Kimford Meador, MD, director of the Emory Epilepsy Center and professor of neurology at the Emory School of Medicine, was recently given the Award for Clinical Science and the inaugural Fritz Dreifuss Epilepsy Fund Award by the American Epilepsy Society at their 65th annual meeting in Baltimore, Md.
The American Epilepsy Society Award for Clinical Science is given annually to active scientists and clinicians working in all aspects of epilepsy research. It is designed to recognize professional excellence reflected in a distinguished history of research or important promise for the improved understanding, diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy.
“I am honored to be recognized with this award by the American Epilepsy Society, and thankful to nearly 500 research collaborators with whom I have worked, especially my main collaborator Dr. David Loring,” Meador said. “Continued research is critical in discovering additional treatments, and eventually, a cure for epilepsy.”
Meador was the principal investigator for the Neurodevelopmental Effects of Antiepileptic Drugs (NEAD) Study, which was a multicenter NIH-funded study examining the cognitive and behavioral effects of in utero antiepileptic drug exposure in children. The landmark study found that three-year-olds whose mothers took the drug valproate during pregnancy had average IQs six to nine points lower than children exposed to three other antiepileptic drugs. Led by Meador, the study's authors called for women of childbearing age to avoid valproate as a first choice drug for the treatment of epilepsy.
“Dr. Meador has made an indelible mark on research and clinical care at Emory and more importantly, globally. Overnight, his research findings changed the treatment of women of childbearing age with epilepsy around the world,” Allan Levey, MD, PhD, a professor and chair of the Department of Neurology at Emory University’s School of Medicine, as well as the director of Emory’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. “This recognition by the American Epilepsy Society is well-deserved.”
Meador also received the first Fritz Dreifuss Epilepsy Fund Award, an honor established to recognize the best abstract at the annual meeting. Meador’s abstract, "Cognitive Function at Age 6 Years in Children Exposed in Utero to Antiepileptic Drugs" was chosen from all the submitted abstracts for this distinction. This award is named in honor of the leadership and passion the late Fritz Dreifuss brought to patient care, research and mentoring young physicians.
Meador joined the faculty of Emory University in 2008. He has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed publications and is on the editorial boards for Clinical Neurophysiology, Epilepsy and Behavior, Epilepsy Currents, Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology, Neurology, Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology and Epilepsy.com. His honors include research and teaching awards, Fellow of the American Neurological Association, Past Chair of the Section of Behavioral Neurology of the American Academy of Neurology, Past President of the Society for Behavioral & Cognitive Neurology, and Past President of the Southern EEG & Epilepsy Society.