Prize Winners

Sabadell, 1953. ICREA Professor at the Hospital Clínic-IDIBAPS, University of Barcelona. From a young age, he wanted to be a doctor. His parents, who came from a very humble background, supported him in this ambition. Whilst training as a neurologist in Barcelona, he became interested in neurological complications in cancer patients. Many of these manifested as little-known symptoms, not even included in textbooks. To gain a better understanding of them, he decided to go to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre (MSKCC, New York), where he trained in immunology and neuro-oncology in the department headed by the founder of this speciality (J.B. Posner). There he met his wife and colleague, Dr Myrna R. Rosenfeld. They have been working together ever since. He has held teaching posts at the University of Arkansas and the University of Pennsylvania. His career took a significant turn 10 years ago when he discovered a new category of diseases mediated by immune responses against various proteins in the brain. Patients are usually young adults or children who present with behavioural disturbances, psychosis, memory deficits, abnormal movements, epileptic seizures, respiratory problems and coma. There are currently 16 known diseases with these characteristics, 10 of which were discovered by his group (four in Barcelona).In addition to describing the clinical picture, he has developed diagnostic tests, identified the molecular mechanisms, and devised treatments that lead to a cure in 80 per cent of patients. He is the author of more than 250 articles and holds six patents. His H-index is 70. The diseases he discovered are now included in textbooks such as ‘Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine’ and ‘Nelson’s Paediatrics’, to which he has contributed, and the AAN has established a scientific journal, *Neurology, Neuroimmunology and Neuroinflammation*, which he coordinates as editor-in-chief. He has received awards from numerous scientific societies, including, amongst others, the American Academy of Neurology, the British Association of Neurologists, the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), the French Society of Neurology; the Spanish Society of Neurology, the European School of Neuroimmunology, and the American National Academy of Medicine (elected as an International Member in 2015). He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Lyon.