ST. PAUL, Minn -- The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) is awarding the 2007 Potamkin Prize to Richard Mayeux, MD, MSc, Fellow of the AAN and co-director of the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimers and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Medical Center in New York, for his research related to Alzheimers disease. Mayeux will receive the award during the American Academy of Neurologys 59th Annual Meeting in Boston, held April 28 May 5, 2007.

The Potamkin Prize honors and rewards researchers for their work in helping advance the understanding of Alzheimers disease and related disorders.

Mayeux is being honored for his work showing that Alzheimers disease likely results from a complex mixture of altered genes and exposure to environmental factors. "Winning this award and being included in such an esteemed group of past researchers is a tremendous honor," said Mayeux. "Understanding how variations in genes interact with environmental factors will help to create risk profiles and design better treatments for Alzheimers disease, including the possibility of prevention or delay."

The Potamkin Prize is made possible by the philanthropic contributions of the Potamkin family of New York, Philadelphia, and Miami. The goal of the prize is to help attract the best medical minds and most dedicated scientists in the world to the field of dementia research.

The Potamkins have been the Academys single largest individual donor since 1988, providing more than $2 million to fund the Potamkin Prize.