chair of the International Loneliness and Isolation Research Network (ILINK). In addition to her service as a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Aging, she served as 2016-18 co-chair for the WEF's Future Agendas Council on Human Enhancement and now serves on their Council on Human Longevity. Dr. Fried was the 2016-17 President of the Association of American Physicians, an elected society of the leading physician-scientists in the United States.
Dr. Fried is the designer and co-founder of Experience Corps, a scientifically designed community-based public health program in 23 US cities in which senior volunteers serve in public elementary schools. Acting as tutors and mentors, the older volunteers help boost students' academic performance while bolstering their own health through the continued activity and interaction. For her work, she has received numerous honors and awards, including the National Institute of Aging MERIT Award, the U.S. National Bridge Builders Award, the Alliance for Aging Research’s 2011 Silver Innovator and 2012 Silver Scholar Awards, the 2012 Longevity Prize of the Foundation IPSEN, and has been named a “Living Legend in Medicine” by the U.S. Congress. In 2014 Thomson-Reuters named her as among the top 1% most influential scientific minds of the past decade.
Dr. Fried is a board-certified internist and geriatrician, with postdoctoral training at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in geriatrics, general internal medicine and epidemiology (cardiovascular and aging). She received her MD from Rush Medical College and MPH from the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health.
An internationally renowned scientist, and author of over 500 peer reviewed articles, she has done seminal work in defining frailty as a medical condition, illuminating the causes and the potential for prevention of frailty, disability and cardiovascular disease as keys to optimizing health for older adults. Her areas of expertise are Aging and Elderly, Gerontology, Healthy Aging and Longevity, and Social Capital Development. An elected member of the US National Academy of Medicine, Dr. Fried serves on the NAM Executive Council. She is co-chair on the NAM Commission for a Global Roadmap on Healthy Longevity. She serves as Chair of the International Loneliness and Isolation Research Network (ILINK). In addition to her service as a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Aging, she served as 2016-18 co-chair for the WEF's Future Agendas Council on Human Enhancement and now serves on their Council on Human Longevity. Dr. Fried was the 2016-17 President of the Association of American Physicians, an elected society of the leading physician-scientists in the United States.
Dr. Fried is the designer and co-founder of Experience Corps, a scientifically designed community-based public health program in 23 US cities in which senior volunteers serve in public elementary schools. Acting as tutors and mentors, the older volunteers help boost students' academic performance while bolstering their own health through the continued activity and interaction. For her work, she has received numerous honors and awards, including the National Institute of Aging MERIT Award, the U.S. National Bridge Builders Award, the Alliance for Aging Research’s 2011 Silver Innovator and 2012 Silver Scholar Awards, the 2012 Longevity Prize of the Foundation IPSEN, and has been named a “Living Legend in Medicine” by the U.S. Congress. In 2014 Thomson-Reuters named her as among the top 1% most influential scientific minds of the past decade.
Dr. Fried is a board-certified internist and geriatrician, with postdoctoral training at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in geriatrics, general internal medicine and epidemiology (cardiovascular and aging). She received her MD from Rush Medical College and MPH from the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health.
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Bruce Shapiro
Executive Director of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, Columbia School of Journalism |
Bruce Shapiro is executive director of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, a project of Columbia Journalism School encouraging innovative reporting on violence, conflict and tragedy worldwide. Shapiro also directs Columbia Journalism School’s professional programs. An award-winning reporter on human rights, criminal justice and politics, Shapiro is a contributing editor at The Nation and U.S. correspondent for Late Night Live on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Radio National. His books include Shaking the Foundations: 200 Years of Investigative Journalism in America (Nation Books), and Legal Lynching: The Death Penalty and America’s Future (New Press), written with Reverend Jesse Jackson.
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Caitlin M. Hawke
Project Lead, Age Boom Academy Senior Science and Strategy Officer, Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center |
As Senior Science and Strategy Officer of the Columbia Aging Center, Caitlin builds interdisciplinary partnerships and identifies research synergies among campus faculty at Columbia University, visiting international and U.S. scholars, and trainees. As a network specialist, she is a good connector for sourcing articles.
In her volunteer work, Caitlin served on the board of directors of Bloomingdale Aging in Place (BAiP) from 2011-2016, where until January 2021 she also served as co-chair of activities, overseeing 100+ volunteers and roughly 1500 activity timepoints for this grassroots peer-to-peer organization of over 1200 neighbors. An all-volunteer, intergenerational network of neighbors based on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, BAiP is dedicated to helping older adults lead vital, connected, safe and comfortable lives as their needs change.
Caitlin graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a dual degree in Anthropology and French. For her work on behalf of the Institut Pasteur and international scientific exchange, the French Government named her Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 2012 as well as Chevalier in the French National Order of Merit. In 2015, she received Columbia's Reid Hall Golden Jubilee Medal. She is the recipient of the 2019 Columbia Mailman School of Public Health Staff Excellence Award.
In her volunteer work, Caitlin served on the board of directors of Bloomingdale Aging in Place (BAiP) from 2011-2016, where until January 2021 she also served as co-chair of activities, overseeing 100+ volunteers and roughly 1500 activity timepoints for this grassroots peer-to-peer organization of over 1200 neighbors. An all-volunteer, intergenerational network of neighbors based on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, BAiP is dedicated to helping older adults lead vital, connected, safe and comfortable lives as their needs change.
Caitlin graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a dual degree in Anthropology and French. For her work on behalf of the Institut Pasteur and international scientific exchange, the French Government named her Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 2012 as well as Chevalier in the French National Order of Merit. In 2015, she received Columbia's Reid Hall Golden Jubilee Medal. She is the recipient of the 2019 Columbia Mailman School of Public Health Staff Excellence Award.
We gratefully acknowledge major grant support for Age Boom Academy from:
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The RRF Foundation for Aging
The RRF Foundation for Aging is devoted exclusively to improving the quality of life for our nation’s older adults, especially those who are vulnerable due to advanced age, economic disadvantage, or disparity related to race and ethnicity. Since its endowment by the late John D. MacArthur in 1978, the foundaiton has awarded more than $230 million in grants. The foundation fulfills its mission through grantmaking programs which support innovative advocacy, direct service, professional education and training, and research projects that benefit older Americans. The RRF Foundation for Aging is designated by the I.R.S. as a not-for-profit organization. |
For its generous gift in support of the Academy, special thanks to:
