American Aging Association
The American Aging Association is a nonprofit scientific and public-interest organization that advances biomedical research into aging, longevity, senescence, and healthy lifespan extension.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The American Aging Association, commonly represented by the abbreviation AGE, is a United States-based nonprofit organization devoted to the scientific study of aging and the promotion of biomedical geroscience. Its membership includes researchers, clinicians, and lay participants interested in understanding the biological mechanisms of aging and in developing approaches that may delay age-related decline, extend healthy human lifespan, and preserve or restore functions affected by degeneration. The organization is tax-exempt and operates as a scientific association rather than as a commercial consumer brand. AGE was founded in 1970 by Denham Harman, MD, PhD, whose work on the free-radical theory of aging made him a major figure in modern biogerontology. Harman envisioned an organization modeled in part on the American Heart Association: a body that could connect scientific research with public engagement and build broader support for biomedical investigations of aging. He served as the association's first president and later acted as executive director for two decades, from 1973 through 1993. The association's scope encompasses biogerontology, cellular and molecular aging, senescence, age-related degeneration, longevity research, and the emerging field of geroscience. Its activities include organizing an annual scientific conference, recognizing researchers through awards, supporting the involvement of early-career scientists, publishing scientific and member communications, and encouraging informed public interest in the biology of aging. The AGE Trainee Chapter provides a structure for students and other trainees to participate in the association's scientific community. A central institutional activity is the annual AGE meeting, generally held in late spring or summer. These meetings bring together investigators working across experimental aging research and provide a forum for presentations, professional networking, and discussion of new findings. The association has held meetings in numerous United States cities, including Boulder, Scottsdale, Portland, Raleigh, Fort Worth, Baltimore, San Antonio, Marina del Rey, Seattle, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Madison, Oklahoma City, and Anchorage. The 2025 meeting in Anchorage was identified as the association's 53rd annual conference. AGE has also maintained a publishing role. Its journal was formerly titled AGE and was officially renamed GeroScience at the beginning of 2017. The journal serves the wider aging-research field and reflects the association's connection to peer-reviewed scientific communication. The organization has received research grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Ellison Medical Foundation. In 2016, it became a member of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, further linking it to the broader United States biomedical research infrastructure. The abbreviation AGE is intended as a representative name rather than a conventional initialism. It was selected in part to avoid confusion with the American Automobile Association, commonly known as AAA. The association's governance has included scientific leaders as well as a layperson vice-presidency intended to help communicate its scientific objectives to the general public. AGE's positioning is therefore both specialist and educational: it supports rigorous research while seeking wider recognition of aging as a tractable biomedical subject rather than simply an inevitable social condition.
History
The American Aging Association was established in 1970 by Denham Harman, a physician and scientist associated with the free-radical theory of aging. Harman sought to create a membership organization modeled partly on the American Heart Association, combining a scientific constituency with public participation and advocacy for biomedical aging research. The organization's central premise was that the mechanisms of aging could be studied experimentally and that research might ultimately help extend healthy human life while limiting or reversing functional decline associated with aging. Harman became AGE's first president and subsequently served as executive director from 1973 to 1993. His leadership helped establish the association as a home for researchers and interested members of the public focused on biogerontology. The abbreviation AGE was selected as a representative designation rather than a conventional acronym; it also helped distinguish the organization from the American Automobile Association, widely known as AAA. Over time, AGE developed a program centered on recurring scientific meetings, researcher awards, trainee engagement, and scientific publishing. Its annual conference became the principal gathering associated with the organization, bringing together investigators studying molecular, cellular, physiological, and clinical dimensions of aging. The meetings have been hosted in locations across the United States and have featured successive presidents associated with the organization. An AGE Trainee Chapter was created to support participation by students and early-career researchers, reflecting the association's interest in developing the next generation of aging scientists. The association also maintained a journal originally titled AGE. At the beginning of 2017, the publication was formally renamed GeroScience. The change aligned the journal's identity with the expanding interdisciplinary field that connects biology of aging with translational and clinical research. In addition to its journal, the organization has published newsletters and other communications intended to circulate research developments and maintain member engagement. AGE has received research grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Ellison Medical Foundation. In 2016 it joined the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, strengthening its formal connection to a major network of United States life-science societies. Governance has included scientific leadership as well as a vice-presidency reserved for a layperson, a role intended to help explain and promote AGE's scientific aims to the wider public. The association's conference series continued through the 2020s. Its 49th annual meeting was held in Madison in 2021, followed by the 50th in San Antonio in 2022, the 51st in Oklahoma City in 2023, the 52nd in Madison in 2024, and the 53rd in Anchorage in 2025. These meetings illustrate the organization's continuing role as a convening body for the aging-research community. AGE remains a nonprofit scientific association rather than a commercial company, with its activities focused on advancing knowledge, professional exchange, education, and public understanding of aging and geroscience.
- 2025
53rd annual conference
[1]AGE held its 53rd annual conference in Anchorage, Alaska.
- 2024
52nd annual conference
[1]AGE held its 52nd annual conference in Madison, Wisconsin.
- 2023
51st annual conference
[1]AGE held its 51st annual conference in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
- 2022
50th annual conference
[1]AGE held its 50th annual conference in San Antonio, Texas.
- 2021
49th annual conference
[1]AGE held its 49th annual conference in Madison, Wisconsin.
- 2017
Journal renamed GeroScience
[1]The association's journal formally changed its name from AGE to GeroScience.
- 2016
Membership in FASEB
[1]AGE became a member of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.
- 1993
End of Harman's executive-director service
[1]Denham Harman's two-decade tenure as AGE executive director concluded.
- 1973
Harman begins long executive-director tenure
[1]Denham Harman began serving as executive director, a role he held through 1993.
- 1970
American Aging Association founded
[1]Denham Harman founded the organization to promote biomedical research into aging and to connect scientific and public constituencies.
Products and positioning
A nonprofit scientific association positioned at the intersection of biogerontology, geroscience, biomedical aging research, and public education. AGE emphasizes extending healthy lifespan and maintaining function through research into the biological causes and mechanisms of aging.
Scientific event · 1970
Annual scientific conference
AGE's recurring scientific conference is its principal convening activity. Held generally in spring or summer, the meeting brings together researchers and other participants working on biological aging, senescence, longevity, and age-related functional decline. It provides a setting for presenting research, exchanging ideas, recognizing scientific contributions, and supporting professional relationships across the aging-research field.
Scientific journal · 2017
GeroScience
GeroScience is the association's journal and the successor to the publication formerly titled AGE. Its scope reflects interdisciplinary research into aging and geroscience, linking biological mechanisms with broader biomedical investigation. The journal name was officially changed at the beginning of 2017.
Professional development program
AGE Trainee Chapter
The AGE Trainee Chapter supports students and early-career scientists interested in the association's scientific objectives. It helps broaden participation in the aging-research community and complements the annual meeting, awards, publishing, and networking activities of the parent organization.
Scientific recognition
Research awards
AGE gives awards to researchers who have made significant contributions to the organization's goals. The awards provide recognition within the biogerontology community and reinforce the association's emphasis on rigorous biomedical research into aging and healthy lifespan.
Brand decisions
2017
Rename the association journal as GeroScienceOtherBackground
The journal previously known as AGE was associated with the American Aging Association and served research communities studying aging. The organization adopted a new title as the field's interdisciplinary geroscience identity became more prominent.
Action taken
The publication's name was officially changed to GeroScience at the beginning of 2017.
Aftermath
The renamed journal continued the association's role in scientific publishing under a title more explicitly connected with geroscience.
2016
Join the Federation of American Societies for Experimental BiologyOtherBackground
AGE sought to participate in broader networks representing experimental biomedical science.
Action taken
The association became a member of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.
Aftermath
The membership placed AGE within a larger federation of life-science organizations.
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