Dr Stefano Sandrone becomes youngest recipient of prestigious award

Dr Stefano Sandrone, from the Department of Brain Sciences, has been recognised for his excellence in teaching neurology and neuroscience.

Dr Stefano Sandrone, from the Department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London, has been recognised for his excellence in teaching neurology and neuroscience. He was awarded the Distinguished Neurology Teacher Award by the American Neurological Association (ANA), the world's largest and oldest professional society of academic neurologists and neuroscientists (since 1875). He becomes the youngest recipient and the first European to win this prestigious award. 

The ANA is a major professional society of academic neurologists and neuroscientists devoted to advancing the goals of academic neurology; to training and educating neurologists and other physicians in the neurologic sciences; and to expanding both our understanding of diseases of the nervous system and our ability to treat them.  

The Distinguished Neurology Teacher Award aims to encourage efforts to recognise and reward contributions by gifted and talented teachers in neurology. Commenting on his award, Dr Sandrone said: “This is a career-defining award. I am extremely enthusiastic and grateful not only to the American Neurological Association but also to the many students and colleagues I have met throughout my career so far. I have learnt something from each of them. This award means a lot to me; it is incredibly rewarding to see that what I do daily is recognised internationally. I am energised by the future we, at Imperial, and as a wider global neuroscience community, have in front of us!’’

About Stefano Sandrone: 

Dr Stefano Sandrone is an Italian neuroscientist and an international leader in neuroscience and medical education. He has won several international awards over the years, including the Science Educator Award from the Society of Neuroscience, the Mentorship Prize from the Trainees in Association for the Study of Medical Education, the President’s Award for Excellence in Education from Imperial, the A.B. Baker teacher Recognition Award from the American Academy of Neurology (twice) and the Miriam Friedman Ben-David Award from the Association for Medical Education in Europe. Moreover, he has held leadership roles in major national and international committees, including at the Italian Ministry of Health and the European Health Parliament.  

At Imperial, he is the co-director of the MRes Experimental Neuroscience and the MSc Translational Neuroscience programmes within the Faculty of Medicine. He is also a Senior Tutor and Welfare Tutor, and has teaching responsibilities and leadership roles at the departmental, faculty and university level. 

Research Insights: 

He extends his expertise beyond the classroom. His research interests range from active learning and professional identity formation to AI, the metaverse and the roles that emotions play in the learning process. He has written three academic books and his work has been published in renowned journals like Neuron, Annals of Neurology, Cell, and Nature Medicine.