President's Column

Read monthly updates from AAN President Carlayne E. Jackson, MD, FAAN, to learn about Academy news and action on issues important to the neurology profession and patients.

December 2023

Sacco’s Legacy Expands Academy’s Commitment to Research

Support for research is a cornerstone of the AAN. As we wrap up our celebration of our 75th anniversary, I want to pay tribute to our leaders who had the vision to develop a mechanism to support young investigators to launch their research careers. In 1989, Drs. Roger Rosenberg, Lewis Rowland, and Francis Kittredge had the first discussions that led to what is now the American Brain Foundation.

Now, more than 30 years later, there’s been millions of dollars raised and so many young investigators whose careers have been successfully launched. As a new chair of a department, I have a clear understanding of how critical it is to get young investigators engaged and excited about research and give them an opportunity to test their hypotheses and provide them some initial data to make them successful in applying for larger grants.

We recently announced a new scholarship program supporting early career trainees focused on how to help people maintain a healthy brain over their lifetime. Offered by the AAN and the American Heart Association, these scholarships were made possible by a bequest by our former president Ralph L. Sacco, MD, MS, FAAN, FAHA, who passed away in January from a glioblastoma.

It was fitting that we announced this new program during our 2023 Brain Health Summit, where we shared our vision to improve the nation’s brain health by 2050 and brought together nearly 150 cross-disciplinary leaders with expertise in brain health to collaborate on optimizing brain health for all.

Dr. Sacco’s generosity comes as no surprise to anyone who worked with him, volunteered alongside him, or was mentored by him. He gave freely of his time, ideas, knowledge, and attention. And, of course, his dedication to research was unmatched. An international expert in stroke epidemiology and health disparities, Dr. Sacco was the founding principal investigator of the Northern Manhattan Study, the Florida Puerto Rico Collaboration to Reduce Stroke Disparities, and the Miami Clinical Translational Science Institute.

In 2024, the Ralph L. Sacco Scholarships in Brain Health, which we are calling the Sacco Scholars program, will award two $150,000 scholarships to early career trainees pursuing a two-year research or public health service project focused on prevention of brain disease and/or maintenance of brain health.

Applications for the inaugural scholarships will open early 2024. Please channel Dr. Sacco’s mentorship skills and encourage any early career members who may be promising researchers to apply.

Naturally, Dr. Sacco championed the AAN Research Program during his tenure as an AAN leader. Our call for applications for the awards for 2024 garnered 145 applications from talented and hopeful investigators. Since the American Brain Foundation was founded in 1993, we have granted nearly $45 million to over 300 researchers. As a testament to the quality of our applicants and research funded, more than 85 percent of our researchers have gone on to secure funding from the National Institutes of Health and other national funders.

It's not too late for applications for another research opportunity offered by the AAN in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health and the Medical University of South Carolina. The TRANSCENDS (Training in Research for Academic Neurologists to Sustain Careers and Enhance the Number of Diverse Scholars) program is designed to train early career neurologists to conduct high-quality research.

The program is open to US citizens or permanent US residents who are disabled and/or belong to an underrepresented in medicine group. Through a mainly online program, up to six participants will complete a Master of Science degree in clinical research, receive mentoring and support in developing their current research portfolio, and opportunities to present research and network with AAN leaders at the Annual Meeting, among other benefits. You can learn more on our TRANSCENDS Program application page.

While the AAN supports all of these programs, we rely especially on your support of the American Brain Foundation to fund our Research Program, which last year provided grants to 23 investigators. Have you made your year-end donation to the American Brain Foundation to support our Research Program? If not, I invite you to do so today by visiting the American Brain Foundation’s website. Our donations directly benefit these young researchers—many of whom would not be able to pursue their research aims without this bridge funding. If you haven’t yet renewed your AAN membership, you can also make a donation to the American Brain Foundation when you renew.

Let’s join together, honor Dr. Sacco’s legacy, and work toward our vision for improving brain health for everyone by 2050! 

Carlayne E. Jackson, MD, FAAN
President, AAN
cjackson@aan.com
@CarlayneJackson