American Epilepsy Society Honors 9 Award Recipients at Annual Meeting

The American Epilepsy Society (AES) will recognize 9 award recipients at the 2024 Annual Meeting. The awards honor the contributions of leaders in the field of epilepsy, recognizing achievements across research, service, education, and patient care.

The Founders Award, which recognizes AES members who have achieved a lifelong record of accomplishments and contributions related to epilepsy, will be presented to Antonio Delgado-Escueta, MD, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles.

The Extraordinary Contributions to the Field of Epilepsy Award, which is only presented in years when the AES Board of Directors identifies an individual who has made extraordinary contributions across multiple domains in the field including education, science, advocacy, and leadership will be presented to Eileen M. Murray, MM, CAE, CEO, American Epilepsy Society. The AES recently established the Eileen M. Murray, MM, CAE, First-Generation Travel Award to honor Ms. Murray’s years of service to the organization.

The J. Kiffin Penry Award for Excellence in Epilepsy Care, which recognizes individuals whose work has improved the care and quality of life of people with epilepsy, will be presented to Gretchen L. Birbeck, MD, MPH, DTMH, University of Rochester.

The Distinguished Service Award will be presented to Frances E. Jensen, MD, University of Pennsylvania, in recognition of her outstanding service to epilepsy through her research and advocacy efforts.

Karen Parko MD, FAES, University of California, San Francisco will be presented with the Lombroso Lecturer Award in recognition of her status as an outstanding investigator in epilepsy research:

• Lecture Title: “US Health Care Inequities for People with Epilepsy”

Phillip L. Pearl, MD FAES, Harvard Medical School, will receive the Fritz E. Dreifuss Award and will present a lecture during the Presidential Symposium:

• Lecture Title: “Imaging in the Inherited Metabolic Epilepsies”

Sucheta M. Joshi, MD, MS, FAES, University of Southern California, will receive the Rebecca Goldberg Kaufman Clinical Award in Ethical Neuropsychiatry and will present a lecture during the Best Practices in Clinical Epilepsy Symposium:

• Lecture Title: “Designing and Implementing the Multidisciplinary Transition Clinic”

In addition, Research Recognition Awards are the AES’s highest category of research awards, recognizing basic science and clinical investigators who have pioneered improved understandings of epilepsy and have contributed to advancing treatment. Award recipients include

• Heather Mefford, MD, PhD, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, will receive the Basic Science Research Award.
• William Davis Gaillard, MD, FAES, George Washington University School of Medicine, will receive the Clinical Science Research Award.

Additional details regarding these awards may be found on the AES website: https://aesnet.org/about/aes-press-room/press-releases.