2008 Sheila Essey Award

Robberecht honored with Essey Award

The ALS Association joins the American Academy of Neurology in presenting the 2008 Sheila Essey Award for ALS Research to Wim Robberecht, M.D., during the Academy’s 60th Annual meeting in Chicago, April 12-18, 2008.

Robberecht, Chairman of the Department of Neurology, University Hospital Gasthuisberg, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium is a highly respected clinician and researcher in the ALS field. His research aims to contribute to the understanding of the disease mechanism of ALS and to the development of a treatment for this disorder. To this end, the clinical team he directs is actively involved in clinical trials, genetics of ALS and epidemiology. In addition, his team provides multidisciplinary care for ALS patients.

His laboratory has used in vitro cultures of motor neurons and glial cells to determine the role of excitotoxic and calcium-mediated motor neuron death, the involvement of heat shock proteins in neurodegeneration and the biology of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in ALS. More recently his laboratory has focused on using a zebrafish model for ALS and has observed some interesting early changes in axon outgrowth that may be exploited to develop a novel screen for ALS.

“Our work on excitotoxicity, VEGF and glial cells will hopefully contribute to the understanding of the sporadic form of ALS accounting for the majority of ALS patients. In addition, the genetic screen of the zebrafish model we recently developed may complement the results obtained in human studies. Such combined approach of basic and clinical research is, at least in my mind, what is needed in order to advance the understanding and treatment of ALS. The participation of ALS patients in molecular, genetic and therapeutic studies is pivotal.” commented Robberecht.

“As clinician and research scientist, Robberecht has contributed significantly to the ALS field, and his leadership and collaborative approach to research efforts are invaluable to the ALS community,” commented Lucie Bruijn, Ph.D.

The $25,000 prize honors the memory of Sheila Essey and was made possible through the generosity of the Essey Family Fund. Past recipients have often used the funds to support research of promising young scientists on their teams.