Prof. Wagner holds the Chair of Sociology IV at the Institute of Sociology and Social Psychology (ISS) of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences. He has been a member of the board of directors of the research project NRW80+ and the follow-up project D80+ since 2016.

The deputy director is Prof. Dr. Susanne Zank. Prof. Zank is Dean of the Faculty of Human Sciences, holds the Chair of Rehabilitation Science Gerontology there and is Director of the Center for Therapeutic Gerontology at the University of Cologne. She served as spokesperson for the thematic focus "Aging and Demographic Change" on the ceres board of directors and has been spokesperson for the research college "Gerontological Research on Well-Being" (GROW) since 2015. Prof. Zank has also been a member of the board of directors of the research project NRW80+ and the follow-up project D80+ since 2016.