The Gerontological Society of America has honored Edward Alan Miller, PhD, with its prestigious Maxwell A. Pollack Award for Contributions to Healthy Aging. The award, funded by The New York Community Trust, recognizes an individual who has distinguished themselves by bridging the worlds of research, policy, and practice.

Miller is a professor of gerontology and chairs the Department of Gerontology at UMass Boston. He also serves as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Aging & Social Policy and holds an adjunct professor appointment in Health Services, Policy & Practice at Brown University. His research has focused on aging and long-term services and supports and on analyzing federal, state, and local policies affecting vulnerable populations.

In nominating Miller for the award, Howard Degenholtz, professor of health policy and management at the University of Pittsburgh, cited Miller’s prolific track record including writing 147 articles, six books, and 20 book chapters along with serving on 24 doctoral dissertation committees (13 as chair) and mentoring 16 student papers (comparable to a master’s thesis), among other accomplishments. “Few scholars of our generation have had as sustained and substantive impact on the field of gerontology,” Degenholtz writes.

“It’s an honor to join such an esteemed group of Maxwell Pollack award winners at mid-career,” Miller says. “The award recognizes efforts to bridge research, policy, and practice, which is how I’ve always described my work, both in the department, as a scholar and educator, and with the journal.”

Speaking of track records, Degenholtz also noted that Miller has dedicated himself not just to walking the walk, as a scholar, but also to “running the run. Over the past year Eddie has been running major U.S. and international marathons to raise money and highlight the importance of funding research for Alzheimer’s Disease”—merging his professional interests, his commitment to personal fitness, and as a tribute to his mother, who suffered from the disease.

The Gerontological Society of America will present the award to Miller at its annual scientific meeting in November 2024. He will deliver an award lecture at the GSA meeting in November 2025, which will be held in Boston.

Previous Maxwell A. Pollack Award winners include UMass Boston gerontology alumna Bei Wu, MS ‘97, PhD ‘00 (2023) and Robyn Stone, PhD, senior vice president of research at LeadingAge, and co-director of the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston (2016).