FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ON April 14, 2009

University of Pennsylvania Neurologist Receives AAN S. Weir Mitchell Award

SEATTLE -

The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) is awarding the 2009 S. Weir Mitchell Award to Sashank Prasad, MD, with the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, for his research in understanding the brain’s response to early blindness. Prasad will receive the award during the AAN’s 61st Annual Meeting in Seattle, held April 25 through May 2, 2009. Prasad is an Academy member. The S. Weir Mitchell Award recognizes an individual for basic research in neuroscience by physicians in clinical neurology training programs. Prasad’s work, conducted in the laboratory of Geoffrey K. Aguirre, MD, PhD, used advanced MRI imaging to measure changes in the brains of people afflicted with early blindness. He characterized the extent to which nonvisual functions are remapped to visual areas of the brain. “Our results demonstrate that in response to visual loss, structural and functional changes occur in the visual pathways of the brain,” said Prasad. “The aim of future research will be to understand how these changes arise, how they mediate compensatory behaviors, and how they may impact the likelihood of visual recovery. Ultimately, these findings may help guide the selection of patients who are most likely to gain useful vision from technologies aiming to reverse blindness.” “I am deeply honored by this recognition from the AAN,” said Prasad. “I am very fortunate to have such exceptional research and clinical mentors at the University of Pennsylvania. I earnestly hope that the S. Weir Mitchell award marks the beginning of a productive research career in neurology.”

The 61st Annual Meeting, one of the world’s largest gatherings of neurology professionals, takes place in the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle. The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 21,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Parkinson’s disease, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), dementia, West Nile virus, and ataxia. For more information, visit www.aan.com/awards.