NIH researcher Sonja W. Scholz awarded 2020 ANA Soriano Lectureship

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Picture of Sonja Scholz.
Sonja W. Scholz awarded 2020 ANA Soriano Lectureship The American Neurological Association has named Sonja W. Scholz, M.D., Ph.D., NINDS, the winner of the 2020 Soriano Lectureship. Courtesy of NIH/NINDS.

Dr. Scholz uses advanced genetics to understand neurodegenerative disorders

The American Neurological Association (ANA) has announced that Sonja W. Scholz, M.D., Ph.D., an investigator at the National Institutes of Health is this year’s winner of the Soriano Lectureship. Established in 1987, the Soriano Lectureship is awarded every year for a “brilliant lecture delivered by an outstanding scientist” at the ANA’s annual meetings. Dr. Scholz won the award for her presentation, entitled “Genomic Approaches Paving the Way for Precision Neurology,” which she will give on October 5th, 2020. The award includes a commemorative plaque and a $1,000 honorarium.

Dr. Scholz leads a team of researchers in the Division of Intramural Research at the NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. They use advanced genetic techniques to study neurodegenerative disorders, including  dementia with Lewy bodies, multiple system atrophy, and frontotemporal dementia. During the presentation, Dr. Scholz “will outline how genetics will likely impact daily clinical practice” involved in treating these types of disorders.

Dr. Scholz received her M.D., from the Medical University Innsbruck, Austria and a Ph.D. in Neurogenomics from University College London, UK. She has worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the NIH’s National Institute of Aging and as a resident at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, M.D. In 2015, Dr. Scholz joined the NIH via a McFarland Transition to Independence Award for Neurologist-Scientists. Currently, her lab is supported by a Lasker Clinical Research Tenure Track Investigator designation within the NINDS Neurogenetics Branch.

For more information:

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

NIH Intramural Research Program

Neuroscience @ NIH

NINDS Division of Intramural Research

Dementia With Lewy Bodies Information Page

Multiple System Atrophy Fact Sheet

Frontotemporal Dementia Information Page


 

NINDS is the nation’s leading funder of research on the brain and nervous system. The mission of NINDS is to seek fundamental knowledge about the brain and nervous system and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease.

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