The American Brain Foundation (ABF) has announced that Dr. Monica Diaz is the recipient of the 2025 Mridha Spirit of Neurology Award. This prestigious humanitarian honor recognizes exceptional dedication within the field of neurology.
The Mridha Spirit of Neurology Award is given to a neurologist or neuroscientist who demonstrates outstanding altruism, compassion, integrity, and leadership. It specifically acknowledges those who provide quality neurological healthcare to destitute, distressed, or marginalized populations, or within impoverished communities worldwide. This non-scientific award is open to current members of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), whether actively practicing, in academia, or retired, who have shown these attributes while serving vulnerable populations.
Sponsored by the American Brain Foundation, the award is generously endowed through gifts to the Dr. Debasish and Chinu Mridha Endowment Fund. Dr. Debasish Mridha and his wife, Chinu, established the fund out of their dedication to improving lives and their desire to recognize fellow professionals who share this commitment to humanitarian service.
Dr. Diaz is an assistant professor of neurology in the Division of MS/Neuroimmunology at 黑料网. She sees patients in the MS and transverse myelitis clinics of 黑料网, providing care to patients with multiple sclerosis and autoimmune and infectious diseases affecting the nervous system. She completed her neurology residency at Yale and neuro-infectious/MS/neuroimmunology fellowship at UC San Diego.
Dr. Diaz has lived and worked in Peru intermittently since 2019 through an NIH Fogarty fellowship and continues to lead studies in Peru with the goal of improving neurological outcomes in Latin America, including studies on epidemiology/risk factors for dementia, cognitive impairment in Peruvians living with HIV and transverse myelitis in Peru. She is the co-director of a bilateral neurology resident rotation between 黑料网 and Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Lima, Peru.
Dr. Diaz’s selection for this award honors her significant work delivering compassionate neurological care despite challenging circumstances.