Correspondents
Since 1998, the GRG has established a broad network of correspondents throughout the world. GRG Correspondents monitor, investigate, and attempt to validate supercentenarian claims in their respective region. Case applications are sent to the GRG Administration Team for review and potential case acceptance. In recognition of their work, please find a partial list of GRG Country Correspondents below:
If YOU would like to become a GRG representative on national level, a GRG Country Correspondent, and help us validate supercentenarian cases from YOUR native country and/or region, please contact the GRG Administration.
Argentina
Mr. Nicholas Ruiz Moreno
GRG Correspondent for Argentina since 2015.
Responsible for validation of Casilda Benegas Gallego, the oldest validated Argentine supercentenarian on record.
CONTACT:
E-mail: nicolasrm1993@hotmail.com ; Cell phone: (03436) 15412829
Austria
Mr. Thomas Breining
GRG Correspondent for Austria since 2008.
Australia
Prof. John McCormack
GRG Correspondent for Australia
Belgium
Prof. Michel Poulain, Ph.D.
GRG Correspondent for Belgium
Emeritus professor at UCLouvain, he is also senior researcher at the Estonian Institute for Population Studies at Tallinn University (Estonia). He has been President of the Sociรฉtรฉ Belge de Dรฉmographie (1984-1990) and later of the Association Internationale des Dรฉmographes de Langue Franรงaise (AIDELF), (1988-2000); the father of the "blue zones" concept
Mr. Peter Vermaelen
GRG Correspondent for Belgium since 2008.
E-mail: makila123@yahoo.com
Mr. Anthony Croes-Lacroix
GRG Correspondent for Belgium since 2008
E-mail: scarface1812@hotmail.com
Brazil
Mr. Ricardo Pereira Lago
GRG Correspondent for Brazil since 2015
E-mail: ricardo.pereira.lago.grg@gmail.com
Mr. Stanley R. Primmer
Prof. Cassio M. Turra
Mr. Gabe Ainsworth
GRG Correspondent for Brazil
E-mail: athyon@yahoo.com
Mr. Tiago Jose Silva
GRG Correspondent for Brazil (since 2016)
E-mail: tiagojose.geral@gmail.com
Mr. Gerson Diaz
GRG Correspondent for Brazil (since 2020)
Dr. Angelo Jose Goncalves Bos
GRG Correspondent for Brazil (since 2023)
Expert in Biomedical Gerontology, Aging, and Public Health
Bulgaria
Mr. Lachezar Zanev
GRG Correspondent for Bulgaria
Canada
Prof. Bertrand Desjardins, Ph.D.
GRG Correspondent for Canada
Professor at the University of Montreal
Caribbean
Dr. Anthony Medford, Ph.D
GRG Correspondent for Barbados
University of Southern Denmark
E-mail: amedford@health.sdu.dk
China
Dr. Danan Gu, Ph.D
GRG Correspondent for China (since 2016)
Czech Republic
Mr. Adam Komenda
GRG Correspondent for the Czech Republic (since July 15, 2023)
Graduate of Law at the University of Western Bohemia
E-mail: adamkomenda4@seznam.cz
Denmark
Mr. Waclaw Jan Kroczek, DMD
interim GRG Correspondent for Denmark (since Aug. 15, 2023)
interim GRG Correspondent for Faroe Islands and Greenland
E-mail: wjk.grg@gmail.com
VOICE: +48 600 109 523
Estonia
Mr. Gordei Korjak
GRG Correspondent for Estonia (since 2023)
Tallinn. Jurist and politician. Graduated from Tallinn University. Master of Laws.
E-mail: gordei96@gmail.com
Finland
Mr. Antti Hervonen
GRG Correspondent for Finland
France
Mr. Laurent Toussaint
Dr. Luc Le Lay, Ph.D.
GRG Correspondent for France (since 2007)
E-mail: luc.lelay@yahoo.com
Prof. Jean Marie Robine, Ph.D.
GRG Correspondent. Professor
Validator of the case of Mrs. Jeanne Calment (1875-1997), the oldest person in history
E-mail: robine@valdorel.fnclcc.fr
Mr. Martin Miet
GRG Correspondent for France (since 2010)
E-mail: martin.miet@yahoo.fr
Mr. Cyril Depoudent
GRG Correspondent for France (since 2012)
E-mail: cdepoudent@yahoo.fr
Mr. Sylvain Grosgeorge
GRG Correspondent for France (since 2023)
E-mail: grosgeorge.grg@gmail.com
Germany
Mr. Thomas Breining
GRG Correspondent for Germany (and Austria)
Mr. Stefan Jamin
GRG Correspondent for Germany (and Eastern Europe)
Co-validator of Augusta Holtz (1871-1986), the first person in history who lived beyond 115 years of age.
E-mail: stefan.jamin@gmx.de
Greece
Ilias Leivaditis
GRG Correspondent for Greece (since 2015)
E-mail: iliasleivaditis@yahoo.com
Prof. Dimitrios Kardamakis, M.D., Ph.D., DMRT
GRG Correspondent for Greece
Department of Radiation Oncology
University of Patras Medical School
E-mail: kardim@upatras.gr
Hungary
Currently vacant
Iceland
Dr. รrmann Jakobsson
GRG Correspondent for Iceland (since 2023)
University of Iceland
รrmann Jakobsson is professor of early Icelandic literature at the University of Iceland and has been interested in supercentenarians since following news of Halldรณra Bjarnadรณttir (1873-1981).
E-mail: armannja@hi.is
India
Mr. Udaya Revathi Udayashankar
Dr. Raj Kumar, Ph.D.
E-mail: dr_rajkumar@fastmail.fm
Ravi Chawla
E-mail: seniorsworldchronicle@gmail.com
Mr. Alfredo Nocera
GRG Correspondent for Italy (since 2023)
interim GRG Correspondent for San Marino (since 2023)
Professional Italian genealogist, member of the APG
Website: https://www.alfredonocera.it/
E-mail: alfredonocera1@gmail.com
Japan
Hamish Todd
GRG Correspondent for Japan
British Museum, London, UK
Ken Matsuoka
Stefan Gelow
Dr. D. Craig Wilcox, Ph.D., MHSc, FGSA
GRG Correspondent for Japan, Okinawa Centenarian Study;
Dr. Wilcox has been studying genetic and lifestyle factors associated with healthy aging and longevity for over two decades and has successfully established numerous cross-national research collaborations through the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute on Aging and projects supported by national funding agencies in Japan, such as the Japan Society for Promotion of Sciences, among other sources. He currently serves as Co-Principal Investigator of the Okinawa Centenarian Study and Head of the Okinawa Research Center for Longevity Science R&D, as well as a co-investigator or consultant for several ancillary R-01 funded studies of aging from the Kuakini Honolulu Heart Program. These include the Kuakini Hawaii LIFESPAN and HEALTHSPAN Studies. Dr. Willcox is a fluent speaker of Japanese and has extensive research experience in bio-cultural approaches to healthy aging including, anthropological, epidemiological, and nutritional, with further experience in human population genetics and the study of gene-environment interactions.
Mr. Tom Li
GRG Correspondent for Japan
The Netherlands
Mr. Gert Jan Kuiper
GRG Correspondent for the Netherlands (since 2002)
Validator of Hedrikje van Andel-Schipper (1890-2005) and other Dutch supercentenarian cases.
Norway
Mr. Waclaw Jan Kroczek, DMD
interim GRG Correspondent for Norway (since Aug. 15, 2023)
Co-validator of Elisabet Ekenaes (1904-2017), the second-oldest person in Norwegian history.
E-mail: wjk.grg@gmail.com
VOICE: +48 600 109 523
Sadly, our GRG Correspondent for Norway, Celvin Ruisdael died in 2012 at the age of 47.
Poland
Mr. Waclaw Jan Kroczek, DMD
GRG Correspondent for Poland (since Sept. 13, 2013)
interim GRG Correspondent for Denmark (since Aug. 15, 2023)
interim GRG Correspondent for Sweden (since Aug. 15, 2023)
interim GRG Correspondent for Norway (since Aug. 15, 2023)
GRG Administrative Assistant (Aug. 15, 2015 - Aug. 15, 2018)
GRG Administrator for Case Validation Reports (since Aug. 15, 2018)
Graduated from the Medical University of Silesia where he earned his DMD diploma. Apart from healthy senility and longevity, Waclaw's interests include social activism, sports and acting. His most notable validations include Israel Kristal (1903-2016) of Poland/Israel, WOM and the oldest Auschwitz survivor, and Tekla Juniewicz (1906-2022) of Ukraine/Poland, the first validated 116-year old person living north to the 50th parallel.
E-MAIL: wjk.grg@gmail.com
VOICE: +48 600 109 523
Portugal
Mr. Filipe Prista Lucas
GRG Correspondent for Portugal
Puerto Rico
Ms. Jennie "Jayne" Jimenez
GRG Correspondent for Puerto Rico (since 2015)
Privately, granddaughter of Antonia Gerena Rivera (1900-2015), the great supercenterian from Puerto Rico/USA (Florida)
E-mail: jj.pr.grg@gmail.com
Russia
Dmitry Sudakov
Dr. Leonid Gavrilov, Ph.D.
GRG Correspondent for Russia
University of Chicago
Mr. Dejan Vujiฤ
GRG Correspondent for Serbia (since 2023)
interim GRG Correspondent for Bosnia and Herzegovina (since 2023)
interim GRG Correspondent for Montenegro (since 2023)
interim GRG Correspondent for Kosovo (since 2023)
The validator of Tamara Krutikov (1912-2022), the first validated supercentenarian in Serbia
E-mail: vujicdejan463@gmail.com
Slovenia
Mr. Silvo Torkar
GRG Correspondent for Slovenia (since 2010)
Responsible for the validation of Katarina Marinic (1899-2010), the oldest Slovenian person in history.
Republic of South Africa
Mrs. Heather MacAlister
GRG Correspondent for the Republic of South Africa (since 2023)
Genealogist for over 35 years. Founder of the Cape Town Family History Society and researcher for TV series such as DNA Journey, Who Do You Think Are UK & South Africa, Australian Story and Finders International.
E-mail: heather@ancestors.co.za
South Korea
Dr. Jong Bhak, Ph.D.
GRG Correspondent for South Korea
Personal Genomics Institute and Theragen Bio Institute, Director
E-mail: jongbhak@yahoo.com
Spain
Sr. Miguel Quesada
GRG Correspondent for Spain (since 2004)
E-mail: cerceda05@yahoo.com
Emilio Ibanez
GRG Correspondent for Spain
E-mail: supercentenarioas@gmail.com
Sweden
Mr. Waclaw Jan Kroczek, DMD
interim GRG Correspondent for Sweden (since Aug. 15, 2023)
E-mail: wjk.grg@gmail.com
VOICE: +48 600 109 523
Mr. Foti Tillo
GRG Correspondent for Sweden
Mr. Victor Bjoerk
GRG Correspondent for Sweden (since 2016)
GRG Administrative Assistant for News
Uppsala, Uppsala County, Sweden
E-mail: Victorbjorken64@gmail.com; Voice: (0046) 0703821439.
Switzerland
Mr. Flavio Stuber
GRG Correspondent for Switzerland (since 2016)
E-mail: follower88@hotmail.com
United Kingdom
Mr. Ollie Trim
GRG Correspondent for the United Kingdom (since 2022)
Currently lives in Somerset, England. Ollie has been interested in supercentenarians for almost 10 years. He enjoys gardening, walking, and spending time with his dog - a black Labrador called Leia.
E-mail: olivertrim@live.com olivertrim@live.com
Mr. Oliver Thorpe
Former GRG Correspondent for the United Kingdom (2016-2022)
United States
Mr. Robert D. Young, MA, MA
GRG member since 1999. Atlanta, Georgia, USA;
Director, GRG Supercentenarian Research and Database Division (This involves managing the other admins, attend conferences representing the GRG, preparing scientific tables and publications, managing all applications, putting them in order, filing the data, and moving cases forward). In addition, he is the GRG Senior Claims Investigator. The GRG representative to the International Database on Longevity (IDL); and
Senior Gerontology Consultant for the Guinness Book of World Records
E-mail: ryoung@grg.org;
Voice: (404) 807-0029..
Mr. Louis Epstein
Prof. John R. Wilmoth, Ph.D.
GRG Correspondent for the USA
Demographer of the Center for the Economics and Demography of Aging at UC Berkeley
Professor at the Department of Demography of the University of California at Berkeley. He has also previously served in the Population Division as Chief of the Mortality Section from 2005 to 2007.
Mr. Wilmoth is the author or co-author of more than 50 scientific papers examining various aspects of population dynamics and population issues, including the causes of the historical decline of human mortality, prospects for future trends in life expectancy, the impact of population ageing on public pension and healthcare systems, popular perceptions of population growth and its consequences, and methodologies for estimating and projecting demographic trends. Mr. Wilmoth has also served as a consultant to the World Health Organization and the World Bank from 2009 to 2012, leading the development of new global estimates of maternal mortality. He is a member of the Population Association of America and the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population. He also serves on the editorial boards of some leading demographic journals including Demographic Research and the European Journal of Population.
E-mail: jrw@demog.berkeley.edu
Mr. Donald B. Gennery
GRG Biostatistician, NASA/JPL; Pasadena, California, USA
E-mail: dgennery@earthlink.net
Mr. Ethan Unruh
Nebraska, USA, Junior GRG Correspondent for USA
E-mail: ethanunruh@yahoo.com
Mr. Mark Muir
GRG Correspondent for the USA
Phoenix, Arizona, USA, Senior Administrator for GRG Website Support
E-mail: mmuir@grg.org
Uruguay
Mr. Esteban Gonzalez Olase
GRG Correspondent for Uruguay (2022-2023)
E-mail: gonzalezolase@gmail.com ; Phone: +598 999 63 72
Mexico
Currently vacant