Alexandria Conley, a fourth-year student at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, has received the sanofi-aventis Minority Scholars Award from the American Academy of Neurology Foundation.

Conley, 27, will receive a travel stipend to attend the AAN annual meeting in Seattle, Wash., April 25 through May 2, paid registration for the meeting and will be able to register for educational programs at the junior member rate. She will receive a certificate of recognition and be acknowledged during the AAN and AANF awards luncheon.

"Attending the AAN meeting is an honor for me," said Conley, of Detroit. "I am grateful that the sponsors have created an opportunity to increase diversity in the neurosciences, and I feel very privileged to have won this award.

"The theme of this year's AAN meeting is 'Better practices, better outcomes,' an important concept that I believe applies to physicians across all disciplines," she added. "However, I am particularly excited to learn more about the research and clinical work that is being done to help improve prognosis and quality of life for patients suffering from neurological disease."

William M. Coplin, M.D., F.C.C.M., associate professor of Neurology & Neurological Surgery for the School of Medicine, and chief of Neurology and medical director of Neurotrauma & Critical Care for Detroit ReceivingHospital, nominated Conley for the award.

"I have known Alex since she did her rotation through neurology and subsequent elective time in the neurocritical care unit," Dr. Coplin said. "Alex successfully practiced at a very competent level during her time with us. She completed her other clinical rotations with remarkable evaluations, reflective of her growing clinical database and her ability to integrate this knowledge to improve the care of her patients. She demonstrated excellent camaraderie with her peers and supervising residents, and is clearly a team player, balancing very well her striking enthusiasm for medicine and her own advancement and training with the needs of others similar. ... Alex is a maturing individual who is bright, motivated and personable. She has demonstrated during her training that she is a committed professional willing to work hard to achieve her career goals."

Conley worked with Dr. Coplin during her fourth-year neurocritical care/neuro-trauma elective.

While her interest in medicine dates to elementary school, Conley now focuses on the brain and central nervous system.

"It controls everything from how we grow and develop to how we function on a daily basis, both voluntarily and involuntarily," she said. "I started putting up posters of the brain in my room and reading books about Dr. Alexa Canady and Dr. Ben Carson. Based on this I decided I wanted to pursue a career in neurosurgery. This was reaffirmed during medical school when I went through my clerkships, and found that the only rotation that truly satisfied all my interests was my elective in neurosurgery. Not only could I evaluate the patient in clinic and diagnose neurological pathology, but I could actively participate in the operating room as surgeons worked to potentially cure the patient. It is a very rewarding and exciting feeling."

Conley serves as a class representative on the Student Senate, is a member of the Aesculapians service honor society, the Gold Humanism Honor Society and the Black Medical Association/Student National Medical Association. She also is a member of the American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians and the World Health Student Organization.