American Neurological Association Announces Winners of 2022 Awards for Outstanding Accomplishments in Academic Neurology and Neuroscience

[MOUNT LAUREL, NJ, July 12, 2022] — The American Neurological Association (ANA), the professional organization representing the world’s top academic neurologists and neuroscientists, has announced the recipients of its 2022 scientific awards, to be presented during the 147th ANA Annual Meeting, which will be held October 22–25, 2022 at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago, Illinois.

These prestigious awards recognize leaders in academic neurology and neuroscience who have exemplified excellence in research, teaching, and clinical practice across the breadth of clinical neurology and neuroscience disciplines.

“This year’s honorees reflect the exceptional, innovative work taking place in academic neurology and neuroscience, as we push the boundaries of understanding of the brain and nervous system,” said ANA President Frances Jensen, MD, FACP, FANA, professor and chair of the Department of Neurology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. “It is gratifying to be able to honor their contributions to the field in person—along with the other neurology and neuroscience leaders whose work will be highlighted across our many sessions at ANA2022. Neurology cuts to the core of how we experience the world, and our members are continually improving the quality of life for people worldwide.”

Each year, the ANA Annual Meeting convenes more than 900 academic neurologists and neuroscientists to share updates and late-breaking research. Attendees share new insights on the workings of the brain and nervous system and the origins and treatment of neurological diseases that affect more than 100 million Americans each year—including stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, neuromuscular disorders, headache, traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and more.

Out of this distinguished group, the following will receive a 2022 ANA Award:

Lectureships
Presented and delivered during ANA2022 sessions as noted below.

The Raymond D. Adams Lectureship honors Dr. Raymond D. Adams, emeritus Bullard Professor of Neuropathology at Harvard Medical School and emeritus Chief of Neurology Service at Massachusetts General Hospital. Established in 2000, the lectureship highlights a neurologist whose work has made a major impact on the understanding or treatment of neurological disorders.

• Awarded to: Mark Hallett, MD, National Institutes of Health
• Presentation Title: “Update on Pathophysiology of Functional Neurological Disorders”
• Session: Updates on Functional Neurological Disorder (Interactive Lunch Workshop)

The F.E. Bennett Memorial Lectureship, begun in 1979 by Foster Elting Bennett, MD, in memory of his son, recognizes outstanding neuroscientists and educators in neurology.

• Awarded to: Arnold Kriegstein, MD, PhD, University of California, San Francisco
• Presentation Title: “Brain Organoids to Study Evolution and Disease”
• Session: Brain Organoid Models of Neurological Disorders (Opening Symposium)

The Soriano Lectureship was established in 1987 by longtime ANA member Dr. Victor Soriano and his wife to acknowledge a “brilliant lecture delivered by an outstanding scientist” who is also a member of the Association.

• Awarded to: Argye Hillis, MD, MA, FANA, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
• Presentation Title: “Neuroplasticity and Neurorecovery of Aphasia”
• Session: Neurorecovery and Neuroplasticity (Cross-Cutting SIG Session)

 

Derek Denny-Brown Young Neurological Scholar Awards
Presented during the Derek Denny-Brown Young Neurological Scholar Symposium.

The Derek Denny-Brown Young Neurological Scholar Awards are given annually to new ANA members who have achieved significant stature in neurological research, whose work shows promise, and who are expected to continue making major contributions to the field of neurology.

The Derek Denny-Brown Young Neurological Scholar Award in Neuroscience  

• Awarded to: Gemma Carvill, PhD, Northwestern University
• Presentation Title: “Beyond the Exome in the Rare Genetic Epilepsies: New Challenges and Opportunities”

The Derek Denny-Brown Young Neurological Scholar Award in Basic Science

• Awarded to: Sami Barmada, MD, PhD, University of Michigan
• Presentation Title: “Therapeutic Implications of Convergent Disease Mechanisms in ALS and FTD”

The Derek Denny-Brown Young Neurological Scholar Award in Clinical Science

• Awarded to: Brian Edlow, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital
• Presentation Title: “Mapping the Connectivity of Consciousness”

 

Research & Teaching Awards
Presented during the Derek Denny-Brown Young Neurological Scholar Symposium.

The Grass Foundation – ANA Award in Neuroscience honors outstanding young investigators conducting research in basic or clinical neuroscience.

• Awarded to: Derek Narendra, MD, PhD, National Institutes of Health
• Presentation Title: “Curbing Mitochondrial Damage in Neurodegeneration: Lessons from Neurogenetics”

The Wolfe Neuropathy Research Prize, established in 2009 by Mr. Winston Wolfe and the ANA, honors outstanding investigators who identify a new cause or novel treatment of axonal peripheral neuropathy.

• Awarded to: Stephanie Eid, PhD, University of Michigan
• Presentation Title: “Schwann Cells in Diabetic Neuropathy: Drivers of Disease or Just the Passengers?”

The ANA bestows the Audrey S. Penn Lectureship Award to ANA members who conduct outstanding research, program-building, or educational scholarship to promote health equity and address health care disparities.

• Awarded to: Bruce Ovbiagele, MD, MSc, MAS, MBA, MLS, FANA, University of California, San Francisco
• Presentation Title: “Training in Research for Academic Neurologists to Sustain Careers & Enhance Numbers of Diverse Scholars: So Far, So Transcendent”

The Distinguished Neurology Teacher Award recognizes and rewards contributions by gifted and talented teachers of neurology. Nominees come from the entire field of clinical neurology or neuroscience.

• Awarded to: Deanna Saylor, MD, MHS
• Saylor is an Associate Professor of Neurology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

 

Professional Development Awards
Presented during the Derek Denny-Brown Young Neurological Scholar Symposium.

Made possible through the generosity of the Persyst Development Corporation, the ANA-Persyst IDEAS Professional Development Award supports career development opportunities for individuals from communities that are under-represented in academic neurology and neuroscience. The award recognizes an early-career academic neurologist or neuroscientist who is an ANA member working in the field of epilepsy.

• Awarded to: Wilfreda Lindsey, MD, MS, Kennedy Krieger Institute

 

ANA Awards for Excellence
Presented during the Derek Denny-Brown Young Neurological Scholar Symposium.

The ANA strives to recognize the full scope of academic neurology and neuroscience represented by its members. The ANA Awards for Excellence recognize individuals who have had an exceptional impact on the field through their research, leadership, educational endeavors, or service to the ANA itself.

The ANA Award for Clinical and Scientific Excellence goes to an individual who has made novel scientific contributions that reshape the field’s conceptual understanding of neurological disorders, made sustained or breakthrough contributions to the development of therapeutics, or helped transform or expand diagnostic tools and technologies.

• Awarded to: Wolf-Dieter Heiss, MD, Max Planck Institute for Neurological Research

The ANA Award for Excellence in the category of Service to the ANA recognizes high-impact contributions to the ANA in a leadership or administrative role that positively affect the ANA’s ability to serve its members and the field of neurology. Two individuals will receive this award in 2022.

• Awarded to: Shri K. Mishra, MD, MS, ABSM, University of Southern California (for dedication and impactful contributions in service to the ANA)
• Awarded to: Romergryko Geocadin, MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (for remarkable contributions and leadership in ANA online education)

 

About ANA2022

The 147th ANA Annual Meeting will be held October 22–25, 2022 at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago, IL. The organization’s first in-person annual meeting since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, ANA2022 will bring together close to 1,000 top academic neurologists and neuroscientists, along with students and trainees, from across the United States and internationally.

The meeting will showcase emerging science across neurology, including a Presidential Symposium on the effect of environmental contamination on the brain (“Neurologic Dark Matter: Exploring the Exposome that Drives Neurological Disorders”) and plenary sessions including Novel Perspectives on Neurodegeneration, Brain Organoid Models of Neurological Disorders, Emerging Role of Somatic Mutations in Neurology, Advancing Neurologic Equity, and Peripheral Contributions to Neurologic Disorders.

All non-lectureship awards will be presented during the Derek Denny-Brown Young Neurological Scholar Symposium, Monday, October 24, 2022, 1:15–3:15 p.m., during which several awardees will present their research in areas from neurogenetics to frontotemporal degeneration.

The ANA2022 meeting will again feature a media roundtable, on Tuesday, October 25 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Central Time, at which presenters of the principal symposia will summarize session highlights, discuss the relevance of the work, and answer questions.

Members of the media are welcome to attend the full meeting and can preview the advance program at 2022.myana.org. Embargoed abstracts will be made available by request in October.

To register and obtain press credentials, please click here.

Follow the meeting live using #ANA2022 on Twitter @TheNewANA1, on Facebook @AmericanNeurologicalAssociation, or on Instagram @ananeurology.

 

About the American Neurological Association (ANA)

From advances in stroke and dementia to movement disorders and epilepsy, the American Neurological Association has been the vanguard of research since 1875 as the premier professional society of academic neurologists and neuroscientists devoted to understanding and treating diseases of the nervous system. Its monthly Annals of Neurology is among the world’s most prestigious medical journals, and the ANA’s Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology is an online-only, open access journal providing rapid dissemination of high-quality, peer-reviewed research related to all areas of neurology. The acclaimed ANA Annual Meeting draws faculty and trainees from the top academic departments across the U.S. and abroad for groundbreaking research, networking, and career development. For more information, visit www.myana.org or @TheNewANA1.