Breakthrough celebrity
|
Image courtesy of NASA |
What does the iconic NASA Hangar 1 in Silicon Valley have to do with a certain Emory neurologist?
It's where, on December 12 in a star-studded ceremony, six Breakthrough Prizes in Life Sciences awards were given for excellence in research aimed at curing intractable diseases and extending human life.
|
Congratulations to Mahlon DeLong, William Timmie Professor of Neurology, who received a $3 million prize for defining the interlocking circuits in the brain that malfunction in Parkinson's disease, laying the groundwork for treatment of the disease with deep-brain stimulation.
"The Breakthrough Prize is our effort to put the spotlight on these amazing heroes," said Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, one of the founding sponsors of the awards. "Their work in physics and genetics, cosmology, neurology, and mathematics will change lives for generations, and we are excited to celebrate them."
The ceremony will be broadcast by the Science Channel, one of the Discovery networks, at 9 p.m. on January 27.
Dean's Faculty Lecture and Award
Kerry Ressler (psychiatry and behavior sciences), Howard Hughes investigator, and Yerkes researcher, is the recipient of the 2014 Dean's Distinguished Faculty Lecture and Award. His research focuses on the molecular and cellular mechanisms of fear learning and extinction in mouse models and in humans with fear-related disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, phobias, and panic disorder. He currently serves as co-director of the Grady Trauma Project. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 2012. Read more.
We look forward to celebrating this lectureship and award on March 12 at 5:30 p.m, SOM 120.
New AAAS fellow
Helen Mayberg, Dorothy C. Fuqua Chair in Psychiatric Imaging and Therapeutics, was one of 388 people in 2013 to be elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for her contributions to understanding of the neurobiology of depression and new treatment approaches. She pioneered the use of deep-brain stimulation for treatment-resistant depression. Her current projects include development of new imaging biomarkers predictive of treatment response and optimal treatment selection for individual depressed patients at all stages of illness. Mayberg was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 2008. Read more. |