Currently in North America, an estimated six million individuals are living with Alzheimer’s disease and as our population ages, the number of people affected, and the cost of treatment is expected to rise dramatically.
This year’s J. Allyn Taylor International Prize in Medicine recipients are tirelessly working to find ways to understand and treat Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases before those numbers reach unsustainable proportions.
Western University’s Robarts Research Institute is pleased to announce that Drs. John Q. Trojanowski, and Virginia M.-Y. Lee, leading Alzheimer’s researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, are co-recipients of the 2014 J. Allyn Taylor International Prize in Medicine.
Drs. Lee and Trojanowski are co-directors of the Marian S. Ware Alzheimer Drug Discovery Program at Penn and have been working as a collaborative team for the last two decades. Among the 10 most cited neuroscientists in the world, they have made major contributions to understanding the molecular basis of neurological disorders through their work uncovering major disease proteins in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal degeneration. This research has opened up new avenues to identify targets for drug discovery and development of therapeutics.
“Their work has had an immense impact on our understanding of neurological disorders and on our ability to develop focused therapies,” said Arthur Brown, PhD, Robarts Research Institute scientist and chair of the Taylor Prize committee. “They have made an unparalleled contribution to the field of neuroscience.”
Robarts Research Institute at Western’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry has been awarding this prestigious international prize to leading scientists since 1985. The award will be presented to Drs. Trojanowski and Lee at the Leaders in Innovation dinner on Thursday, November 20th at the Lamplighter Inn, London, an evening highlighting research into the molecular basis of neurodegenerative disorders.
The J. Allyn Taylor International Prize in Medicine is named after the founding Chair of the Board at Robarts, and includes a cash prize of $25,000 and a medal bearing the likeness of J. Allyn Taylor. The award is generously supported by the Stiller Foundation and the family of the late J. Allyn Taylor.
A photo of the prize winners is available upon request
Crystal Mackay, Media Relations Officer, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University
t. 519.661.2111 ext. 80387, c. 519.777.1573, crystal.mackay@schulich.uwo.ca
ABOUT WESTERN & SCHULICH MEDICINE & DENTISTRY
Western delivers an academic experience second to none. Since 1878, The Western Experience has combined academic excellence with life-long opportunities for intellectual, social and cultural growth in order to better serve our communities.
The Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University has a long tradition of excellence, beginning with founding of the medical school in 1881 and continuing with the formation of the dental school in 1964.Today, Schulich Medicine & Dentistry is a leading Canadian centre of outstanding education and research, shaping health care for the next generation.
Tags
