The award is given to an early career researcher who has made an exceptional contribution to the discipline, and the BNS committee were unanimous in their decision to recognise Dr Yong's interdisciplinary approach to supporting individuals experiencing dementia-related visual impairment, working to improve everyday life in individuals with Posterior Cortical Atrophy (PCA).
The prize is named in honour of Elizabeth Warrington, who played a key role in the British development of Cognitive Neuropsychology. Her work is a foundation for understanding normal brain function, as well as for innovating clinical methods in the development of numerous tests that can be used in the diagnosis of brain injuries, and for use in rehabilitation.
Dr Yong will deliver the Elizabeth Warrington Prize lecture during the Spring meeting 2022.
"It is a great honour to be awarded the Elizabeth Warrington 2022 Prize for early career contributions to neuropsychology. Prof Warrington's pioneering work includes advancing the understanding of consequences of brain damage regarding visual perception and space perception.
My research investigates how visual and space perception difficulties may arise in different forms of dementia. For some individuals who are diagnosed with a rare form of dementia called posterior cortical atrophy (sometimes referred to as 'visual-spatial Alzheimer's disease'), such perceptual difficulties are experienced as initial symptoms despite relative preservation of memory, language and insight. My work has evaluated effects of dementia-related perceptual disturbances on independent activities, ultimately to inform the development of compensatory strategies supporting reading, navigation and coordinated movement.
I am very grateful for the opportunity to have learnt from Prof Warrington at the Dementia Research Centre and to have received supervision and mentoring across the Departments of Neurodegenerative Disease and Clinical and Movement Neurosciences. Through the Elizabeth Warrington Prize lecture, I hope to pay tribute to the invaluable contributions made by people living with dementia, researchers and health and social care professionals in furthering the understanding and management of perceptual changes arising in neurodegenerative disease". Dr Keir Yong, Alzheimer's Society Fellow, Senior Research Fellow, Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology.