The American Stroke Association's highest honor — the Thomas Willis Award — will be presented to scientist working to translate laboratory research into clinical treatment. John Hallenbeck, M.D., Chief of the Stroke Branch, Clinical Neuroscience Program at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) will receive the honor at the International Stroke Conference 2011.
The American Stroke Association also will present awards to:
Stephen Davis, M.D. FRCP,FRACP, Director of Division of Neurosciences and Department of Neurology at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in Australia and chair of Translational Neuroscience at the University of Melbourne, who will be honored with the William Feinberg Award for Excellence in Clinical Stroke. Gregory W. Albers, M.D., professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences and Director of the Stanford Stroke Center, who will receive the David G. Sherman Lecture Award. MingMing Ning, M.D. MMSc., assistant professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and Director of Clinical Proteomics Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, who will be given the Robert G. Siekert New Investigator in Stroke Award. Jason Mackey, M.D., a stroke research fellow at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, who will receive the Mordecai Y.T. Globus New Investigator Award. Dong-Wha Kang M.D., Ph.D, associate professor in the Department of Neurology at Asan Medical Center at the University of Ulsan College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea, who will receive the Stroke Care in Emergency Medicine Award.
Hallenbeck, who is lauded for his dedication to stroke research, will deliver the Willis Lecture: "Tracks of a Non-Main Path Traveler" Wednesday, Feb. 9, at 11 a.m. PT.
The Willis Award — which recognizes "major contributions to the understanding of stroke over a sustained period" — honors pioneer physician Thomas Willis (1621-1675), who is credited with providing the first detailed descriptions of the brain stem, cerebellum and ventricles along with hypotheses on their function.
Hallenbeck's scientific contributions to stroke research span four decades, beginning in 1971 with the U.S. Navy where he focused on neurological injuries related to decompression sickness. One possible consequence of decompression sickness is progressive impairment of microvascular perfusion, which led him to the stroke field. Since then he has been at the forefront of basic science exploring the mechanisms of immune and inflammatory responses to brain injury. He is also a leader in investigating the potential of hibernation mechanisms and other forms of ischemic tolerance to reduce brain injury.
In his role as Chief of the Clinical Investigations Section of the Stroke Branch at NINDS, he leads efforts to discover, test and translate into clinical trials innovations in stroke prevention and treatment.
The Feinberg Award is named for Dr. William Feinberg (1952-1997), a prominent stroke clinician-researcher and American Heart Association volunteer who contributed to a fuller understanding of the causes of stroke. The award honors "significant achievement in the clinical investigation and management of stroke" and is supported by an educational grant from the pharmaceutical firm Boehringer Ingelheim.
Davis will give the Feinberg lecture, "Evolving Stroke: Imaging and Treatment Selection" Thurs., Feb 10 at 12:10 p.m. PT.
A clinical and research neurologist, Davis' focus has been testing new therapies for acute stroke and using neuroimaging to define patient selection and treatment response. He is a world leader in using imaging in the evaluation of brain ischemia, the ischemic penumbra and selection of acute therapy. He is also an authority on intracerebral hemorrhage research and among his many scientific contributions, his group was the first to define predictive factors of the hematoma growth on non-contrast CT.
Davis is the immediate past president of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Neurologists.
The Sherman Award, given to Albers, honors David G. Sherman, M.D., a prominent stroke physician and internationally recognized leader and researcher in stroke prevention and treatment. It's awarded to a Fellow of the American Heart Association's Stroke Council who is actively engaged in ongoing research in clinical stroke and who has made significant contributions to clinical research in stroke.
Albers is recognized for his "extraordinary contributions to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of stroke." He has piloted multiple clinical trials investigating neuroprotective agents and thrombolytics for stroke treatment. His current research interests include new MRI techniques for imaging acute stroke and the diagnosis and management of transient ischemic attack (TIA). He is also researching methods to identify MRI imaging profiles associated with favorable outcomes.
He will give the Sherman Award Lecture, titled "Misperceptions in Brain Ischemia: Technology, Terminology, Tissue and Time" on Friday, Feb 11 at12:40 p.m. PT.
The three other awards recognize noteworthy research presented by young investigators.
Ning was recognized for abstract 214 (Wed. Feb. 9 at 11:51 a.m. PT,) "How the Heart Whispers to the Brain: Serotonin as Neurovascular Mediator in Patent Foramen Ovale Related Stroke" which investigates the possibility that the mixing of venous and arterial blood in the heart that occurs through patent foramen ovale (PFO) may contribute to the mechanism of increased stroke risk. This work is also summarized in a Wednesday news tip.
The Siekert Award is named for the founding chair of the International Stroke Conference.
Mackey's work — abstract 215 (Thursday Feb. 10 at 11:02 a.m. PT) "Familial Intracranial Aneurysms: Is Anatomic Vulnerability Heritable?" — explores how genetics might influence intracranial aneurysm location. This work is also summarized in a Thursday news tip.
The Globus Award is supported by the University of Miami and is named for the late renowned cerebrovascular researcher Mordecai Y.T. Globus.
Kang is lauded for abstract 216 (Thursday Feb. 10 at 11:16 a.m. PT) "Reperfusion Therapy in Acute Ischemic Stroke with Unclear Onset by MRI Evaluation (RESTORE)" which explored the safety and efficacy of thrombolysis in patients with unclear-onset stroke using MRI selection criteria. This research will be presented in a news conference on Thursday, Feb. 10.