Dr. Vivek Prabhakaran, M.D., Ph.D., received a 4-year National Institutes of Health- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH-NINDS) Beeson K23 Career Development Award for a total award amount of $800,000. The award is joint-sponsored by NINDS and American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) to promote the research careers of clinically-trained individuals who are pursuing research careers in aging and aging-related diseases. Dr. Prabhakaran’s research project will use multimodal MR imaging measures to characterize stroke plasticity and recovery.
The Beeson program began in 1978 after a series of reports from the Institute of Medicine highlighted the growing need for physicians in geriatric and aging-related medicine. The present-day program’s initiative is to foster the careers of clinical investigators who are leaders in research on aging and geriatrics. “Within the field of aging, a small number receive training in geriatrics, and an even smaller number pursue research on aging, despite the burgeoning needs of the rapidly-growing older population,” according to the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Prabhakaran’s previous work has been the recipient of numerous awards. In December, a project from Dr. Prabhakaran and colleagues received one of the Radiological Society of North America’s (RSNA) coveted press release spots at the RSNA annual congress. Last June, Dr. Prabhakaran and colleagues received an Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR) T1 Pilot grant. Dr. Prabhakaran was also selected as an ICTR scholar in 2010, and has received a plethora of other awards over the years.
Dr. Prabhakaran’s K-award mentors for his Beeson Career Development Award are: Patrick Turski, M.D., from the UW Department of Radiology, Sterling Johnson, Ph.D., from the UW Department of Medicine, Dorothy Edwards, Ph.D., from the UW Department of Kinesiology, Alexander Dromerick, M.D. from the Georgetown University Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and Neurology.
Dr. Prabhakaran’s other research collaborators on this project include Justin Sattin, M.D., from the UW Department of Neurology, Vikas Singh, Ph.D., from the UW Department of Computer Science and Bioinformatics, Kristin Caldera, D.O., from the UW Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation, and Rasmus Birn, Ph.D., from the UW Department of Psychiatry.