Presented at a ceremony in Seville on 21 November, the award recognises excellence in research in any field of movement disorders.
Professor Tabrizi was commended at the ceremony for her ‘outstanding’ contribution to Huntington’s disease (HD) research.
Her research programme at the Huntington’s Disease Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology seeks to discover effective disease-modifying treatments that prevent or reverse the neurodegenerative process in HD. She leads a research group that follows two distinct but complementary approaches: basic science focusing on cellular mechanisms of neurodegeneration, and a programme to translate those findings into treatments and cures.
Professor Tabrizi said: “I am very grateful to the Spanish Society of Neurology for this award which I am delighted and honoured to receive. The award recognises the tireless efforts of all the team at the Huntington’s Disease Centre and our colleagues and collaborators from UCL and beyond. Of course, our mission to identify, develop and test effective therapies that could slow down the disease process, prevent or delay disease onset in HD gene carriers continues, but I believe we are getting closer to this as each year passes.”
Professor Michael Hanna, Director of the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology said: “Our congratulations to Sarah for this fantastic and timely achievement. Sarah leads a world-renowned, clinically-focused HD research group that is at the forefront of neurodegenerative disease research. Both Sarah and her team’s diligence and commitment to HD research has the real potential to transform people’s lives’’
Previous winners of the Spanish Society for Neurology's Cotzias award include Dr Anthony Lang (University of Toronto), Dr William Langston (Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center), and UCL’s Professor Andrew Lees.