Newswise — Dr. Stanley H. Appel, Chairman of the Department of Neurology at The Methodist Hospital and one of the nation's foremost experts on Lou Gehrig's disease, will receive the 2008 John P. McGovern Compleat Physician Award on Jan. 25. This national award, given by the Houston Academy of Medicine, recognizes a physician who embodies exemplary service to humanity and whose career reflects medical excellence, humane and ethical care, and commitment to the medical humanities.
Appel, co-founder and co-director of the Methodist Neurological Institute (NI), Medical Director of the MDA/ALS Research and Clinical Center at the Methodist NI, and Professor of Neurology with Weill Cornell Medical College, has spent more than 40 years devoted to understanding the human brain. Internationally renowned as a researcher and neurologist, Appel is dedicated to the treatment of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, and committed to neurological research in other neurodegenerative diseases as well. Over the course of his career, he has treated more than 3,000 ALS patients, more than any other physician in the U.S. In 1982, Appel created what is now the Methodist Neurological Institute's MDA/ALS Research and Clinical Center in Houston, the first multi-disciplinary clinic in the U.S. dedicated to care and research for ALS patients. Methodist's Clinic is the standard by which all other MDA/ALS clinics are modeled. Appel holds the Peggy and Gary Edwards Distinguished Endowed Chair for the Treatment and Research of ALS.
"Dr. Appel is an amazing clinician and researcher and an exemplary model of compassionate care and dedication to humankind. We congratulate him on such a well-deserved honor," said Ron Girotto, President and CEO of The Methodist Hospital System.
For decades, Appel's research has focused on developing new insights into degenerative neurological diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and, primarily, ALS. His greatest legacy, though, may be the more than 200 neurologists he has trained, many of whom have gone on to chair their own departments across the nation and in Europe and in Asia.
The John P. McGovern Compleat Physician Award, established in 1993, is presented annually by the Houston Academy of Medicine to recognize a multi-accomplished physician who has enriched the field of medicine by being a compassionate clinician and devoted teacher, who has a strong familiarity with research, and has demonstrated a commitment to and love of the profession of medicine. The award is named after its first recipient, Dr. John P. McGovern, who founded the American Osler Society.
Appel will receive the award during the Annual Installation of Officers banquet of the Houston Academy of Medicine and the Harris County Medical Society. He will join the ranks of past Compleat Physician Award recipients, including famed Houston heart surgeons Dr. Michael E. DeBakey and Dr. Denton A. Cooley, as well as other nationally-renowned physicians, such as Dr. Ralph D. Feigin, pediatric infectious disease specialist and Chief of Pediatrics at Texas Children's Hospital, Dr. Victor McKusick, University Professor of Medical Genetics at The Johns Hopkins University, and Dr. W. Walter Menninger, a distinguished psychiatrist and past President and CEO of The Menninger Foundation.
About the Methodist Neurological Institute
The Methodist Neurological Institute (NI) houses the practice and research activities of the departments of neurology, neurosurgery, neuroradiology, neurophysiology and physical medicine & rehabilitation at The Methodist Hospital. The mission of the NI is to advance the discovery of the origins, mechanisms and treatment of neurological disease and to provide comprehensive care for patients with disorders and injuries of the brain and spinal cord.
Methodist is primarily affiliated with Weill Cornell Medical College and New York Presbyterian Hospital. Methodist is also affiliated with the University of Houston. Methodist is ranked among the country's top centers in 14 specialties in U.S News & World Report's 2007 America's Best Hospitals issue. Methodist is ranked in more specialties than any other hospital in Texas, and is 9th in the nation for neurology and neurosurgery.
For more on the Methodist Neurological Institute, visit www.methodistneuroinstitute.com, or call (713) 790-3333.
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