A neuroscientist by training, Dr. Vijeth Iyengar is the Director of Global Aging at AARP where he leads cutting-edge research, drives thought leadership on global aging issues and cultivates relationships and strategic alliances to promote the enterprises vision for the global 50+ population.
Prior to joining AARP, Dr. Iyengar spent half-a-decade as a career civil servant in the U.S. Federal Government advancing a range of policies and programs to improve the overall health and well-being of older Americans and their families. During this period – spanning the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations – he served in a number of roles including as a Policy Advisor to the Chief Technology Officer at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Brain Health Lead and Technical Advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aging, co-lead coordinator of the Older Adult working group for the Department of Health and Human Services Healthy People 2020/2030 Initiative, and as lead author of the U.S. Country Report for the Fourth Review and Appraisal of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing – a quinquennial process overseen by the UN Economic Commission for Europe.
Among other recognitions, he was selected as an Aspen Ideas Festival Health Fellow, a Presidential Management Fellow, a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, and recipient of a Bronze Telly Award for work on AARP's Aging Readiness & Competitiveness Initiative. Dr. Iyengar’s writings and insights have appeared in the Bangkok Post, Brookings, Forbes, Hindustan Times, the National Academy of Medicine, and Scientific American among other outlets. He is currently a Salzburg Global Fellow, a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, and an Advisor to Ashoka's New Longevity Initiative.
Originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he was a visiting undergraduate student at Cornell University, received his bachelor’s degree from Tulane University and master's and doctoral degrees from Duke University.