The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) is a

multidisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...

organization An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived from ...

devoted to research and education in all aspects of

gerontology Gerontology ( ) is the study of the social, cultural, psychological, cognitive, and biological aspects of aging. The word was coined by Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov in 1903, from the Greek , ''geron'', "old man" and , ''-logia'', "study of". The fie ...

medical Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...

, biological,

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between t ...

and

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

History and organization

The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) was incorporated in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1945 as an outgrowth of a group of scientists and

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

s who had been calling themselves "the Club for Research on

Ageing Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. In ...

" since the 1930s. GSA has been holding

scientific conference An academic conference or scientific conference (also congress, symposium, workshop, or meeting) is an event for researchers (not necessarily academics) to present and discuss their scholarly work. Together with academic or scientific journals ...

s since 1946. In 1969, GSA moved its main office from

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

The Gerontological Society of America, along with the

American Geriatrics Society The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) is a non-profit professional society founded on June 11, 1942, for health care professionals practicing geriatric medicine. Among the founding physicians were Dr. Ignatz Leo Nascher, who coined the term "geri ...

advocated for the formation of a National Gerontological Institute. These efforts bore fruit in 1974 when President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

signed legislation to create the

National Institute on Aging The National Institute on Aging (NIA) is a division of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), located in Bethesda, Maryland. The NIA itself is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. The NIA leads a broad scientific effort to understand the ...

(NIA). In 1946, GSA began publishing ''Journal of Gerontology''. In 1961, material in ''Journal of Gerontology'' dealing with GSA organization and activities was moved to a new journal called ''The Gerontologist''. In 1988, ''Journal of Gerontology'' was renamed ''Journals of Gerontology'' to reflect the fact that it was a composite of four journals having four separate editors. In 1995, the four journals being published under one cover were split into two magazines ("two covers"): (1) the ''Journals of Gerontology: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences'' and (2) the ''Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences''. Also in 1995 GSA began publishing ''The Public Policy and Aging Report'' to deal specifically with policy issues, and directed to those outside as well as within the

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

community.

Activities

The primary activities of GSA are to: # Publish peer-reviewed journals # Publish special books and papers # Organize congressional briefings # Promote gerontology in higher education # Promote gerontology in public policy # Organize an Annual Scientific Meeting # Provide continuing education in gerontology

Special units

The Gerontological Society of America is also home to two special units: the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education, and the National Academy on an Aging Society.

Member sections

GSA is also home to six member focused sections: * Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education * Behavioral and Social Sciences * Biological Sciences * Emerging Scholar and Professional Organization * Health Sciences * Social Research, Policy, and Practice Each section has its own bylaws, officers, and activities. Student members, in addition to joining the Society and an appropriate section, also join the Emerging Scholar and Professional Organization (ESPO). The highest status of membership in the GSA is that of "Fellow" a title of honor with the post-nominals of "FGSA" is conferred after an election through one of the focused sections, based on the scholar's exemplary body of work and achievements.

References

External links