Seven Researchers Honored for Scientific Achievements and Contributions to the Dementia Field at Alzheimer’s Association International Conference

AMSTERDAM, JULY 16, 2023 — The Alzheimer’s Association^® will present seven awards at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference^® (AAIC^®) 2023, recognizing researchers for their varied expertise, noteworthy achievements and innovative contributions to the field of Alzheimer’s and dementia science.

“We know so much more about Alzheimer’s and other dementia because of the important work of these seven outstanding researchers and their collaborators,” said Maria C. Carrillo, Ph.D., chief science officer, Alzheimer’s Association. “We thank them for their contributions to science, and acknowledge their positive impact toward ending Alzheimer’s disease for all people in all communities and all locations.”

AAIC Lifetime Achievement Awards
The AAIC Lifetime Achievement Awards are named in honor of Henry Wisniewski, M.D., Ph.D.; Khalid Iqbal, Ph.D.; and Bengt Winblad, M.D., Ph.D., co-founders of the International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease, now known as the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference. These awards honor significant contributions to Alzheimer’s and dementia research, either through a single scientific discovery or a body of work.

Bruce Miller, M.D., is the recipient of the Henry Wisniewski Lifetime Achievement Award. Miller holds the A.W. and Mary Margaret Clausen Distinguished Professorship in Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco, directs the UCSF Memory and Aging Center and is the founding director of the Global Brain Health Institute at UCSF. In addition, he helps lead the Tau Consortium and The Bluefield Foundation. Miller founded the Behavioral Neurology Fellowship at UCSF, oversees visits of more than 50 foreign scholars every year, and co-directs the Global Brain Health Institute, a training program for global leaders in brain health to reduce the scale and impact of dementia around the world.

Anne Fagan, Ph.D., is the recipient of the Khalid Iqbal Lifetime Achievement Award. Fagan is a Professor of Neurology and the Fluid Biomarker Core Leader at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. where she pioneered the evaluation of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers as markers of underlying Alzheimer pathology. Alongside colleagues, Fagan initiated visionary longitudinal studies investigating the potential of a variety of fluid measures as biomarkers of preclinical Alzheimer’s pathology and their role in predicting future cognitive decline in elderly and at-risk middle-aged cohorts, individuals with autosomal-dominant Alzheimer’s disease mutations and those with Down Syndrome. Such biomarkers have informed the testing and evaluation of potential disease-modifying therapies in both sporadic and genetic at-risk groups. She has served on many scientific advisory boards over the years and is the 2019 recipient of the Fellows Award from the Academy of Science – St. Louis in recognition of her “outstanding achievement in science.”

Philip Scheltens, M.D., Ph.D., is the recipient of the Bengt Winblad Lifetime Achievement Award. Scheltens is professor of neurology, emeritus and founder/former director of the Alzheimer Center Amsterdam. He is also a partner at EQT Group and founder of the EQT Life Sciences Dementia Fund, which he has headed since 2020. He has been the national or international Principal Investigator for more than 35 studies, including Phase I, II and III multicenter clinical trials. Scheltens founded and led the Dutch National Dementia Plan and served as chair of the board until 2021. He currently sits on the advisory panel of the Dutch National Strategy for Dementia 2021-2030, and he has acted as chair of the World Dementia Council since 2021. In 2016 he was awarded the European Grand Prix for Alzheimer’s Research and most recently he was knighted in the Order of the Netherlands Lion as a recognition for his entire career in the field of dementia.

Bill Thies Award
The Bill Thies Award for Distinguished Service to ISTAART (the Alzheimer's Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment) recognizes an ISTAART member who has provided continued and outstanding service to the ISTAART community. The award honors William (Bill) Thies, Ph.D., who passed away on Aug. 16, 2020. During his tenure from 1998 to 2020 as the Alzheimer’s Association’s chief medical and scientific officer, and then as senior medical science advisor, Thies was instrumental in bringing AAIC under the Association’s management. He launched the peer-reviewed journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia^®: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, and the Alzheimer’s Association Research Roundtable.

Jonathan Schott, M.D., F.R.C.P, is the recipient of the 2023 Bill Thies Award for Distinguished Service to ISTAART. He is Professor of Neurology and Honorary Consultant Neurologist at the Dementia Research Centre, University College London Queen Square Institute of Neurology. He is a clinician scientist with particular interest in how clinical and cognitive data, imaging and fluid biomarkers, life course methods and genetics can be used and combined to improve differential diagnosis and identify pre- symptomatic dementia. He leads Insight 46, a longitudinal biomarker study investigating brain health and dementia in the British 1946 birth cohort and has published more than 300 papers on dementia and aging. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, Fellow of the European Academy of Neurology, chairs the Cognitive Advisory Group of the Association of British Neurologists, and is Chief Medical Office for Alzheimer’s Research UK, Europe’s largest dementia research charity. Schott’s eight-year tenure on the ISTAART executive council — including two years as chair — coincided with a major expansion in membership which now exceeds 10,000 from more than 100 countries, and of Professional Interest Areas which now number 29. He has been particularly involved in promoting early career researchers both within individual PIAs and at the executive level and has contributed to ISTAART events aiming to promote career development.

Zaven Khachaturian Award
Khalid Iqbal, Ph.D. is the recipient of the Zaven Khachaturian Award at AAIC 2023. This award is presented to an individual whose compelling vision, selfless dedication and extraordinary achievement has significantly advanced the field of Alzheimer’s science. Iqbal is Chairman Emeritus and Professor of Neuroscience at the New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities and Chief Scientific Officer of Phanes Biotech, Inc. He founded and chaired the biennial International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease from 1988 to 2008, which later became the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference. Iqbal has authored more than 500 scientific papers in prestigious American and international scientific journals and edited seven books on research advances in Alzheimer disease and related neurodegenerative disorders. Iqbal has made lasting contributions to our present-day knowledge of the etiopathogenesis of Alzheimer neurofibrillary pathology and to the development of potential disease-modifying treatment by tau immunotherapy and neural regeneration among other approaches.

Inge-Grundke-Iqbal Award
Cristian Lasagna-Reeves, Ph.D., is this year’s recipient of the Inge Grundke-Iqbal Award for Alzheimer's Research. This award is presented to the senior author of the most impactful study published in Alzheimer’s research during the two calendar years preceding AAIC. His paper, Bassoon Contributes to Tau-Seed Propagation and Neurotoxicity, published in Nature Neuroscience in November 2022, informed the dementia field on how tau seeds can be stabilized, opening up potential new therapeutic approaches for neurodegenerative tauopathies. Lasagna-Reeves is an associate professor and the director of the Neurodegenerative Disorders Research Group at the Stark Neurosciences Research Institute (SNRI) at Indiana University School of Medicine. He is also an affiliate faculty at the Indiana Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and at the Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics at Indiana University. His laboratory focuses on understanding the role of tau in Alzheimer’s, with emphasis in the mechanisms involved in tau aggregation and propagation.

Blas Frangione Early Career Achievement Award
Xiaoying Chen, Ph.D., is the 2023 recipient of the Blas Frangione Early Career Achievement Award. This award recognizes early career researchers whose cutting edge research in Alzheimer’s and dementia has the potential to impact the field by propelling it in novel directions. Chen is a faculty member in the Department of Neurology, Hope Center for Neurological Disorders, Knight Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine. Chen has made key conceptual advances in our knowledge of Alzheimer’s disease, including demonstrating that the adaptive immune response is involved in tau-mediated neurodegeneration. Her work has answered key questions about how tau aggregation leads to regional neuronal death and dementia. Her honors include the O’Leary Prize for Best Neuroscience Research at Washington University in St. Louis, the Poletsky Award for Alzheimer’s Disease Research from Washington University in St. Louis, the Tau Consortium Fellowship from Rainwater Charitable Foundation, the Coins for Alzheimer’s Research Trust from Rotary Foundation, the Career Development Award from Society for Neuroscience.

About the Alzheimer's Association International Conference^® (AAIC^®)
The Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) is the world’s largest gathering of researchers from around the world focused on Alzheimer’s and other dementias. As a part of the Alzheimer’s Association’s research program, AAIC serves as a catalyst for generating new knowledge about dementia and fostering a vital, collegial research community.
Alzheimer’s Association: alz.org
AAIC 2023: alz.org/aaic
AAIC 2023 newsroom: alz.org/aaic/pressroom.asp
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About the Alzheimer's Association^®
The Alzheimer's Association leads the way to end Alzheimer's and all other dementia — by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer's and all other dementia^®. For more information, visit alz.org or call the 24/7 Helpline at 800.272.3900.

Media Contacts: 
Alzheimer’s Association Media Line, +1 312.335.4078, media@alz.org
AAIC 2023 Press Office, aaicmedia@alz.org