Dr. Jeffrey Saver, director of UCLA Comprehensive Stroke since its inception in 1995, has been awarded the American Neurological Association's 2015 Soriano Leadership Award. Established in 1987, the award provides "a brilliant lecture delivered by an outstanding scientist."
A leader in cerebrovascular research and clinical care, Saver was among nine leading neurologists and neuroscientists honored at the association's 140th annual meeting, held Sept. 26 - 29. His research focuses on stroke prevention, acute stroke treatment, stroke diagnosis and the neurocognitive and neurobehavioral consequences of stroke.
Saver's lecture will review recent breakthroughs in the treatment of acute stroke, the second leading cause of death and disability worldwide. He will discuss using clot-dissolving medications and clot-removing devices together to reopen blocked blood vessels and restore blood flow to threatened brain tissue. The title of his talk is: "Two is Better than One: Combined Intravenous Fibrinolysis and Endovascular Thrombectomy for Acute Ischemic Stroke."
A senior associate vice-chair of neurology at UCLA, Saver trained at Harvard Medical School, the Harvard-Longwood Neurology Training Program, the University of Iowa, and Brown, and is author of over 470 research articles, two books and 35 book chapters.
Saver served as principal investigator of the National Institutes of Health-National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke's FAST-MAG trial. The eight-year study found that, by working with paramedics in the field, intravenous medications can be given to stroke patients within the "golden hour," the window in which patients have the best chance to survive and avoid debilitating, long-term neurological damage.
Saver also served as chair of the American Heart Association Stroke Council. He currently is associate editor at JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and consulting editor at the journal Stroke.
Founded in 1874, the American Neurological Association is the home of academic neurology. The ANA is a professional society of academic neurologists and neuroscientists devoted to advancing the goals of academic neurology; training and educating neurologists and other physicians in the neurologic sciences; and expanding the understanding of diseases of the nervous system and the ability to treat them.
