Dennis Dickson, MD, to Receive APDA's Fred Springer Award

NEW YORK, Nov. 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Dennis Dickson, MD, professor of laboratory medicine/pathology at Mayo Clinic's College of Medicine, has been selected as the American Parkinson Disease Association's (APDA) 2008 Fred Springer Award recipient. Dr. Dickson is also the director of Mayo Clinic's neuropathology laboratory in Florida, which serves as the brain bank for the Morris K. Udall National Institutes of Health Parkinson's Disease Center for Excellence.

Each year APDA selects an outstanding scientist and/or physician who has made a major contribution toward easing the burden and finding a cure for Parkinson's disease (PD) to receive the nationally prestigious recognition. Dr. Dickson, who has been with Mayo Clinic since 1997, focuses his research on neuropathologic studies specifically related to multi-disciplinary models that address the genetics of PD and dementia.

In addition to his research at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Dickson is a past president of the American Association of Neuropathologists, and recipient of the Metropolitan Life Award in 2001. He is also a member of APDA's Scientific Advisory Board.

The $10,000 award, which APDA awards annually in honor of Fred Springer, who served the organization as treasurer and president for more than 20 years, will be presented at its annual meeting and luncheon, Dec. 7, in New York City.

Former recipients include Lawrence Golbe, MD, a discoverer of the gene mutation associated with PD; Roger Duvoisin, MD, whose research is the basis of genetic association in the disease; and Melvin Yahr, MD, who led the first double-blind clinical trail of levodopa, the standard treatment for PD, and who, with Dr. Margaret Hoehn, developed clinical criteria that are still used for evaluating the disease's severity, the Yahr-Hoehn Scale.

About APDA

APDA is the country's largest grassroots organization providing information, support, educational materials and programs for PD patients and their families across the country through its network of 62 Information & Referral Centers and 56 chapters. Its scientific research contributions include contributing more than $40 million to individual scientists, academic and medical institutions and nine centers for advanced research across the country. APDA has been a funding partner of every major PD scientific breakthrough since its inception and has been a major factor in enabling young scientists to develop the initial research data required to receive millions of dollars of National Institutes of Health funding. Information about APDA programs and services is available by calling 800-223-2732 or at http://www.apdaparkinson.org.

About Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic is the first and largest integrated, not-for-profit group practice in the world. Doctors from every medical specialty work together to care for patients, joined by common systems and a philosophy of "the needs of the patient come first." More than 3,300 physicians, scientists and researchers and 46,000 allied health staff work at Mayo Clinic, which has sites in Rochester, Minn., Jacksonville, Fla., and Scottsdale/Phoenix, Ariz. Collectively, the three locations treat more than half a million people each year. For news about Mayo Clinic, please visit http://www.mayoclinic.org/news/. For information on Mayo Clinic's treatments and research for Parkinson's disease and other dementia, contact the Udall Center of Excellence at (904) 953-2800.

SOURCE American Parkinson Disease Association

RELATED LINKS
http://www.apdaparkinson.org
http://www.mayoclinic.org/