The Friedrich von Recklinghausen Award: Neurofibromatosis Tradition and Progress
The Children’s Tumor Foundation’s (CTF) Friedrich von Recklinghausen Award is given to individuals in the professional NF community who have made significant contributions to neurofibromatosis or schwannomatosis research or clinical care. It is named after Friedrich Daniel von Recklinghausen (1833-1910), the German physician who first described ‘von Recklinghausen’s disease’ – what we now know as neurofibromatosis type 1.
2024 Friedrich von Recklinghausen Award Recipient
It is with great pleasure that the Children’s Tumor Foundation announces Rosalie Ferner, MD, consultant neurologist of Guys and St. Thomas NHS Foundation Trust London (GSTT), UK, as the recipient of the 2024 Friedrich von Recklinghausen Award.
After an early academic career studying modern languages, Dr. Ferner shifted gears and moved on to study medicine. Hence, she has spent her lifetime dedicated to improving the lives of those afflicted with neurofibromatosis and schwannomatosis. Dr. Ferner has consistently demonstrated all the considerable attributes and accomplishments that make her a most worthy awardee.
Dr. Ferner established and has been the national lead for the nationally commissioned NF1 service in the UK since 2009 and was the lead for the London NF2 service from 2010 to 2015. In these roles, she has been a passionate champion for patients with all forms of neurofibromatosis and schwannomatosis but has had a particular impact in the field of NF1. She is a clinician’s clinician—skilled, precise, compassionate, creative, and dedicated.
As a researcher, she has driven entire chapters of NF1 research in her efforts to improve clinical care for people with NF1. She has miraculously created pathways for care for people with NF in the UK that follow the best evidence in the face of many hurdles. She was instrumental in the development of QOL patient-focused outcome measures for NF1 and NF2 and has delivered multiple publications on elucidating the phenotype of NF1, OPG, and MPNST. Indeed, she is one of the most published researchers in NF and is still active in the field. Dr. Ferner recruits and trains early-stage clinician investigators and is the consummate collaborator – expert, reliable, respectful, dedicated, and clear about her mission and the importance of the work. Much of what we know about optic pathway gliomas, plexiform neurofibromas, and MPNST is due to her efforts. She is driven by concern for the person facing a challenging illness and parlays this concern into critical research and national program building. Finally, no one can match her wit or sincere warmth, caring, and compassion.
The Children’s Tumor Foundation, along with her colleagues and peers, is proud and thrilled to recognize Dr. Ferner with the 2024 Friedrich von Recklinghausen Award, not only for her many outstanding achievements over her years in the field but also for her dedicated efforts in supporting the entire NF community. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Ferner for this well-deserved honor.
Prior Friedrich von Recklinghausen Award Honorees:
2023: Margaret (Peggy) Wallace, PhD, University of Florida
2022: Jaishri Blakeley, MD, Johns Hopkins University
2021: Marco Giovannini, MD, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles
2020: D. Wade Clapp, MD, Indiana University, School of Medicine
2019: Scott Plotkin, MD, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
2018: Ludwine Messiaen, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham
2017: Karen Cichowski, PhD, Harvard Medical School
2016: David Viskochil, MD, PhD, University of Utah
2015: Eric Legius, MD, PhD, University of Leuven, Belgium
2014: Gareth Evans, MD, St. Mary’s Hospital, University of Manchester, UK
2013: Brigitte Widemann, MD, National Cancer Institute
2012: David Gutmann, MD, PhD, Washington University
2010: Nancy Ratner, PhD, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
2009: Luis Parada, PhD, University of Texas Southwestern
2008: Vincent ‘Vic’ Riccardi, MD, The Neurofibromatosis Institute
