Awards
ANA Rising Star Award | New in 2025
The ANA Rising Star Award recognizes one (1) early career physician-scientist or researcher annually who has contributed significantly to the field of neurology (e.g., a body of research that is considered inspired, meritorious, and significant, which has the potential to have a major impact on the field nationally and/or internationally).
ANA Awards for Excellence
As the ANA evolves to better recognize the broad scope of academic neurology, our awards continue to evolve in parallel. In that spirit, the ANA offers series of awards to recognize individuals who have made exceptional and important contributions to the field of neurology and neuroscience.
ANA IDEAS Early Career Member Award
In 2021 the ANA Inclusion/Diversity/Equity/Antiracism/Social Justice (IDEAS) Task Force developed the ANA IDEAS Early Career Member Award to support the professional development of early career physician-scientists and researchers underrepresented in medicine (URiM). The IDEAS Committee will select up to (3) awardees biennially.
ANA-Persyst IDEAS Professional Development Award
This award is provided to an individual who identifies as an underrepresented in medicine early career academic neurologist or neuroscientist and is an ANA member specializing in the field of epilepsy. This award is made possible through the generosity of the Persyst Development Corporation, the leading producer of EEG software.
Derek Denny-Brown Young Neurological Scholar Award
The Derek Denny-Brown Young Neurological Scholar Award, ANA’s highest and most prestigious award, recognizes early- to mid-career neurologists and neuroscientists. This award honors those neurologists and neuroscientists in the first 12 years of their career at the assistant/associate faculty (equivalent) level who have made outstanding basic or clinical scientific advances toward the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure of neurological diseases.
Distinguished Neurology Teacher Award
The Distinguished Neurology Teacher Award was established in 1996 to recognize outstanding accomplishments in teaching neurology to residents and medical students. The purpose is to encourage efforts to recognize and reward contributions by gifted and talented teachers in neurology. Each Neurology Department in the U.S. and Canada is encouraged to nominate one individual from the entire field of neurology each year.
The Audrey Penn Lectureship
The Audrey S. Penn Lectureship Award is provided to an ANA member who conducts outstanding research, program-building, or educational scholarship to promote health equity. The award is intended to recognize an ANA member whose novel and significant work has had or may have a far-reaching impact on: 1) improving equity in the prevention, detection, treatment, survivorship of neurological conditions. 2) building clinical programs to care for historically medically underserved populations, and/or: 3) commitment to diversity and inclusion in the medical workforce. The recipient is determined by the ANA IDEAS Award & Scholarships Workgroup.
The Grass Foundation – ANA Award in Neuroscience
The Grass Foundation – ANA Award in Neuroscience was established in 2007 to honor outstanding young investigators conducting research in basic or clinical neuroscience. The Grass Foundation was established in 1955 by Albert and Ellen Grass to advance research and education in neuroscience, with a special focus on investigators early in their careers.
Wolfe Research Prize for Identifying New Causes or Novel Treatment of Neuropathy and Related Disorders
The ANA is offering the Wolfe Research Prize to honor an outstanding investigator in the field of neuropathy or related disorders regardless of ANA membership. Candidates may include faculty at any career level, whether Assistant/Associate/Full Professor, who have made significant contributions to the understanding of pathogenesis or treatment of these conditions. The recipient is selected by the ANA Awards Committee.
International Outreach Travel Scholarship
The ANA established this scholarship program in recognition of the shared goal among neurologists worldwide to reduce the burden of neurological disease through research, education, clinical care, and advocacy. The scholarship enables two recipients, residents, fellows, or junior faculty, who are members of the ANA and are training in neurology, the opportunity to work in low to lower-middle income countries for a minimum of six weeks in the upcoming academic year. Candidates must apply and meet specific criteria to be considered.
F.E. Bennett Memorial Lectureship
Foster Elting Bennett, MD, established a lectureship in 1979 in the memory of his son. This award, which has been given to outstanding researchers and educators in neurology, is not limited to members of the American Neurological Association. Award recipients are selected each year by the Annual Meeting Programming (AMP) Committee.
George W. Jacoby Award
The Jacoby Award is given triennially to a member of the ANA who has done some especially meritorious experimental work upon any neurologic or psychiatric subject. Award recipients are by the Annual Meeting Programming (AMP) Committee.
Raymond D. Adams Lectureship
This lectureship was established in 2000 to honor Dr. Raymond D. Adams, emeritus Bullard Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and emeritus Chief of the Neurology Service at the Massachusetts General Hospital. An ANA member at the Annual Meeting presents the lectureship. Award recipients are selected each year by the Annual Meeting Programming (AMP) Committee.
Soriano Lectureship
The first Soriano lecture was given in 1987 which marked the 40th year of consecutive attendance at ANA meetings by Victor Soriano and his wife. The couple chose to sponsor a lectureship to be given at the ANA, so that in future years the Sorianos “would always be linked to all of you, through a brilliant lecture delivered by an outstanding scientist…” The lecture must be given by a member of the ANA. Award recipients are selected each year by the Annual Meeting Programming (AMP) Committee.
Annual Meeting Travel Awards
Each year the ANA selects the top-ranked abstracts submitted by fellows, residents, and early-career faculty to receive a travel award ( when the meeting is held in person) to attend the Annual Meeting and present their work. In 2019, the ANA distributed more than $60,000 in travel awards.
Note: Due to the pandemic, ANA2020 and ANA2021 were held as a virtual meetings. No travel awards were provided.
Annual Meeting Poster Awards
Poster Awards were established in 2016 by the Board of Directors as a way to help recognize exceptional work presented by those in the early stages of their careers – students (graduate and undergraduate), residents, trainees, and postdoc fellows.