Stephen G. Waxman, M.D., Ph.D.

Stephen G. Waxman, M.D., Ph.D., the Bridget Flaherty Professor of Neurology, Neurobiology, and Pharmacology, received the William S. Middleton Award, the highest scientific honor bestowed by the Department of Veterans Affairs, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington in April. The award includes a cash prize of $150,000 in research support.

Waxman was honored for his research on spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, and painful nerve injuries. His research was the first to show the changes in molecules within nerve cells that permit remissions—recovery of such lost functions as vision and motor control—in multiple sclerosis. He has also identified key molecules responsible for pain after nerve and spinal cord injury.

Waxman is the director of the Neuroscience and Regeneration Research Center, a collaborative enterprise of Yale University, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Paralyzed Veterans of America, and the United Spinal Association. He is also co-director of the Yale-London Collaboration on Nervous System Injury at University College London. Having served as chair of neurology since 1986, Waxman is now making the transition to a full-time role as director of the research center at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System in West Haven.