Dean Linda Fried Receives 2012 MetLife Foundation Silver Scholar Award

September 7, 2012

The Alliance for Aging Research and MetLife Foundation announced that Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH, Dean of the Mailman School of Public Health, is the winner of the second annual MetLife Foundation Silver Scholar Award. Dr. Fried was selected for her innovative work and pragmatic solutions to address the rising cost of health care associated with the aging of our nation, preventive strategies aimed at keeping aging populations healthier longer, and thought leadership on the positive contributions that greater longevity brings to society.

She will be presented with the award at the Washington-based Alliance’s Annual Bipartisan Congressional Gala on September 11th attended by members of Congress and key Executive Branch figures.

Dr. Fried was chosen from a pool of highly-accomplished nominees whose scholarship offers critical insights at the important juncture of aging, health care, and economics. As part of the prize, Dr. Fried will write an analysis of her research to be published in a peer-reviewed journal within the next year and receive a cash award of $75,000 to further her research in the field of healthy aging and support the writing of her Silver Scholar paper.

“We are so pleased to be able to recognize the important work of scholars like Dr. Fried through this award. Her work is exactly the type of creative and innovative thinking that is helping people understand the true value of our older population and the need for more research to keep us healthy, longer,” said Daniel Perry, CEO and President, Alliance for Aging Research.

Dr. Fried, who is also DeLamar Professor of Public Health, has dedicated her career to the science of healthy aging, particularly the prevention of frailty and disability, and the design of health-promoting activities and roles for older adults that solve major societal needs.

The subject of a recent New York Times profile, Dr. Fried co-founded Experience Corps, a community-based senior volunteer program designed to support the academic success of children while also serving as a health promotion program for older adults. Among her many achievements as Dean of the Mailman School, Dr. Fried has led the introduction of an innovative Master of Public Health curriculum that puts a life-course approach to prevention front and center. An elected member of the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine, Dr. Fried is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, and has been named a "Living Legend in Medicine" by the U.S. Congress. Dr. Fried is a member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council and Council on an Aging World, the MacArthur Network on an Aging Society, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Age-friendly New York City Commission.

Read more about The Alliance for Aging Research and MetLife Foundation.