on the two fronts pioneered by age action year. first, at the local level, so much can be done for the elderly among us. secondly, at the research level: and we can all contribute to the setting up of the new foundation. the bsra had worked exceptionally hard to promote the foundation which was originally known as the british foundation for ageing research (or bfar) but which was to become the respected charity research into ageing. this name change was initiated in 1988. 1980s and 1990s the bsra obtained charitable status (1980) which it retains to this day. there was a marked upswing in the activity and membership of the society from the mid-1990s onwards as a result of importance of research into the biology of ageing given in both the office of science and technology (ost) extend quality life (or equal) initiative (1995) which sought to use "the combined resources, expertise and capacity for innovation of the science and engineering base to extend the active period of people's lives and in the subsequent technology foresight review" millennium to the present to mark the 60th annual meeting of the bsra, the membership voted to bestow honorary life membership on all cohen medallists then still living. this award took place as a special round table at the 61st annual meeting. prominent members unless noted otherwise members are listed by the date at which they were elected to the executive committee of the society or awarded the lord cohen medal. prominent member entries are sourced from personal data returned by the members to the society, wikipedia entries, the royal college of physicians lives of the fellows (http://munksroll.rcplondon.ac.uk/) or achenbaum and albert (1995) profiles in gerontology: a biographical dictionary. published greenwood isbn 0-313-29274-4 formation–1960 dr alex comfort (1920–?) professor james danielli frs (1911–1984) professor sir charles dodds 1st baronet, md, dsc frcp frs (1899–1973) professor sir frances richard frazer (1885–1964), professor vladimir georgivich kornechevsky (1880–1959) founder, honorary secretary (1950–54), first honorary member (1955). born near lida, then russia now western belarus. education: tzarist medical academy, petrograd. professor of experimental pathology at the university of petrograd (1915–20) founder of the ‘club for ageing’ (multiple branches), founder of the international association of gerontology, elected chairman of the research committee of the international association of gerontology (1952). seminal contributions in the area of ageing and sex hormones and of ‘auto-intoxication’. author of pathological and physiological ageing (1962) edited by dr geoffrey bourne and published posthumously. professor sir peter medawar om cbe frs (1915–1987) lady gertrude maud robinson (1886–1954) 1960–1980 dr ioan davies professor arthur norman exton-smith (1920–1990). dr da hall. elected to the society (1954) professor john maynard smith frs (1920–2004). dr brian john merry (1946–). elected to membership of the society (1973), executive committee member (1979–1999), honorary treasurer (1981–1999). born derby, united kingdom, educated at bemrose grammar school, derby, university of hull (b.sc. zoology), university of leeds (m.sc. steroid endocrinology), university of hull (ph.d. some aspects of age changes in the laboratory rat.). population council of new york research fellow in the laboratory of human reproduction and reproductive biology, harvard medical school, usa (1972–73). uk representative to the european biological section of the international association of gerontology (1982–1999), national organising and finance sub-committee for first european multidisciplinary meeting of the international association of gerontology (1983–1988), member of the research advisory council of the charity, 'research into ageing' (1986–1992), expert witness to the house of lords sub-committee on the science of ageing, london (2004), scientific coordinator for the biotechnology and biological research council experimental research into ageing (era) initiative (2001–2006). reader in biology, university of liverpool (retired 2012). research interests: calorie restriction and longevity and reproductive lifespan, oxidative stress and ageing, mitochondrial bioenergetics with ageing and calorie restriction, gene expression and epigenetics of ageing, alpha-lipoic acid and calorie restriction retardation of ageing. professor fritz vezar (1886–1979) honorary member (1966) born budapest, hungary. educated budapest medical school (graduated 1909) served with the austro hungarian army during world war 1 as a front line combat surgeon and was then based in the k.u.k. xviii, military epidemiological laboratory at debrecen, hungary. appointed chair of physiology of the university of basel (switzerland) in 1930, founder of the journal gerontology (1957) still published by karger. his seminal contribution to gerontology was the recognition that protein cross-linking had the potential to play a significant causal role in the aging process woodford-williams, eluned (lyn) (1913–1984) elected to the society (1954), executive committee member (1958–69) . born, liverpool, united kingdom, grew up there and in wales. educated liverpool college, cardiff high school for girls, welsh national school of medicine(bsc, 1933), university college hospital, london (qualified 1936). senior registrar and first assistant physician to professor oscar olbrich (bsra member elected) sunderland hospital. established geriatric medicine at sunderland and organised the 1958 meeting of the european clinical section of the international association of gerontology. with professor arthur norman exton-smith founded the journal gerontologia clinica. a patron of modern welsh art and culture, her collection of paintings was bequeathed to the national museum of wales upon her death. 1980–2000 professor richard aspinall (1955–) elected to membership of the society (1994), executive committee member (1997–2003, 2017–present), chairman (1999–2003) born skipton, west yorkshire. educated at ermysted’s grammar school (awarded mechanics institute prize for biology), bristol university (b.sc microbiology), university of birmingham (phd lymphopoesis), cranfield university (dsc, age associated changes in immunity and the role of the thymus). member of the british society for immunology (1979–), member of the british transplantation society (1985,) fellow of the higher education academy (2007–), fellow of the royal college of physicians (edin) (2012–). professor of translational medicine at cranfield university. research interests include ageing of the immune system, drug development for chronic inflammatory diseases, remote monitoring of infection in older individuals. visiting professor at the open university. member of the board of the bedfordshire and hertfordshire postgraduate medical school and an external examiner at hkuspace. professor richard george arthur faragher (1967–) elected to membership of the society (1994), executive committee member (1997, 2008), honorary treasurer (1997–2003), chairman (2008–2013). born london, united kingdom, grew up in reading, berkshire and andover, hampshire. educated at harrow way comprehensive school, andover (house captain and extra for the 1981 bbc television series codename icarus), cricklade (now andover) college (‘a’ level studies), imperial college of science and technology (b.sc. biochemistry), university of sussex (d.phil. the cell kinetics of werner’s syndrome). royal pharmaceutical society conference science medal for outstanding scientific achievement (2002), help the aged living legend award for services to ageing research and the needs of older people (2005, first scientist to be a recipient), paul f glenn award for research in biological mechanisms of ageing (2010, first british recipient). professor of biogerontology at the university of brighton. research interests: progeroid syndromes, resveratrol analogues (‘resveralogues’) and the phenotype of senescent cells. trustee age uk brighton and hove, executive director american aging association, member bbsrc bioscience for health strategy panel. international adjunct professor of the moscow institute of physics and technology. cohen medalist (2016). professor leonard hayflick (1928–) professor robin holliday (1932–2014) professor david glyn kipling (1964–) elected to membership of the society (1996), executive committee member (1997–2003, 2012–present), honorary general secretary (1997–2003). born sheffield, united kingdom. educated at thornbridge comprehensive school (first applicant to oxbridge from the school), sheffield. churchill college, cambridge university (cegb entrance scholar, ba natural sciences, frank smart prize for zoology). lincoln college oxford (d.phil. yeast dna replication, rowed bow for college first viii). beit memorial fellowship for medical research, lister institute for preventive medicine fellowship (1995–2000). academic coordinator of bbsrc sage and era special initiatives on ageing. research interests are replicative senescence and the control of clonal growth. trustee (2012 – present) of the babraham institute, cambridge. member of the lister institute of preventive medicine (2000 – present). trustee (2012 – present) of the marine conservation society. author of the telomere (1995). professor thomas burton loram kirkwood cbe (1951–) 2000–present dr james brown (1975–)elected to membership (2010), executive committee member (2013–). born in kidderminster, worcestershire united kingdom. educated at harry cheshire high school, staffordshire university (trained as a nurse) and wolverhampton university (bsc (hons) in biomedical science and phd in the field of adipokine regulation of uncoupling-2 expression and function in human pancreatic islets). brown was awarded the eli lilley basic science prize (2005) at the diabetes uk annual professional conference. lecturer at aston university, research interest in metabolic regulation of ageing. member of the british geriatrics society west midlands branch. dr graeme l. close (1977–)executive committee member (2013–). born in wigan, greater manchester, united kingdom. educated at deanery high school, liverpool john moores university, bsc (hons) sport science and obtained his phd in sport nutrition from liverpool john moores in 2003 investigating the role of free radials in exercise-induced muscle damage. reader in applied physiology and sports nutrition at liverpool john moores university, uk. his research is focused upon the effects of vitamin d deficiencies in athletic performance, the role of antioxidants in the recovery of muscle function and the etiology of age-related loss of muscle mass. accredited with the uk strength and conditioning association (uksca), an accredited physiologist with the british association of sport and exercise sciences (bases) and is on the sport and exercise nutrition register (senr). heads sports nutrition at munster rugby and salford red devils rlfc, he is the lead nutritionist for british ski and snowboard as well as working with professional flat and jump jockeys and european tour golfers. prior to his academic studies, graeme is a former professional rugby league footballer and has represented his country at youth and student level. dr lynne suzanne cox (1965–)elected to membership of the society (1999), executive committee member (2005–2008, 2017- ), honorary programme secretary (2008–2012). born and grew up in warwickshire, united kingdom. educated at the king’s high school for girls, warwick (academic scholarship), clare college, cambridge (academic foundation scholarship, ba hons natural sciences first class, ma, phd: dna replication in vitro, with prof ron laskey). royal society of edinburgh personal research fellowship, university of dundee (with prof. sir david lane). university lecturer and associate professor in biochemistry, department of biochemistry, university of oxford (1996–); george moody fellow and tutor in biochemistry, oriel college, oxford (1996–). fellow of the society of biology (2010). served on bbsrc experimental research on ageing scientific advisory panel. editorial board: longevity and healthspan, paul f glenn award for research in biological mechanisms of ageing (2013). author of molecular themes in dna replication,(2009) and (jointly with harris & pears) thrive in biochemistry and molecular biology (2012). dr aubrey david nicholas jasper de grey (1963–) professor david gems (1960–)born weybridge, united kingdom, grew up in isle of wight and london. educated at dartington hall school (‘a’ level studies), sussex university (b.sc. biochemistry, 1983). diverse work in costa rica, nicaragua, mexico, usa. glasgow university (ph.d. genetics, 1990), then postdoctoral work at imperial college and university of missouri-columbia, usa. professor of biogerontology at university college london. co-director of ucl institute of healthy ageing. research interests: investigating mechanisms of ageing in short lived animal models (especially caenorhabditis elegans), testing theories of ageing, genetics of ageing, bioethics of research on ageing). he is a contributor to science not art: ten scientists diaries (2003) a radio 4 ‘book of the week’, edited by the award-winning science writer jon turney. professor helen griffiths (1963–) elected to membership (2009), chair (2014–2017) born in twyford berkshire, united kingdom, grew up in sheffield. educated at king ecgberts school, sheffield, bath university (bsc. biochemistry) and birmingham university (doctoral thesis work on reactive oxygen species, igg and rheumatoid arthritis). executive dean, aston university, chair of norwegian research council molecular biology committee (2010–2012) chair of uk deans of science (2013), executive committee, society for free radical research-europe, bbsrc panel member 2009-date, biochemical society committee member (2009–date). research interests are nutrient-gene interaction and intracellular redox regulation of cell survival and adaptation. awarded the leonard broadbent biochemistry prize (1985) the sfrr-europe, catherine pasquier award (2004). a keen cyclist with three sons who are all scientists. dr matthew j hardman (1975–) elected to the society (2007), executive committee (2011– date), honorary secretary (2011–) born tiverton, united kingdom, grew up there and in exeter. education queen elizabeth's technology college, crediton, devon, university of manchester institute of science and technology (biochemistry and molecular biology (hons), university of manchester (doctoral thesis epidermal permeability barrier development