Mahlon Robert DeLong

Professor Mahlon Delong is the William Patterson Timmie Professor of Neurology at Emory University. His Neurophysiologic studies of the primate basal ganglia established separate circuits for motor, cognitive/behavioral and limbic functions and clarified the pathophysiologic basis of Parkinson's disease. This led to the identification of novel surgical targets and techniques for mapping and targeting that greatly influenced current approaches to Parkinson's disease. Among numerous awards, Dr. DeLong received a Javitz Neuroscience Investigator Award from the NINDS for his research and the Alfred E. Springer Award by the American Parkinson’s Disease Association, the Edward B. Henderson Lecture Award, by the American Geriatrics Society, the Schneider Lecture by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, and the American Academy of Neurology Wartenburg Award. Dr. DeLong was selected as the first recipient of the Deans Distinguished Faculty Award and Lecturer at Emory and received the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation’s 50th Anniversary Award for his contributions to the field. Dr. DeLong recently received the 2008 Movement Disorders Society Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2009 American Academy of Neurology Movement Disorders Research Award. His most recent award was the 2014 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, which recognizes excellence in research aimed at curing intractable diseases and extending life for defining the interlocking circuits in the brain that malfunction in Parkinson's disease.