Allison Brashear '83 Honored by HS Alma Mater for Her Groundbreaking Medical Research

August 3, 2008

August 3, 2008, Greencastle, Ind. - Allison Brashear, M.D., professor and chair of neurology at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and 1983 graduate of DePauw University, is a recipient of Park Tudor School's 2008 Distinguished Alumni Award. Dr. Brashear graduated in 1979 from Park Tudor, an independent, K-through-12 college preparatory school located in Indianapolis.

"Brashear was the first to show that botulinum toxin relieved spasticity in wrists and fingers of stroke patients, publishing her findings in the New England Journal of Medicine," notes an announcement. "She has been the principal investigator in multi-center trials using botulinum toxin in the treatment of cervical dystonia, a condition in which neck muscles contract involuntarily causing abnormal movements and posture of the head and neck. Brashear is also the principal clinician studying Rapid-Onset Dystonia-Parkinsonism (RDP) and she is the principal investigator of a grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to study the clinical, genetic and cellular consequences of mutations in Na,K ATPase- the gene causing RDP."

"The Park Tudor Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes alumni who have made substantial contributions to a field of endeavor, their community, and/or the school," says Lisa Hendrickson, director of communications at Park Tudor School and 1981 DePauw graduate.

Brashear, who majored in chemistry at DePauw, earned her M.D. from the Indiana University School of Medicine. She came to Wake Forest in 2005 from IU, where she was professor of neurology and vice chairman for clinical practice and program development for the department of neurology.

Currently, Dr. Brashear is the chair of the American Academy of Neurology/Movement Disorder Society Spasticity/Dystonia Advisory Board and directs courses at national workshops designed to teach the technique of botulinum toxin treatment. In 2006, she was a fellow in the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine program. She is the past president of the Indiana Neurological Society and is a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, the American Neurological Association and the American Association of Electrodiagnostic Medicine and Movement Disorder Society.

Allison Brashear received a Community Leadership Award from DePauw during June's Alumni Reunion Weekend celebration.

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