2024 Award Recipients & Honorees

 

Distinguished Lifetime Contribution to Neuropsychology Award

NAN’s most prestigious award is given to a senior scholar who has made significant scientific, intellectual, and training-related contributions to the field of neuropsychology. LEARN MORE ABOUT PAST RECIPIENTS

2024 Recipient | Jeffrey Cummings, MD, ScD(HC)

Jeffrey Cummings, MD, ScD, is the Joy Chambers-Grundy Professor of Brain Science, Director of the Chambers-Gundy Center for Transformative Neuroscience, Co-Director of the Pam Quirk Brain Health and Biomarker Laboratory, Department of Brain Health, School of Integrated Health Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). Dr. Cummings is globally known for his contributions to Alzheimer’s research, drug development, and clinical trials. He has been recognized for his research and leadership contributions in the field of Alzheimer’s disease through many awards including the Ronald and Nancy Reagan Research Award of the national Alzheimer’s Association (2008), Lifetime Achievement Award of the Society for Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology (2017), Distinguished Scientist Award of the American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry (2010), Bengt Winblad Lifetime Achievement Award from the national Alzheimer’s Association (2019), and the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation’s Melvin R. Goodes Prize. Dr. Cummings completed Neurology residency and a Fellowship in Behavioral Neurology at Boston University, followed by a Research Fellowship in Neuropathology and Neuropsychiatry at the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases, Queen Square, London. Dr. Cummings was formerly Director of the Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research at UCLA, and Director of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health.

Distinguished Service Award

This award is designed to recognize NAN’s most dedicated leaders who have a longstanding career of exemplary and distinguished service to NAN. LEARN MORE ABOUT PAST RECIPIENTS  
 

2024 Recipient |  Chriscelyn Tussey, Psy.D., ABPP

Dr. Tussey is the President and Founder of Metropolitan Forensic & Neuropsychological Consultation. She is a Board Certified Forensic Psychologist and a Clinical Neuropsychologist, and a Fellow of NAN. In her practice, she conducts clinical as well as civil and criminal forensic and forensic neuropsychological evaluations and consultation. Dr. Tussey is a Clinical Instructor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and an Adjunct Professor at New York University. She is involved in leadership positions both locally and nationally in both forensic and neuropsychology. She previously served as the Chair of the Mentorship Committee for the American Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS) and was on the American Board of Forensic Psychology (ABFP) Examination Faculty from 2018-2024. At the state level, Dr. Tussey has served on the Board of Directors of the New York State Association of Neuropsychology (NYSAN). She has published and presented in the areas of criminal and civil forensic and forensic neuropsychology as well as leadership and brain health. 

Dr. Tussey began her involvement in NAN as a graduate student and shortly after became a student member of the Professional Affairs and Information Committee. She was a member of the Women in Leadership Committee before becoming Chair from 2015-2017. Additionally, she is a past member of the Affiliations Task Force and Brain Health Task Force. Dr. Tussey was Chair Elect, Chair, and Past Chair for the Program Committee from 2018-2020. She has been a member of the Leadership Ambassador Development Program (LEAD) Task Force since its inception. Dr. Tussey is also currently a member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity Task Force. 

In addition to these roles, Dr. Tussey has provided in-person and online training through NAN. Along with colleagues, she developed a webinar on negotiation that was complimentary for NAN membership. Most recently, Dr. Tussey developed and is the Instructor of a new online learning experience offered by NAN, titled, Fundamentals of Forensic Neuropsychology.

Excellence in Advocacy Award

Awarded to an individual who has exhibited dedication and excellence in advocacy for neuropsychology as a science and practice. The recipient of this award has engaged with decision-makers and other stakeholders outside of neuropsychology to promote brain science and inspire change, beneficially raising the public awareness of the practice of neuropsychology. LEARN MORE ABOUT PAST RECIPIENTS

2024 Recipient |  Neil H Pliskin, Ph.D.

Dr. Neil Pliskin is a board certified clinical neuropsychologist and Professor Clinical Psychiatry and Neurology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine.  Dr. Pliskin serves as Director of Neuropsychology services at UI Health and has had 35 years of experience working as a clinical neuropsychologist and directing clinical neuropsychology training programs. Dr. Pliskin is past President of the Society for Clinical Neuropsychology of the American Psychological Association and has served as APA advisor to the AMA/CPT Health Care Professionals Advisory Committee since 2009. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and the National Academy of Neuropsychology.

Reitan Clinical Excellence Award

This award is given to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the clinical practice of neuropsychology. The recipients of this award have significantly influenced the methods, settings, and/or persons involved in clinical practice, resulting in noteworthy benefit to the profession and its clients; and/or demonstrated significant leadership as a teacher, clinician, and/or theorist in public and/or professional arenas of clinical neuropsychology; and/or had a notable effect on clinical practice or training in the field of clinical neuropsychology. LEARN MORE ABOUT PAST RECIPIENTS 

2024 Recipient | Peter Arnett, Ph.D. 

Dr. Arnett received his Ph.D. in Psychology (Clinical) from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Clinical Neuropsychology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He is currently a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Penn State University. He completed a six-year term as the Director of Clinical Training of the doctoral program in clinical psychology at Penn State where he wrote the program’s first Psychological Clinical Science System (PCSAS) accreditation report, which was approved and became official in 2017.  

Dr. Arnett’s research has focused on clinical neuropsychology, with an emphasis on conducting clinical translational research in areas including secondary influences on cognitive functioning in persons with MS and mild traumatic brain injury (concussion). He is a fellow of the National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN), past-President of NAN, and completed a 
3-year term on the Board of Directors of the International Neuropsychological Society (INS). Dr. Arnett has authored over 190 research articles and book chapters/commentaries, and has edited two books. One is entitled, Secondary Influences on Neuropsychological Test Performance (2013), and the other, Neuropsychology of Sports-Related Concussion (2019). Dr. Arnett is an editorial board member of several journals, and has received grant funding from the National MS Society, NIH, and NIMH.  He is currently a host of the Brain Beat podcast sponsored by the NAN Foundation.

Dr. Arnett received a Career Mentoring Award from the INS in 2021. This was awarded for “The Recognition of Mentoring and Teaching activities that have made a profound impact on careers of students in the field of neuropsychology.” Dr. Arnett has chaired over 25 doctoral dissertations, and takes great pride in the many accomplishments of his students. He has been the primary neuropsychology practicum supervisor for students in the doctoral program in clinical psychology at Penn State for the past 25 years. Dr. Arnett also recently received the Fred Foley Award for “Leadership and Scholarly Inquiry in Mental Health and Multiple Sclerosis” from the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC). He is furthermore a past recipient of the NAN Nelson Butters Award for Research Contributions to Clinical Neuropsychology.  

Early Career Award

This award is given to someone who has made substantial scholarly contributions to the field of neuropsychology within 10 years of receiving their doctoral degree. LEARN MORE ABOUT PAST RECIPIENTS

2024 Recipient | Douglas P. Terry, Ph.D., ABPP-CN

Douglas Terry is a board-certified clinical neuropsychologist and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He is the Co-Director of the Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center and the Director of the Center for Cognitive Neurosurgical Studies. He received his PhD from the University of Georgia after completing his predoctoral internship in adult neuropsychology at UCLA. He completed a clinical-research post-doctoral fellowship Massachusetts General Hospital/Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital/Harvard Medical School, and then became an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School. His research focuses on the spectrum of concussion, from diagnostic tools to potential long-term effects. He has co-authored over 110 publications and lectured internationally on this topic. He is the consulting neuropsychologist for the Nashville Predators, Tennessee Titans, and Nashville SC. He receives research funding from Amgen Inc., Football Research Inc., Blink TBI, and in part through the Civil Military Innovation Institute / Department of Defense.

Early Career Service Award

This award is designed for someone who is within 10 years of receiving their doctoral degree and who has made substantial early career service contributions to NAN. LEARN MORE ABOUT PAST RECIPIENTS

 

2024 Recipient | Daryaneh Badaly, Ph.D.

Development Center at the Child Mind Institute. She conducts neuropsychological and educational evaluations with children, adolescents, and young adults who typically present with neurodevelopmental and psychiatric concerns. Fluent in French and educated bilingually, she conducts a number of bilingual French-English evaluations. She also provides executive functioning skills coaching, and she conducts a number of educational presentations for local schools, parenting groups, and other organizations on topics related to neuropsychology. In addition, Dr. Badaly serves as the training coordinator for the Learning and Development Center’s externship and postdoctoral fellowship programs in clinical neuropsychology. Dr. Badaly previously served as a pediatric neuropsychologist at the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. She developed a clinical and research focus on children with congenital heart defects during that time, and she has continued to collaborate with members of the children’s hospital on research related to brain and cognitive development among children with congenital heart defects. When Dr. Badaly first joined NAN, she participated in its Leadership Ambassador Development (LEAD) program. She then became a member of the Legislative Action and Advocacy Committee (LAAC) at NAN, and she eventually took on a role a co-chair of the committee. She has also, at different points, participated on the LEAD Task Force, served on NAN’s Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility Task Force, and taken on the role of the organization’s representative to the Cultural Neuropsychology Council. Outside of her participation in NAN, Dr. Badaly has mentored students through programs with the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology and the Society of Clinical Neuropsychology.

Nelson Butters Award 

This award is given for the best research paper published in the Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology over the preceding year. LEARN MORE ABOUT PAST RECIPIENTS

2024 Recipient | The Geneva COVID-COG team Represented by M. Philippe VORUZ |  Frequency of Abnormally Low Neuropsychological Scores in Post-COVID-19 Syndrome: the Geneva COVID-COG Cohort

 

Outstanding Dissertation Award

This award is given to recognize an excellent neuropsychology-related dissertation or dissertation project. The winner is invited to present his/her study at a poster session during the Annual Conference and submit the study for publication to Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology. LEARN MORE ABOUT PAST RECIPIENTS 

2024 Recipient |  William Goette, Ph.D. / Post-Doctoral Fellow | Explaining Racial Discrepancies in Verbal Memory Assessment with Joint Estimation of Life Course Social Inequities and Measurement Bias

William Goette earned his doctorate in clinical psychology from The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and he is currently completing a post-doctoral fellowship in neuropsychology at the same institution. His research involves the application of novel psychometric methods and Bayesian estimation techniques to modernize neuropsychological measures and promote the equity of assessments.

Tony Wong Diversity Award

The Tony Wong Diversity Awards are granted in recognition of the applicant’s efforts to promote public education, advocacy, and research in brain health in culturally diverse and minority communities, with one award for early-career recipients and an award also recognizing outstanding mentorship in relationship to diversity. LEARN MORE ABOUT PAST RECIPIENTS

Tony Wong Diversity Award - Mentor

2024 Recipient | Daryl Fujii, Ph.D.

Daryl Fujii, Ph.D., ABPP-CN is a staff neuropsychologist at the Veterans Affairs Pacific Island Health Care Services Community Living Center. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Wyoming in 1991, interned at the Sepulveda VAMC, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific. Daryl earned his diplomate in clinical neuropsychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology in 1999 and was elected to fellow status of the American Psychological Association in 2006 and the National Academy of Neuropsychology in 2016. Daryl has 70+ publications including three books: The Spectrum of Psychotic Disorders: Neurobiology, Etiology, and Pathogenesis (2007), The Neuropsychology of Asian-Americans (2010), and Conducting a Culturally-Informed Neuropsychological Evaluation (2016). Daryl is a co-founding member and former President of the Asian Neuropsychological Association, Associate Editor of the Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, and served as a cultural expert for the 2022 Minnesota Conference for updating training guidelines in clinical neuropsychology.

Tony Wong Diversity Award - Early Career 

Dr. Stephanie Punt is a second-year post-doctoral fellow in clinical neuropsychology at the Semel Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, with Operation Mend specializing in polytrauma and traumatic brain injury recovery. She grew up toggling between rural and urban communities in the Pacific Northwest and has a longstanding interest in improving rural health. Since her graduate studies at the University of Kansas, she has dedicated herself to leveraging her neuropsychology training to enhance the well-being of students and families, especially those with marginalized identities, in rural Kansas, an area where over 85% of the population is underserved in mental health care. These communities grapple with challenges such as generational trauma, poverty, and natural disasters, factors that compound mental and physical health issues, especially for those with marginalized and intersectional identities. Her mission is to enrich brain health equity, with a special emphasis on underserved minority rural communities, and alongside a multidisciplinary team, helped create infrastructure and deploy community health workers in rural communities across Kansas to improve access to social determinants of health.

 

Student Poster Award 

This monetary award is given at the Annual Conference for the most meritorious posters. READ MORE

Student Poster Award - Diversity

This award is granted at the Annual Conference for the best student poster that reflects diversity-related topics or issues. READ MORE