Renato Veras is a medical doctor who graduated from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). He did medical residency from 1976 to 1978, specialising in psychiatry. In 1982, he was awarded an MSc degree at the Institute of Social Medicine (IMS) of the State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (UERJ); he has been a member of staff at this institution since then. He participated in projects related to the elderly people in the United Kingdom from 1985 to 1992. He obtained his second MSc degree from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and his PhD from Guy’s Hospital of the University of London. He is at present a full profesor at UERJ, director of the Open University for the Third Age (UnATI), editor of the Brazilian Journal of Geriatric and Gerontology and a researcher for the National Research Council (CNPq). His research area is related to “Care models for the health of elderly”. He has published several papers in the main specialised periodicals in Brazil and abroad. He has written several books, such as País jovem com cabelos brancos (Young country with grey hair) and Terceira idade: um envelhecimento digno para o cidadão do futuro (Third age: dignified ageing for citizens of the future).