EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE:
Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019
8:45 a.m. EST
BALTIMORE - Josep Dalmau, M.D., Ph.D., received the Research Recognition Award for clinical
science at the annual meeting of the American Epilepsy Society (AES), a medical and
scientific society whose members are dedicated to advancing research and
education for preventing, treating and curing epilepsy.
Dr. Dalmau is a research professor at the Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies
and the Institute for Biomedical Investigations at Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona,
Spain, as well as adjunct professor of neurology at the University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia. Previously he was co-director of neuro-oncology at the University of Arkansas
for Medical Sciences and was on the faculty at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New
York.
In his initial work, Dr. Dalmau discovered several immune-mediated paraneoplastic diseases.
In more recent studies, his group discovered anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR)
encephalitis and nine other disorders mediated by antibodies against ion channels and
synaptic receptors – disorders which represent a new category of diseases. This work has been
funded by several Spanish and European agencies, as well as the National Institutes of Health
(NIH).
Dr. Dalmau is the recipient of numerous awards including the George W. Jacoby award from
the American Neurological Association and the George Cotzias award from the American
Academy of Neurology (AAN). Dr Dalmau is a member of the National Academy of Medicine
and many other scientific societies. He has served as chair of the autoimmune neurology
section at AAN and is currently editor of Neurology: Neuroimmunology and
Neuroinflammation.
He received his M.D. and Ph.D. from the Autonoma University of Barcelona, Spain. Following,
he trained in neuro-oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering.
AES’ Research Recognition Awards are given annually to active scientists and clinicians
working in all aspects of epilepsy research. The awards are designed to recognize professional
excellence reflected in a distinguished history of research of important promise for the
improved understanding and treatment of epilepsy. These awards include a $10,000
honorarium.