FSH Society accolade for George Padberg

FSH SOCIETY PIONEER AWARD PRESENTED TO

GEORGE W. PADBERG, MD, PHD,
HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT OF NEUROLOGY,
ST RADBOUD UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTRE, NIJMEGEN, THE NETHERLANDS
AT HIS VALEDICTORY LECTURE HELD AT
GROTE OF ST STEVENSKERK, NIJMEGEN, THE NETHERLANDS

SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

The FSH Society is pleased to present the first Pioneer Award for outstanding contributions to research on facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy to George W. Padberg, MD, PhD.  Please accept our heartfelt thanks for your dedication to unlocking the mystery of FSHD and for your guidance, concern and care for patients and their families worldwide.

For nearly one hundred years before George Padberg wrote his 1982 doctoral thesis on facioscapulohumeral disease; FSHD research was largely unattended to.  George’s keen interest in the disease was due to first-hand experience with a patient.  Dr. Padberg’s thesis remains one of the most thorough and best references on FSHD.  His work established a gold standard in FSHD on every level.  With his insights on the comprehensive and complicated nature of the disease, he helped many researchers and clinicians find a way to approach the genetics and clinical aspects of the disease, thus opening it for further study and development.  In addition to pioneering ways to solve FSHD, Padberg is also one of the finest clinician researchers in neurology, skilled in his profession and craft, a man of vision, a consummate net worker and a significant force in bringing disparate groups together to change the status quo.

Dr. Padberg’s work exemplifies the talents of a pioneer and concern of a revolutionary. As both caring physician and research scientist you, Dr. Padberg, paved the way for the FSH Society to work with the international community and advocate for patient rights, research funding and education worldwide.