Awards

Every year during the opening ceremony of the Symposium, and the Allied Professionals Forum the International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations presents three awards to recognise excellence in the ALS/MND community. The awards are described below, along with a list of previous winners and the nomination forms.

 

The Forbes Norris Award

The Forbes Norris Award, first presented in 1994, honours the memory of Dr. Forbes “Ted” Norris (1928-1993), a neurologist who dedicated his career to helping people with ALS/MND. The purpose of this prestigious award is to encourage a combination of two major qualities: management of and advances in understanding ALS/MND, to the benefit of people living with the disease.

Click here to nominate a neurologist for the Forbes Norris Award

(Nominations accepted 1 May through 1 October.)

The recipient of the 2018 Forbes Norris Award was Dr Angela Genge. Director – ALS Clinic & Director – Clinical Research Unit, Montreal Neurological Institute & Hospital. The ALS Clinic was first created to follow patients enrolled in research protocols. In 1998, having recognized the greater needs of this population, Dr. Genge transformed the clinic into a multidisciplinary one with a dedicated team that follows patients. Since that time, and under her guidance, the clinic has continued to evolve and improve upon its recognized world-class care. As a ‘’one-stop shopping’’ model, this approach has helped to decrease the strain on those patients whose journey to clinic can often be extremely arduous. Dr. Genge’s contributions to the ALS research landscape have had significant impact at the local, national and international levels.
Dr. Angela Genge’s joy, thoughtfulness and compassion are evident to all whom she meets, and she is uniquely able to balance these qualities with the focused care she provides patients and their loved ones, and the skilled management of her clinical team. Dr. Genge provides both hope and a sense of value to people living with ALS.

Dr. Genge exudes leadership in both manner and knowledge. She has the most clinical trials ongoing in Canada, and is considered the ‘go-to’ clinician by world ALS experts and those in industry seeking collaboration. She leads a team that strives to be a world leader in efficiency and effectiveness in both regulatory compliance and recruitment, as these are critical in ALS. Dr. Genge routinely collaborates with scientists, counselling them in their efforts to drive their work across translational boundaries.

In addition to Dr. Angela Genge’s many and impressive accomplishments, she is greatly appreciated by her staff, colleagues, collaborators and, most of all, her patients. She is a model of humanity, compassion, tenacity and dynamism, particularly to those for whom she provides guidance, support and hope.

 

Nominations for the Forbes Norris Award are considered from 1 May through 1 October annually; the awards are presented each year during the opening ceremony of the International Symposium on ALS/MND.

 

The Humanitarian Award

The Humanitarian Award was inaugurated in 2000 by the International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations to recognise a non-scientific contribution to the fight against ALS/MND. The Humanitarian Award is intended to recognise and encourage individuals and/or groups whose work makes, or has made, a contribution of international significance for people affected by ALS/MND.

Click here to nominate an ALS/MND advocate for the Humanitarian Award

(Nominations accepted May 1 through October 1)

 

The recipient of the 2018 Humanitarian Award was Dr Brian Dickie, Director of Research, MNDA. Dr Brian Dickie has played a lead role in the world community of ALS/MND people for 22 years. Under his leadership the International ALS/MND Symposium has grown to become the preeminent ALS/MND meeting attracting over 1000 delegates from around the world each year. Dr Brian Dickie has focused on growing the International ALS/MND Symposium to include Scientific and Clinical streams, poster sessions and a range of key satellite meetings. His uncompromising vision has ensured that the Symposium continues to be a catalyst for research ideas and collaborations and advancements in research to improve clinical care and move us closer to a world free from ALS/MND.

He has been instrumental in the growth of ALS/MND research and specifically in establishing the UK MND DNA Bank and spearheaded the UK contributions to Project MinE.

Through bringing the global research community together each year for 22 years Brian has sustained, supported and encouraged a global approach to research. He has played a lead role in the world community of ALS/MND people. He has worked to communicate complex research to the wider ALS/MND community through the MND Association blog, website and social media. He has grown the MND Association research portfolio to fund a wide range of research projects in the UK and Internationally. His opinion and views are highly regarded and trusted by the ALS/MND community. Brian has worked collaboratively with the International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations to ensure the sustainability of the hosting relationship and has supported the introduction of the Ask the Experts and Allied Professionals forum. The introduction of these meetings has been instrumental in bringing the ALS/MND community together to share models of care, practice innovations and to ensure that the voice of people living with ALS/MND is heard.

 

Nominations for the Humanitarian Award are considered from 1 May through 1 October annually; the awards are presented each year during the opening ceremony of the International Symposium on ALS/MND.

 

Allied Health Professional Award

The Allied Health Professional Award was inaugurated in 2018 by the International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations to recognise an individual committed to providing exceptional care to people with ALS/MND. To celebrate the sharing of expertise and exploration of new ideas to improve patient care and to recognise significant contribution to the advancement of ALS/MND clinical management.

Click here to nominate a Health Care Professional for the Allied Health Professional Award

(Nominations accepted May 1 through to October 1)

 

The recipient of the 2018 Allied Health Professional Award was Sara Feldman. 

Sara Feldman, PT, DPT, ATP is a consummate Allied Health Care professional focused on using and sharing her skills and knowledge to help people with ALS/MND to regain, retain and extend their independence and quality of life. Her passion and enthusiasm for assistive technology and its impact on independence is infectious, and her willingness to share her skills, knowledge and experience demonstrates her commitment to people living with ALS/MND and the Allied Health professionals working with them. Sara champions the benefits of the multidisciplinary team and all of its members for people living with ALS/MND, and therefor is the worthy recipient of the first Allied Health Professional Award.

Nominations for the Allied Health Professional Award May 1 to October 1 annually: this award is presented each year during the Allied Professionals Forum between the Alliance Meeting and the International Symposium on ALS/MND.