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.
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.
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 to attend the Annual Meeting and present their work. In 2019, the ANA distributed more than $60,000 in travel awards.
*Due to the pandemic, ANA2020 and ANA2021 were held as a virtual meetings. No travel awards were provided.
Dependent Care Travel Grant Program
The Dependent Care Travel Grant Program provides financial assistance to help cover dependent care expenses incurred during travel for professional development, conferences, or other career-enhancing events. It is designed to support individuals with caregiving responsibilities, ensuring that these extra costs don’t hinder their ability to participate in key professional opportunities.
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 Educator Award
Established in 1996, the Distinguished Neurology Educator Award recognizes exceptional achievements in teaching neurology to residents and medical students. Its goal is to acknowledge and reward the contributions of gifted educators in the field of neurology. Each Neurology Department in the U.S. and Canada is encouraged to nominate one individual annually.
The Audrey S. 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 selected by the ANA IDEAS Award & Scholarships Workgroup.
Emerging Scholars Awards
The Emerging Scholars Award program was created in 2020 to showcase the innovative and cutting-edge research of junior and early career neurologists and neuroscientists. Top-scoring abstracts are chosen by the Annual Meeting Programming (AMP) Committee and Plenary Session chairs to be presented during the plenary sessions of the Annual Meeting.
Grant to Activate Global Engagement (GAGE)
The Grant to Activate Global Engagement (GAGE) was designed to support neurologists and neuroscientists in hosting educational and/or research meetings that highlight local research and education. This virtual format offers an ideal platform to engage academic neurologists and neuroscientists from organizations based in low- and lower-middle-income countries (LIC/LMIC).
The Grass Foundation – ANA Award in Neuroscience
The Grass Foundation – ANA Award in Neuroscience, established in 2007, honors exceptional young investigators conducting research in basic or clinical neuroscience. Founded in 1955 by Albert and Ellen Grass, the Grass Foundation supports research and education in neuroscience, with a particular emphasis on early-career investigators.
Wolfe Research Prize for Identifying New Causes or Novel Treatment of Neuropathy and Related Disorders
The ANA presents the Wolfe Research Prize to recognize an outstanding investigator in the field of neuropathy or related disorders, regardless of ANA membership. Eligible candidates may be faculty at any career stage who have made significant contributions to understanding the pathogenesis or treatment of these conditions. The recipient is selected each year by the ANA Awards Committee.
International Outreach Travel Scholarship
The ANA established the IOTS program to support the global mission shared by neurologists to reduce the burden of neurological disease through research, education, clinical care, and advocacy. The scholarship provides two ANA member residents, fellows, or junior faculty in neurology the opportunity to work in low- to lower-middle-income countries for a minimum of six weeks during the upcoming academic year.
F.E. Bennett Memorial Lectureship
Established in 1979 by Foster Elting Bennett, MD, in memory of his son, this lectureship honors exceptional researchers and educators in neurology. The award is not limited to ANA members, and recipients are selected annually by the Annual Meeting Programming (AMP) Committee.
George W. Jacoby Award
The Jacoby Award is presented every three years to an ANA member in recognition of especially meritorious experimental research in a neurological or psychiatric field. Award recipients are selected each year by the Annual Meeting Programming (AMP) Committee.
Raymond D. Adams Lectureship
Established in 2000, this lectureship honors Dr. Raymond D. Adams, emeritus Bullard Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and emeritus Chief of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital. Award recipients are selected each year by the Annual Meeting Programming (AMP) Committee.
Soriano Lectureship
The first Soriano Lecture was delivered in 1987, commemorating Victor Soriano and his wife’s 40th consecutive year of attendance at ANA meetings. The couple established the lectureship to ensure their lasting connection to the ANA “through a brilliant lecture delivered by an outstanding scientist.” The lecture must be presented by an ANA member, with recipients selected annually by the Annual Meeting Programming (AMP) Committee.