Heinz Beck, MD, will receive the Research Recognition Award, Basic Science, from the American Epilepsy Society for his promising translational and basic science research during the society’s upcoming meeting in Washington D.C., December 1-5. AES is a medical and scientific society with 4,000 members. Dr. Beck will be presented with the award on Saturday, December 2, at 8:30 a.m. before the Presidential Symposium.
The American Epilepsy Society presents Research Recognition Awards to recognize scientists and clinicians whose distinguished research holds promise for improving our understanding and treatment of epilepsy. The awards include a $10,000 honorarium.
Heinz Beck, MD, is a professor of experimental epileptology and cognition research at the University of Bonn in Germany and the head of the NeuroCognition Translational Research Unit at the Life and Brain Institute. Dr. Beck studied medicine in Cologne, and received a degree summa cum laude for his doctoral thesis with Prof. U. Heinemann. He was a Heisenberg Fellow of the DFG at the Department of Epileptology in Bonn from 2001-2004, before becoming a full professor in 2004.
His work has explored changes in intrinsic excitability and neuronal integration in epilepsy, and has made contributions to understanding the mechanisms of anticonvulsant drug actions and mechanisms of pharmacoresistance in human and experimental epilepsy. His group has a research interest in neuronal integration and the function and dysfunction of neuronal networks in the intact brain.
Dr. Beck is a past president of the German Epilepsy Society, is the chair of the integrated research program SFB1089 of the German Research Council, and is founder of numerous educational programs at the University of Bonn. He has been the recipient of the International Michael Prize, the Alfred Hauptmann Prize for Epilepsy Research, the Bennigsen-Foerder Prize, and a Cure Frontiers in Research Lectureship.