EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE:
Monday, Dec. 7, 2020
6:30 p.m. EST
CHICAGO - Vicky H. Whittemore, Ph.D. was presented with the 2020 Distinguished
Service Award during AES2020 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. Whittemore is a Program Director at the National Institute of Neurological
Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She
combines her basic neuroscience training with her passion for helping individuals with
epilepsy and genetic disorders to shepherd a portfolio of grants that cover basic,
translational and clinical studies on the epilepsies with a focus on the genetic
epilepsies and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). She joined the staff of
NINDS in August 2011 after 23 years working for and with nonprofit organizations
including the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance, Genetic Alliance, Citizens United for
Research in Epilepsy (CURE), and the National Coalition for Health Professional
Education in Genetics (NCHPEG).
She currently serves AES and partner organizations as co-chair of the Epilepsy
Research Benchmark Stewards Committee, on the Sergievsky Grant Work Group, as
an ex officio member of the steering committee for the Epilepsy Leadership Council,
member of the PAME Strategic Planning Work Group, and a NINDS liaison with the
Research & Training Council.
Established in 1993, the AES Distinguished Service award recognizes outstanding
service by an individual in the field of epilepsy, including non-educational and nonscientific, with an emphasis on exemplary contributions to advancing AES' mission
and service to its members.