David A. Lipschitz, MD, PhD, is chairman of the department of geriatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and director of the Donald W. Reynolds Center on Aging. Lipschitz is one of the most recognized geriatricians in the nation. He has given numerous lectures, both nationally and internationally on the aging process. His 27-part TV series for PBS, titled Aging Successfully with Dr. David, has won eight national awards, including the Aurora and two Telly awards. He is the author of Breaking the Rules of Aging and writes a weekly column titled Lifelong Health that appears in several newspapers.
He received his MD and PhD from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. He immigrated to the United States in 1972 and trained as a hematologist at the University of Washington in Seattle. After a year in New York and three years at the University of Kansas Medical School, he joined the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) as director of the Division of Hematology/Oncology.
Lipschitz began doing research on the effects of aging on nutrition and on the blood and bone marrow. He has received long-standing grant support from the National Institute on Aging and is recognized as one of the premier experts in this field. He has written or contributed to more than 200 publications.
His interest in aging led to an ever-increasing focus on the unique medical needs of older people. In 1995, he assumed the position of director of the Center on Aging at UAMS. He played a central role and provided the leadership that led to a gift of $28.8 million from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation to establish the Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatrics and to build a facility to house the program. The department is the second of its kind in the nation. Under his leadership, the program now has a faculty of 22 geriatricians and 23 PhD scientists who have developed an array of research, education, and clinical programs. The total federal grant support in aging now exceeds $50 million. U.S. News and World Report ranks the Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatrics in the Top 10 in the nation, and geriatric clinical care at UAMS Medical Center ranks in the top 45.
He has served as chairman of the Research Committee of the American Geriatrics Society and chairman of the Association of Directors of Geriatric Academic Programs. He has also been consistently listed in Best Doctors in America, a publication of the 1% of the American doctors recognized by their peers as the best in their field. As an expert in the field of nutrition and aging, he has been featured on the Today Show, discussing aspects of vitamin and mineral use in older people.