Clinician-scientist
who developed Parkinson's disease breakthrough is awarded the 2015 Taubman
Prize
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The
2015 Taubman Prize goes to Mahlon DeLong, M.D.
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ANN ARBOR, Mich., June 24, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --
A
physician-scientist whose work has improved quality of life for tens of
thousands of Parkinson's disease patients is the recipient of the 2015 Taubman
Prize for Excellence in Translational Medical Science, the University of
Michigan's A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute announced.
Mahlon DeLong, M.D., Professor of Neurology at the Emory
University School of Medicine, will receive the $100,000 prize in recognition
of his contributions to the treatment of Parkinson's disease.
DeLong's research – spanning a 40-year career in medicine and
science – identified the anatomical brain circuits involved in the clinical
features of Parkinson's disease and a novel target for surgical intervention,
the subthalamic nucleus, a portion of the basal ganglia, brain structures
located deep in the brain.
This finding paved the way for the application of high frequency
deep-brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus, a technique now used
worldwide for advanced Parkinson's disease patients. More than 100,000
individuals have received the treatment, which suppresses tremor and other
motor impairments, and improves the ability to carry out the normal activities
of daily living.
"Dr. DeLong's contribution to improved care and quality of
life for patients with devastating movement disorders is remarkable," said
Eva Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Taubman Institute, and a professor at
the U-M Medical School. "He exemplifies the ethos of the dedicated
clinician-scientist. We are honored to recognize his extraordinary
contributions by awarding him the Taubman Prize."
DeLong was selected by a national panel of eminent medical
science experts from among dozens of nominees for the Taubman Prize. Over
decades he and his colleagues have mapped brain activity and deciphered the
complex pathways and circuitry involved with the processing of motor functions,
thoughts and emotions. Insights gained through his basic research, animal
models and experiments eventually led to a clearer understanding of the
abnormalities in brain circuits in animal models of Parkinson's and how
interruption of a key portion of the motor circuits could dramatically improve
clinical features.
DeLong's studies contributed greatly to the revival of surgical
approaches for treating movement disorders.
The development of the novel technique of high frequency
deep-brain stimulation, using implanted electrodes, by Dr. Alim Louis Benabid
in Grenoble, France,
when applied to the subthalamic nucleus in patients with Parkinson's produced a
similar result as surgical interruption. DBS, because of its less
invasive, reversible and adjustable features, rapidly replaced direct,
irreversible destructive lesioning approaches.
DeLong, the William Timmie Professor of Neurology at Emory
University School of Medicine, will present the keynote address at the Taubman
Institute's annual symposium on Oct. 16, 2015 at the Kahn Auditorium on the U-M
medical campus. The symposium is open to the general public.
The Taubman Prize was established in 2012 to recognize
outstanding translational medical research beyond the University of
Michigan. It includes a $100,000 award and is presented each year to the
non-U-M clinician-scientist who has done the most to transform laboratory
discoveries into clinical applications for patients suffering from disease.
Previous recipients are:
2014: Carl June, M.D., of the Perelman School of Medicine at the
University of Pennsylvania, for discoveries related to immunotherapy for
leukemia using patients' own T cells.
2013: Brian Druker, M.D., of the Oregon Health & Science
University and Charles Sawyers, M.D., of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer
Center, for their discoveries related to chronic myeloid leukemia.
2012: Hal Dietz, M.D., of Johns Hopkins University for his discoveries
related to connective tissue disease.
About Mahlon DeLong, M.D.: DeLong is a key faculty leader
of The Jean and Paul Amos Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Research
Program. He also is co-director and founder of ENTICe (Emory Neuromodulation
and Technology Innovation Center), whose goal is to foster advancement of
neuromodulation and the development of innovative neuromodulation technologies
for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders.
He is a member of the Institute of Medicine, a fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a fellow of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science (AAAS), an elected member of the Johns Hopkins
Society of Scholars. He is scientific director of the Dystonia Medical
Research Foundation and a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the
American Parkinson Disease Association.
DeLong received his undergraduate degree from Stanford
University and his medical degree from Harvard University. He worked as a
researcher at the National Institute of Mental Health at the National
Institutes of Health (1968-1973) completed his residency in Neurology at Johns
Hopkins School of Medicine and was a member of the Johns Hopkins faculty
(1975-1989). In 1989 he joined Emory University School of Medicine, where he
served as chair of the Department of Neurology (1989-2003).
DeLong has received numerous awards including the 2013
Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences and the 2014 Lasker Award, which recognizes
excellence in research aimed at curing intractable diseases and extending human
life. He also received the 2009 American Academy of Neurology Movement
Disorders Research Award and the 2008 Movement Disorders Society Lifetime
Achievement Award.
He is a member of the Institute of Medicine, a fellow of the
American Academy of Arts & Sciences, a fellow of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), an elected member of the Johns Hopkins
Society of Scholars, and is a past chair of the Society for Neuroscience. He is
scientific director of the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation and a member of
the Scientific Advisory Board of the American Parkinson Disease Association.
About the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute: In 2007
Michigan businessman, philanthropist and noted patron of the arts A. Alfred
Taubman provided the initial funds to establish the institute bearing his name
at the University of Michigan Medical School. Its mission is to provide the
university's finest medical scientists the freedom, resources and collaborative
environment they need to push the boundaries of medical discovery, to produce
breakthroughs in cures to speed the development of effective treatment for some
of the most devastating illnesses. Currently, nearly 40 Taubman Scholars are
advancing their research with the assistance of grants from the institute.
http://health.einnews.com/article/272536918/l5UFedZ2uXfI2MpZ
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