Clifford Jack Jr., M.D., Awarded AAN Potamkin Prize for Alzheimer's Research

Monday, April 28, 2008

The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) has awarded the 2008 Potamkin Prize to Clifford Jack Jr., M.D., professor of radiology in Rochester, for his research in Alzheimer's disease. The award was announced earlier this month at the AAN annual meeting in Chicago.

The Potamkin Prize honors and rewards researchers for their work in helping to advance the understanding of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. The $100,000 prize is to be used toward continuing Alzheimer's research and will be shared evenly between the three researchers.

Dr. Jack's work involves the use of brain imaging with living patients to help visualize the effects of Alzheimer's disease. He has used a variety of MRI techniques to study the neurodegenerative features of Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Jack has pioneered the use of MRI to understand differences in various MRI parameters among normal aging, mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease over time.

"We believe that we have helped improve the understanding of the natural history of Alzheimer's disease," said Jack. "We have shown that MRI measurements are meaningful markers of Alzheimer's pathology and hence provide useful information about the stage of the disease, the likelihood that subjects will progress to dementia, and provide information that is helpful in assessing progression of the disease."

The Potamkin Prize is made possible by the philanthropic contributions of the Potamkin family of New York, Philadelphia, and Miami. The goal of the prize is to help attract the best medical minds and most dedicated scientists in the world to the field of dementia research.

The Potamkins have been the Academy's single largest individual donor since 1988, providing more than $2 million to fund the Potamkin Prize. The 60th Annual Meeting, one of the world's largest gatherings of neurology professionals, takes place in the McCormick Place West Convention Center in Chicago.

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