For the second consecutive year, the Child Neurology Society selected Gyula Acsadi, MD, to receive one of its three annual Outstanding Resident/Junior Member Awards. Dr. Acsadi is a clinical instructor in pediatric neurology at the Wayne State University School of Medicine.

"It's surprising to get it two times," said Dr. Acsadi, who is conducting research into spinomuscular atrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). "I felt really happy."

Dr. Acsadi explained that his work with neuromuscular diseases has clinical and laboratory sides. "For the more clinical type of project, we are obtaining muscular biopsies from patients with various muscular dystrophies - mostly congenital types - and trying to define the diagnoses at the molecular level." In the lab, he is working on adenoviral vectors as a model for transferring genes into the cells of the spinal cord.

"This national award recognizes Dr. Acsadi for the work he's been doing introducing adenoviral genes into motor neurons; he is doing the best research of a person in his position in the United States," said Michael Shy, MD, associate professor in Wayne State University's department of neurology and the Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics. Dr. Shy collaborates on several research projects with Dr. Acsadi.

Dr. Edwin Demeritte, a WSU pediatric neurologist, also received one of the 1997 awards from the society. Drs. Acsadi and Demeritte received their 1997 awards at the society meeting in Phoenix, Ariz.

Wayne State University School of Medicine, the academic institution of The Detroit Medical Center, is nationally and regionally respected for research and treatment programs in such areas as oncology, the neurosciences, and women's and children's health. The School plays a strong role in the application of research and education to clinical care through its affiliation with the DMC.