Previous Honorees

The World Brain Mapping Foundation (WBMF) is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s awards. These awards recognize outstanding achievements in brain mapping research, education, and service.

501 (c)(3)

Non-Profit Charitable Organization

Gathering For Cure Awards

Beacon of Courage and Dedication Award
The Beacon Award is presented to individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary courage and dedication for increasing awareness about neurological diseases, and for patients and their families who have exceeded expectations in fighting a neurological disorder with unprecedented courage. The Beacon Award identifies remarkable individuals who set the highest standards for increasing awareness of, and fighting, neurological diseases.
The Humanitarian Award is given to physicians and scientists who have contributed significantly to survival and quality of life of patients across the Globe.
The Pioneer in Technology Award is presented to the trail blazing companies and their CEOs/presidents who have facilitated the development of pioneering technologies through interdisciplinary approaches that have impacted diagnostics, treatment, and healthcare delivery in unprecedented ways.
The Pioneer in Medicine Award is presented to individuals who have significantly contributed to the scientific advancement in the fields of medicine and image guided therapy through a multidisciplinary approach. Their groundbreaking contributions have made development of state-of-the-art technology and scientific discovery a reality.
The Pioneer in Healthcare Policy Award is presented to lawmakers who have demonstrated visionary and crossdisciplinary approaches to introducing laws that have contributed to the advancement of science, technology, education, and medicine. They have paved the way to better integration of such advancements in other fields, like medicine and neuroscience. These lawmakers champion better healthcare for all.
Add Your The Golden Axon Leadership Award is presented to individuals outside of the medical community who inspire with good will and an enthusiastic interest in science, technology and medicine. Named for the neuron cell fiber that carries outgoing messages to other target cells, the founding principle of the Axon Award is to recognize a highly regarded individual in the public sector who helps raise awareness and funding of WBMF and its mission in the community via fundraising event(s) and activities.eading Text Here
The WBMF Young Investigator’s Initiative is designed to recognize promising young scientists performing work in the brain sciences relevant to the World Brain Mapping Foundation. While this year’s awardees will not be receiving any financial incentives, this recognition will be a stepping stone for future recognition within and beyond the WBMF’s wide ranging collaborative partners.
The WBMF Student Service and Leadership Award is given to recognize excellence and commitment to dedicated fellows, interns, and students who have contributed to the advancement of medicine, specifically the neurosciences.
Add Your Heading TLate Robin Sidhu (1988 – 2015), a young ebullient science driven and information technology (IT) savvy person, died of an accident at an early age. His mission to accomplish in-depth understanding of human mind and health remained incomplete due to his early departure but his legacy will remain through supporting young innovative minds in science through this award.ext Here

Beacon of Courage and Dedication Award

Nicole Hockley & Mark Barden

Nicole Hockley chose to transform unspeakable grief and anguish into action after her youngest son, Dylan, was murdered in his first-grade classroom during the Sandy

Humanitarian Award

Kateryna Potapova

2023 Award Recipient Clinical Research Associate | Research Fellow (2021-2023)

Geoffrey Ling

Colonel honored with humanitarian award from the Brain Mapping Foundation for work with TBI FALLS CHURCH, VA (June 11, 2012) — U.S. Army Colonel Geoffrey

Ming Hsieh

Founder of Cogent Inc., 2013 Award Recipient

Pioneer in Technology Development Award

Cameron Piron, MS

Industry-recognized leader and innovator in image-guided surgery. Awarded University of Waterloo’s Alumni Achievement medal for leading Sentinelle Medical in researching and manufacturing leading-edge MRI technologies

Pioneer in Medicine Award

Paul M. Thompson

See Biography: Here Paul Thompson is a Professor in the Keck School of Medicine of USC. His team’s research projects focus on the neuroscience, mathematics,

Pioneer in Healthcare Policy Award

Nancy Pelosi

Former Speaker and Current Minority Leader of the House of Representatives

John Kerry

Former United States Senator, 2009 Award Recipient

Harry Reid

Former United States Senator, 2010 Award Recipient

Golden Axon leadership Award

Brian Norling

MEMS Precision Technology, CEO, WBMF Golden Axon Award, 2023

Deborah Zelinsky

Her global reputation is due, in part, to her discovery of the use of eyeglasses to alter sound location and subsequent development of the Z-Bell

Vicky Yamamoto

Dr. Yamamoto’s pioneering work on mammalian Ryk was conducted at the laboratory of Professor David Baltimore, a Nobel laureate-1975, at California Institute of Technology. In

Jason Cormier

Dr. Cormier is a native of South Louisiana, where he graduated from St Thomas More High School in Lafayette, La. A former LSU basketball player

Robert Hariri

Dr. Hariri pioneered the use of stem cells to treat a range of life-threatening human diseases and continues today to make transformative contributions in the

Saleem Abdulrauf

American physician specializing in neurosurgery in St. Louis, Missouri, who has helped develop high-flow brain bypass surgery, a less invasive procedure for treating intracranial aneurysm than methods used previously.

Young Investigator Award

Vicky Yamamoto

Cancer Scientist, USC-Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, USC-Keck School of Medicine, CA, USA | Executive Director of SBMT | Member of the Executive Board of the

Reza Tadayon-Nejad

Psychiatry Resident (Neuroscience Research Track), Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago

Rahul Dev Jayant

Assistant Professor, Center for Personalized Nanomedicine, Institute of NeuroImmune Pharmacology, Department of Immunology, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine (HWCOM), Florida International University

Nasser Kashou

Assistant Professor, Biomedical, Industrial & Human Factors Engineering, Wright State University

Student Service and Leadership Award

Kevin Morris

In Pursuit of Healthcare Excellence, Every Step of the Way. Dr. Kevin Morris, MBBS, has consistently demonstrated a passion for pursuing excellence in academics or

John Fiallos

Dr. John Fiallos is a native of Ecuador, where he earned his medical degree from the Guayaquil University. His passion for table tennis made him

Joe F. Bolanos

A Passion for Innovation in Healthcare Dr. Joe F. Bolanos, embodies a compelling fusion of medical expertise and technological acumen. With an unwavering interest in

Robin Sidhu Memorial Young Scientist Award