Anne B. Newman, MD, MPH, UPMC Chair in Geroscience and distinguished professor of epidemiology in the School of Public Health, has received two awards for her decades-long research on aging and longevity.
Honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Conference on Frailty and Sarcopenia Research, Newman will deliver the keynote presentation during the opening ceremony of the organization’s 2024 annual conference on March 20 in Albuquerque, N.M. She is being recognized for her contributions to understanding the life-course trajectories of muscle performance, physical functioning, and the onset of physical disability.
“Aging impacts everything, but much of aging research has focused on diseases and illness,” says Newman. “The focus of my work has been to try to understand health by doing studies in people who are out and about living their lives as they age,” she says.
For her scholarly contributions to the epidemiology of aging and interventions for healthy aging, Newman has also been honored with a 2024 Chancellor’s Distinguished Award by University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Joan Gabel. The award consists of a $2,000 cash prize and a $3,000 grant to support her work. She will be recognized at Pitt’s Faculty Honors Convocation on April 5 at Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland.
Most recently, Newman, clinical director for the University of Pittsburgh/UPMC Aging Institute and a professor of medicine and clinical and translational science, has focused her work on the biology of aging in the muscle, and physical functioning in particular.
The loss of muscle function as we age was thought to be due to a decline in muscle mass, but there is much more going on, she says. In previous studies, Newman and colleagues found that the loss of muscle strength was triple the loss of muscle mass, and they are now learning that damage to specific biologic pathways during aging is accelerating that process.
“The goal of my research is to extend the period people are healthy and functional,” says Newman. “It's about optimizing our health for as long as we're alive.”
-Clare Collins