The 2022 Osler medal was presented to Prof Tabrizi for her contribution to Huntington’s disease (HD) translational research after her giving the Osler Medal Lecture at the 115th Annual Meeting of the Association of Physicians of Great Britain & Ireland.
The Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland was founded by William Osler in 1907 to advance medicine “in a manner that promotes friendship amongst Physicians”. Every year, the Association awards the Osler Medal to a pre-eminent clinical scientist who epitomises the best of translational research.
Sarah’s medal lecture was titled ‘New Genetic Therapies for Neurodegenerative Diseases’ and highlighted news of potential treatments for HD and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Image: Prof Sarah Tabrizi giving the Osler medal lecture
The HDSA 2022 Outstanding Research Award recognises contribution to HD translational research. The HDSA has committed more than $20 million to fund research, with the goal of finding effective treatments to slow Huntington’s disease. Their research efforts have helped to increase the number of scientists working on Huntington’s Disease and have shed light on many of the complex biological mechanisms involved.
The award was presented to Sarah at the HDSA 37th Annual Convention, where she also gave a keynote talk on a novel staging framework that assesses HD progression. Published in The Lancet Neurology, the new evidenced-based system includes criteria to biologically define HD stages across the whole trajectory of the disease from birth, which has never previously been done before and paves the way for clinical trials of drugs in the earliest phase of disease.
Prof Sarah Tabrizi’s research programme at the Huntington’s Disease Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, and the UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, 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.
“I’m delighted that Sarah has been awarded the 2022 Osler medal and the HDSA 2022 Research Medal, it is a testament to her dedication to finding an effective disease modifying treatment for patients and families with Huntington’s disease” Professor Mike Hanna, Director, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology.
Links:
- Professor Sarah Tabrizi's academic profile
- New system that defines Huntington’s Disease will ‘revolutionise’ drug trials
- Tabrizi et al. A biological classification of Huntington's disease: the Integrated Staging System. Lancet Neurology 21(7), P632-644. Available online 15th June 2022.
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology
- Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA)
- Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland (AoP)
Main Image: Prof Sarah Tabrizi receiving the HDSA 2022 Research Award