Dear ANA Members,
Season’s greetings to one and all, and I hope that your holiday celebrations are joyous and vibrant. The year has sped by, and we have achieved so many things together. I am grateful for the ways in which we have advanced science, education, and careers to improve neurologic health for all.
At the beginning of the year, the Global Engagement Committee reviewed several applications for a Grant to Activate Global Engagement (GAGE) and awarded four grants of $2,000 each. These funds were used to provide education and training including the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias in Zambia (ADDIZ) symposium in Zambia, the Guinean Society of Neurology’s first National Scientific Symposium on Epilepsy, and the Stroke Diagnosis and Management in a Resource-limited Setting Symposium in Uganda.
Throughout 2023, the ANA celebrated and recognized pioneers in neurology, science, and medicine from various communities. Beginning in February, we celebrated Black History Month, Women’s History Month in March, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Month in May, Pride Month in June, Disability Pride Month in July, Hispanic Heritage Month in September/October, and Native American Heritage Month in November.
The ANA launched an initial meeting of subspecialty groups in August. With more than 15 participating organizations, this meeting resulted in identifying common challenges, areas of opportunity, and potential collaboration among various subspecialties.
During the fall, we were approached by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) to see if the ANA would support removing the requirement for certification by the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) to sit for the neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDD) exam. After deliberation with the Executive Committee, the ANA Board of Directors, and other organizations, we elected to support the proposed change. There is more information about the change in requirements in an article below.
In September, members enjoyed the 148th Annual Meeting of the ANA in Philadelphia. The meeting was well attended with 1,031 registered attendees, and 70% of those registrants were junior and early career academic neurologists and neuroscientists. This is a testament to our investment in the junior and early career members as the ANA provides career development support, mentoring, and other resources for individuals in the early career stage. ANA2023 provided outstanding educational programming where cutting-edge research and discovery was shared. Several individuals were honored and recognized for their work through the ANA Awards Program, and the celebrated poster session was exciting. To review the events of ANA2023, please refer to the ANA2023 Final Program on our website.
The ANA membership grew in 2023, and we welcome 652 new members who joined this year. We also appreciate the vast majority of members who renewed in 2023, and we look forward to your continued membership in 2024. Please encourage your colleagues and friends within your network to consider joining the ANA. We are the home of academic neurology and would love to be a resource to any professional working in our field.
In November, we hosted the first Academia-Industry Workshop toward advancing communication among all stakeholders in the translational process to new therapeutics. This event was well attended and provided outstanding discussions among academia, industry, foundation, and regulatory sectors. This year, the workshop focused on Alzheimer’s Disease. We are planning additional events to facilitate ongoing conversation and engagement between academia and industry on other important matters, research, and discovery. One early and exciting outcome of this meeting is the formation of a partnership of the ANA with the Alzheimer’s Association to offer a new fellowship for early career investigators in the area of Alzheimer’s Disease research that has a translational theme. The RFA inviting letters of intent to submit a proposal is expected to be launched in early 2024, so look to our ANA newsletter and website for the announcement and further details.
Staff pictured from left to right: Brenda Orffer, CAE; Nadine Goldberg, PhD, MS; Diana Hitchings, Jennifer Summers
Over the past year, the ANA has also been working to create a team of professionals to directly support the ANA. In October 2022, we hired Brenda Orffer, CAE, to serve as the Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Nadine Goldberg took on a new role of Chief Program Officer. Later in the year, we hired Jennifer Summers who will serve as our Meetings Logistics Manager. In September, Diana Hitchings joined our team as Controller. We look forward to welcoming Loretta Neely who will join us as Meetings Education Manager. We are confident that this team of professionals will serve us well and support the ANA in its mission, vision, and goals.
As we look ahead, planning is well under way for our annual ANA2024, to be held in Orlando September 14 – 17, 2024. Dr. Allison Willis is Chair of the Annual Meeting Programming (AMP) Committee, and she recently reported to the board some of the amazing ideas submitted by our members and being discussed by AMP for ANA2024. You will not want to miss this important annual meeting and we look forward to your abstract submissions.
As we close 2023, may you enjoy the merriest and best of the holiday season. We value you as a member and hope that you have found the ANA to be a valuable resource to you. January 1 will be here soon, and I wish you a happy, safe, healthy, and prosperous 2024!
Sincerely,
M. Elizabeth Ross, MD, PhD, FANA
President, ANA
Nathan Cummings Professor and
Head, Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Development
Director, Center for Neurogenetics
Weill Cornell Medicine