Soltesz awarded top international prize for epilepsy research

Ivan Soltesz, UC Irvine professor and chair of anatomy & neurobiology, has been named recipient of the 2009 Michael Prize, one of the most highly regarded international awards for biomedical research on epilepsy. Soltesz’s work focuses on the factors causing epileptic seizures resulting from head trauma in adults and early febrile seizures in infants. The award includes a 20,000 euro prize and will be presented at the International Epilepsy Congress Sunday, June 28, in Budapest. In 2005, Soltesz also received the Senator Jacob Javits Award in the Neurosciences, the U.S.’s top prize for cutting-edge research into brain disorders, and was recently elected chair of the basic science committee of the American Epilepsy Society.