Johan Aarli (right) with WFN President Vladimir Hachinski.
Johan Aarli
WFN Medal for Service to International Neurology
Alastair Compston
The WFN Medal for Scientific Achievement in Neurology
Alastair Compston is professor of Neurology and head of the Department of Clinical Neurosciences in the University of Cambridge and co-chair of Cambridge Neuroscience.
He trained in neurology at the NationalHospital and the Institute of Neurology, Queen Square after graduating from the MiddlesexHospitalMedicalSchool with first-class honors.
He is an outstanding editor of Brain, a past president of the European Neurological Society and of the Association of British Neurologists and past chairman of the Neurosciences and Mental Health Panel of the Wellcome Trust.
Arguably one of the most respected and capable clinician scientists of his generation, his research has focused on the clinical science of demyelinating disease with contributions to the genetic epidemiology, immunology and neurobiology, and treatment and repair of multiple sclerosis (MS).
In all areas, he has contributed substantially to the knowledge base with 335 original articles and research letters. Most notably, with Stephen Sawcer, he established the GAMES consortium and went on to develop a worldwide consortium aided by two North American groups leading to the 2011 Nature publication involving almost 10,000 PwMS and more than17,000 controls, which expanded the known MS susceptibility loci to 57 and which overwhelmingly implicated T-cell driven immunity in the pathogenesis of MS.
In MS therapy, he was crucial with Alisdair Coles in using Alemtuzumab and showing that in relatively early MS, relapse activity and progression could be prevented and disability improved by lymphocyte ablation even though in more established MS progressive disability continued despite relapse activity being terminated. Both of these observations are now critical to the current approach to MS treatment. In both the Genome Wide Association Screen and Alemtuzumab initiatives, colleagues have said these would not have happened without Alistair Compston.
His incisive mind, broad experience, clarity of expression and quiet courteous manner underlie his ability to gather first-class colleagues and key collaborative groupings from around the world to aid his many successful achievements.
His work has been recognized by international awards: the Sobek Prize (2002), the Charcot Award (2007), the Zulch Prize (2010), the McDonald Award (2011) and now the World Federation of Neurology Medal for Scientific Achievement in Neurology (2013).
When the history of the solution to MS is finally written, Alistair Compston will figure as a principal contributor.
— W M Carroll
Franz Gerstenbrand
Lifetime Achievement Award Citation
The organizers of the World Congress in Vienna have decided to award a special “one off” Lifetime Achievement Award to a most deserving person, who has truly spent his life in the service of neurology in his native Austria, the Danube region, in Europe and globally. It is quite astonishing to realize that he was the secretary of the World Congress of Neurology here in Vienna as long ago as 1965.
Franz Gerstenbrand qualified from Vienna in 1950. Following training, he became associate professor in 1967, head of the department; Rosenhügel, Vienna, and Innsbruck in 1975.
His work in his native Austria is impressive. He was head of the Institute for Restorative Neurology and Neuromodulation, Ludwig Boltzmann Society from 1995-2006, and head of the Scientific Institute for Neurorehabilitation and Space Neurology; Karl Landsteiner Scientific Society up until 2009.
He holds many honorary doctorates; Charles University Prague, Danube University Krems , Aristotele University of Thessaloniki.
His regional achievements are most impressive. The most prominent is the bringing together the Danube and Eastern European neurologists at a time of political difficulties. He was a founding member and now is honorary president of the Danube Symposium for Neurological Sciences, and later the International Danube Neurology Association of Central and East Europe.
At the European level, a crowning achievement is that of being the founding president of EFNS. He is also the founding member of the European Society of Neuropharmacology and World Federation for Neurorehabilitation
His involvement with the WFN started in 1965 and has continued ever since. He is chairman of the WFN Research Groups on Neuroethics and of Space and Underwater Neurology. He is also a member of several other research groups.
He holds honorary memberships of several neurological societies: Russia, Poland, CzechRepublic, Hungary and Myanmar. His work in Myanmar exemplifies his personality and diligence to help neurologists in all parts of the world, especially those living under difficult political regimes. He is the author of hundreds of papers and 12 books.
As far as I am aware, he is the only neurologist who is a holder of the Valeriy Gagarin Medal of the Russian Space Organization.
László Vécsei Secretary General, International Danube Neurology Association of Central and East Europe
