Darryl C. De Vivo, MD


"We are in the business of funding the best and the brightest young clinician-neuroscientists who want to make a difference in the lives of patients with neurological diseases. Unfortunately, there are more deserving applicants than there are fellowships. It is our duty to the profession to change this disparity. Any one of these clinician-neuroscientists may make an important scientific discovery that will lead to a significant clinical breakthrough. Funding more research is the imperative that will ultimately lead to better neurological treatments in the future."
Umrao Monani, PhD
Foundation grant recipient

"This grant has been key to allowing me to continue to engage in researching spinal muscular atrophy, the most common genetic cause of infant death."
Chikkathur N. Madhavarao, PhD
Foundation grant recipient

"This fellowship came in like an oasis in the desert at a time when all funds were dried up for research on Canavan disease, a rare and fatal genetic disorder. I consider it a great opportunity to work toward finding a treatment for this devastating brain disorder."
C. Adam Kirton, MD, MSc
Foundation grant recipient

"To many people's surprise, strokes are a common cause of brain injury in children. The fellowship grant I received from the AAN Foundation facilitated numerous research advances in childhood stroke inlcuding the classification of newborn strokes, identification of new imaging features to understand healing in the young brain and predict long-term outcome, and the development of a novel treatment strategy for children with chronic weakness after stroke. Most importantly, my clinical research fellowship instilled the skills, motivation, and momentum required to initiate my career as a clinican-scientist and contribute to the advancement of pediatric neuroscience research in the future."
Jeremiah Scharf, MD, PhD
Foundation grant recipient whose research involves analyzing genes in families affected by Tourette syndrome

"Tourette syndrome has a strong genetic component, yet no major Tourette syndrome susceptibility genes have been found so far. Identification of genes causing Tourette syndrome could lead to improved understanding of the underlying basis of the disease, as well as improved diagnostics, and hopefully new treatments."