Professor
Epidemiology and Health Policy
University of Florida College of Medicine
Gainesville, FL

Alexander C. Wagenaar, Ph.D. Few scientists conduct studies that directly help save a thousand lives a year every year, but Dr. Wagenaar's research has had such an effect.  Starting in the late 1970s, he studied the effects of increasing the legal drinking age to 21 on a state-by-state basis, using such "above reproach" research methods that even the alcohol beverage industry had little recourse but to acknowledge his findings.  The result was a uniform nationwide age-21 policy that clearly saves lives. Dr. Wagenaar is a Professor of Epidemiology and Health Policy at the University of Florida College of Medicine. 

Dr. Wagenaar will convene a panel of experts to investigate the role of law and policy in reducing alcohol-related problems.  The effort will specifically focus on similarities and differences between prevention efforts across high-risk products such as alcohol, tobacco, and firearms.