Miriam Meisler, Ph.D. was presented with the 2020 Basic Science Research Award during the AES2020 event of the American Epilepsy Society (AES). The Research Recognition Awards are the Society's highest research awards, to encourage and recognize active basic science and clinical investigators whose research contributes importantly to understanding and conquering epilepsy.
Dr. Meisler is the Myron Levine Distinguished University Professor, Professor of Human Genetics and Professor of Neurology at the University of Michigan Medical School. She earned her PhD at The Ohio State University in Physiological Chemistry and carried out postdoctoral training funded by a NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute.
For the past 25 years, Dr. Meisler’s lab has focused on the role of sodium channel mutations in epilepsy, studying human genetic disorders and mouse models that are relevant to human health. The lab most recently identified VAC14, a cause of pediatric neurological decline.
Dr. Meisler served as the first president of the International Mammalian Genome Society, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a Senior Fellow in the Michigan Society of Fellows. She received an Eleanor Roosevelt Cancer Fellowship, and from the University of Michigan the Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award, Myron Levine Distinguished University Professorship in Human Genetics, Sarah Goddard Power Award, and Distinguished Faculty Lectureship Award. She has also served on the AES Scientific Program Committee, the External Advisory Board of the Center for Molecular Genetics at Wayne State University, the American Society of Human Genetics Program Committee, and the Scientific Advisory Board of the Dravet Syndrome Foundation.
About the American Epilepsy Society
Founded in 1946, the American Epilepsy Society (AES) is a medical and scientific society who members are dedicated to advancing research and education for preventing, treating and curing epilepsy. AES is an inclusive global forum where professionals from academia, private practice, not-for-profit, government and industry can learn, share and grow in their mission to eradicate epilepsy and its consequences.
For more information, visit the American Epilepsy Society online at aesnet.org.