January 2023

Dear ANA Members,

Happy New Year! I am thrilled for what lies ahead for the ANA in 2023, and I am glad you will be part of it. To ensure a great start to the year, the ANA Board of Directors and the Annual Meeting Planning (AMP) Committee convened within the first 10 days of the New Year to begin planning and strategizing ways to serve the ANA members. 

ANA2023 | The 148^th Annual Meeting for the ANA

The AMP Committee, under the leadership of Dr. Rebecca Gottesman, Chair, and Dr. Allison Willis, Vice Chair, hosted a productive meeting where exciting plans for ANA2023 were developed. ANA2023 will be held September 9-12, 2023, in Philadelphia, and the early planning indicates that ANA2023 will be great! I am thrilled to welcome you to my home city, so mark your calendar now and make plans to attend. 

I want to thank all of you who submitted proposals and ideas for SIGs, Interactive Lunch Workshops, and Professional Development Workshops. There were so many great ideas allowing us to fill the agenda with great programming from start to finish.

The AMP Committee will soon open the call for abstract submissions and launch early registration. Watch your inbox for information and deadlines. Of note, for 2023 we have modified the fee schedule so that ANA members will have discounted registration compared to non-members at every level. If you have not already renewed your ANA membership for 2023, please click here to renew today. This will ensure you are eligible for member rates when registering for the Annual Meeting or submitting an abstract. 

ANA Board Engages in Strategic Planning

It was so nice to be with board members in Dallas in early January to focus on strategic planning. I am amazed at the great strides taken by the ANA over the past year to articulate our mission, vision, and guiding principles, implement a new staffing structure, and to highlight our distinguishing features in academic neurology. As we move into 2023, the board focused on three strategic drivers to ensure continued success.

• Annual Meeting Experience – The board worked together with leaders of the AMP Committee to discuss ways in which the Annual Meeting experience can be enhanced or expanded. The board concluded that offering the Research Careers Reimagined Course (RCR) annually would be a benefit to attendees, and they discussed ways to allow additional time for networking and connection in the Annual Meeting Schedule.
• Education and Professional Development – The board discussed the outstanding programming at the ANA2022 Annual Meeting and noted that early planning for ANA2023 indicates that programming will continue to be of the highest quality. The board also discussed ways to enhance online learning options to ensure member access to educational programming to support their research and career path. The board also agreed that continued investment in the Junior and Early Career Membership is vital to the future of the ANA.
• Voice of the Community – The board continued exploring ways to host an industry symposium event as well as ways to continue working to support global neurology in Sub-Saharan Africa. The board also established a new committee specifically to represent the voice of the ANA in matters of clinical importance. Read on to learn more about this exciting new committee and how you could be part of it.

The Clinical Implementation Science Committee

I was so impressed with the work done by the Governance Committee in 2022 to ensure our committees were well structured and relevant. I observed that in all the incredible work accomplished, there was one area of focus that we had not addressed, that pertaining to clinical matters.

I feel strongly that we as thought leaders of academic neurology have an important contribution to make in terms of clinical innovation across all aspects of clinical care from implementation of discovery to processes to improve quality, safety, and education in the clinical setting. I asked the board to support the establishment of the Clinical Implementation Science Committee, and they unanimously approved this request. The Clinical Implementation Science Committee (CISC) will evaluate new or emergent diagnostic tools and treatments in neurology to guide the Board of Directors in developing public responses, position statements, or guidelines on their implementation in clinical practice and neurological education. This committee will also provide advice in setting standards of clinical excellence in academic neurology.

We are seeking a broad membership of individuals active across many disciplines to build a robust committee. If you would like to express interest in serving on the committee, please complete the online application which will be open until the committee is populated. This new committee will be an opportunity for the ANA to inform and evaluate clinical innovation from the unique scientific and academic perspective.

February is Black History Month

The month of February is Black History Month, and we are excited to celebrate the accomplishments and remarkable contributions made to the field of neurology and neuroscience by esteemed colleagues from the Black community. I would like to begin by recognizing Audrey S. Penn, MD, PhD, an American neurologist and emeritus professor who was elected President of the ANA in 1994 and served as deputy director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). She was the first Black woman to serve as an acting director of an Institute of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Penn studied chemistry before studying medicine. It was noted in her college yearbook that she played violin, hockey, basketball, and softball. She decided to study medicine because she wanted to have more contact with people in her work. She chose neurology, she said, “because there was so much wonderful information to learn about the brain and everything connected to it.” Dr. Penn is a leading neurologist and neuroscientist specializing in neuroimmunology and neuromuscular disease research especially known for her clinical expertise and accomplishments in research on myasthenia gravis.

The ANA grants the Audrey S. Penn Lectureship Award each year to an ANA member who conducts outstanding research, program-building, or educational scholarship to promote health and equity on health care disparities. The 2022 recipient of the Audrey S. Penn Lectureship Award was Dr. Bruce Ovbiagele, MD, MSc, MAS, MBA, MLS, FANA, University of California San Francisco. You can listen to his presentation Training in Research for Academic Neurologists to Sustain Career & Enhance Numbers of Diverse Scholars: So Far, So Transcendent here. (Dr. Ovbiagele’s presentation begins at 1:38:58.)

In Memoriam: Dr. Ralph L. Sacco

We were saddened to hear of the passing of our valued and brilliant colleague, Ralph L. Sacco, MD, a leading stroke neurologist focused on population research in cerebrovascular disease whose dedication to improving the quality of stroke care led to numerous advances in the field. We extend our sincere condolences to Dr. Sacco’s family and loved ones, and the many patients, colleagues, and friends who were touched by his exceptional service to humanity. Dr. Sacco’s full obituary is available here. 

ANA Journals Continue to Have High Impact

We are thrilled to have Ahmet Hoke, MD, PhD, FANA, FRCPC, Professor, Neurology and Neuroscience, Director, Neuromuscular Division Director, Merkin Peripheral Neuropathy and Nerve Regeneration Center, Editor-in-Chief, Experimental Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, now serving as the Editor-in-Chief for the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology (ACTN). Together with a team of Associate Editors, Dr. Hoke will provide leadership and expertise to ensure the journal continues to be impactful, vital, and robust.

I asked Dr. Hoke if he was excited about his new role, and he shared, “I am honored to take the baton from Jack Kessler, the inaugural Editor-in-Chief of Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology and look forward to serving the ANA and academic neurology community. Over the years, ACTN has grown as a reputable open access journal, and I am committed to publishing excellent clinical and translational research in neurological sciences.” When I asked about his vision for the journal, Dr. Hoke shared, “I plan to expand the online interactive case series, Inter-ACTN, and develop it into a mature educational tool for medical students, residents, and fellows.” You can read more in Dr. Hoke’s Editorial featured in the January 2023 issue of ACTN.

Dr. Hoke joins Dr. Ken Tyler, Editor-in-Chief of Annals of Neurology (Annals), whose excellent leadership helps the ANA continue to provide a dynamic and insightful publication for its members and the academic neurology community. In late 2022, the ANA created a new benefit for Fellows of the association. I asked Dr. Tyler to share information on the new ANA benefit, and he responded, “ANA Fellows can now designate one paper per year that they are first, senior, or corresponding author on for guaranteed review by Annals. This new policy parallels that in place in several other scientific societies with linked journals and is a major new benefit of ANA Fellowship.”

When I asked about what is in store for Annals, Dr. Tyler noted, “Readers of Annals may have also spotted several new features including rapidly published mini-reviews by experts in the field on highly topical and newsworthy subjects. Most recently, topics included FDA approval of ALS drugs, re-emergency of polio in the U.S., neuroinvasiveness of monkeypox virus, sports concussion and CTE, wearable devices in Parkinson’s Disease, and anti-amyloid therapies for Alzheimer’s disease, with more to follow!”

Onward and Upward!

There are so many exciting things happening this year, and I am glad you are part of it. I hope you engage in activities, join us for ANA2023, and take advantage of the resources available to you as a member of the ANA!

Regards,