The Maxwell A. Pollack Award for Contributions to Health Aging recognizes an individual whose research, scholarship or practice has generated new or improved policies or practices related to healthy aging. The work of the awardee, who is typically at the mid or later stage of his/her career, must be particularly noteworthy for how it bridges the worlds of research, policy, and practice.
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The Pollack Award follows the expressed wishes of Maxwell Pollack that the awardee be recognized for his/her “outstanding contribution to increasing the human healthy life span.” The award is open to professionals across all substantive areas of basic and applied research, practice or policy in aging. A key criterion is the translation of knowledge into practice or policy that extends, improves or exemplifies the healthy life span. The individual should be visionary in his/her approach to meeting current and critical needs of an older population.
The award is presented at the GSA Annual Scientific Meeting. The awardee will also be expected to give a presentation about the program for which the award was received. This award is funded by the New York Community Trust through a generous gift from Maxwell A. Pollack Fund
Submission Period: Spring 2025
Required Nomination Packet Materials:
The candidate must be nominated by, or the nomination must be supported by, at least one member of GSA. The nomination consists of a single letter signed by the nominator and at least three (3) additional endorsers that should include the following:
- A current Curriculum Vitae.
- Supplementary Materials.
- A biographical sketch (one page maximum).
- A summary of the candidate’s major accomplishments in bridging the worlds of research, policy and practice (one page or less) related to promoting healthy aging. This section should describe how the nominee’s work has translated knowledge into policy and/or practice that contributes to or reflects improvements in healthy life span.
- A more detailed statement of the nominee’s past and potential future contributions to healthy aging and gerontology (three pages or less), including specific examples of translating research and knowledge into practice and/or policy that promotes healthy aging. This section should answer the following questions:
- What distinguishes the nominee's career for this award?
- What are the current and future policy and/or practice implications of the nominee’s scholarship, translational work, or contributions related to practice or policy?
- What is the significance of these contributions?
- How have the nominee’s contributions led to innovative and noteworthy changes in the lives of older people, especially regarding healthy aging?
- What is the broader impact or potential for replication of such innovations?
Nature of the Award
The recipient receives a substantial cash honorarium that is determined annually, a framed certificate and symbolic emblem, a travel stipend to attend the GSA Annual Meeting, and delivers a lecture at the GSA Annual Meeting.