WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) will present the Julius Axelrod Prize to Stephen Waxman, MD, PhD, of Yale University. Supported by the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation, the $25,000 prize honors distinguished achievements in neuropharmacology or a related area in addition to exemplary efforts in mentoring young scientists. The award will be presented during Neuroscience 2018 in San Diego, SfN's annual meeting and the world's largest source of emerging news about brain science and health.
"It is with honor that we recognize Dr. Waxman with this year's Axelrod Prize," SfN President Richard Huganir said. "As a part of his exemplary mentorship, he has provided a model of rigorous laboratory studies coupled with application to human patients in studying the role of ion channels in diseases of the brain and spinal cord."
Waxman is Bridget Flaherty Professor of Neurology, Neurobiology, and Pharmacology at Yale University. He is also founder and director of the Yale University Neuroscience and Regeneration Research Center. Repeatedly, Waxman has first made important discoveries about the nervous system at the cellular or molecular level and gone on to translate them into new approaches for understanding or treating diseases and disorders of the brain and spinal cord. His studies of the role of ion channels in nervous system disorders, particularly spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, and neuropathic pain, have resulted in clinical treatments for human patients. Waxman's laboratory is currently examining the role of abnormal sodium channel expression in these disorders and attempting to identify the molecular basis of neurodegeneration and neuroprotection.
In addition to his prolific research portfolio, Waxman has trained more than 150 academic neurologists and neuroscientists who lead research teams and clinics around the world. A member of the National Academy of Medicine, he has received awards including the Tuve Award (NIH), the Distinguished Alumnus Award (Albert Einstein College of Medicine), the John Dystel Prize (American Academy of Neurology and National Multiple Sclerosis Society), the Wartenberg Award (American Academy of Neurology), and the Annual Prize of the British Physiological Society.
Julius Axelrod was a longtime member of SfN and shared the 1970 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of the actions of neurotransmitters in regulating the metabolism of the nervous system. His well-known work on brain chemistry led to current treatments for depression and anxiety disorders and played a key role in the discovery of the pain-relieving properties of acetaminophen.
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The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is an organization of nearly 36,000 basic scientists and clinicians who study the brain and the nervous system.