EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 12 PM ET, February 21, 2012
Tokyo Neurologist Wins $100,000 Potamkin Prize for Alzheimer’s Research
NEW ORLEANS -
The American Academy of Neurology is awarding its 2012 Potamkin Prize for Research in Pick’s, Alzheimer’s and Related Diseases to Takeshi Iwatsubo, MD, PhD, with the University of Tokyo School of Medicine. Iwatsubo will receive the award during the Academy’s 64th Annual Meeting, April 21-28, 2012, in New Orleans. The Annual Meeting is the world’s largest gathering of neurologists with more than 10,000 attendees and more than 2,300 scientific presentations on the latest research advance in brain disease. The Potamkin Prize honors researchers for their work in helping to advance the understanding of Pick’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. The $100,000 prize is an internationally recognized tribute for advancing dementia research. Iwatsubo is receiving the Potamkin Prize for his research leading the Japanese Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative Project to discover imaging and biochemical markers that are useful in clinical trials for Alzheimer’s disease treatments. “Winning the Potamkin Prize is the highlight of my career as a researcher,” said Iwatsubo. “It is my hope that my research will contribute to the development of new therapies to prevent and cure Alzheimer’s disease and related neurodegenerative disorders.” The Potamkin Prize is made possible by the philanthropic contributions of the Potamkin family of Colorado, Philadelphia and Miami. The goal of the prize is to help attract the best medical minds and most dedicated scientists in the world to the field of dementia research. The Potamkin family has been the Academy’s single largest individual donor since 1988, providing more than $2 million to fund the Potamkin Prize. Learn more about Alzheimer’s disease at http://www.aan.com/patients.