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Vijeth Iyengar is a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center. A cognitive neuroscientist by training, he is the director of global aging at AARP where he leads innovative research, drives thought leadership on global aging issues and cultivates strategic alliances to promote the enterprises vision for the global 50+ population.
Previously, Iyengar spent half a decade as a civil servant in the US 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 as 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 Healthy People 2020/2030 Initiative, and lead author of the US country report for the Fourth Review and Appraisal of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing.
Iyengar’s writings and insights have appeared in numerous domestic and international outlets, notably the Bangkok Post, Brookings, Council on Foreign Relations, Devex, Forbes, Hindustan Times, and JAMA Health Forum. Among other honors, he is an elected member of the National Academy of Social Insurance, selected as an Aspen Ideas Health fellow, a Presidential Management Fellow, a National Science Foundation Graduate Research fellow, and a recipient of a Telly Award for AARP’s Aging Readiness and Competitiveness Initiative. Currently, Iyengar serves as a Salzburg Global fellow, advisor to Ashoka, and advisor to Vayah Vikas (a Bengaluru-based NGO chaired by Infosys’ Co-founder Krish Gopalakrishnan).
Born and raised in South Louisiana, he was a visiting undergraduate student at Cornell University, earned a bachelor’s degree from Tulane University, and earned a master’s and doctoral degrees from Duke University.