Special Section

Research led by Maiken Nedergaard, the Frank P. Smith Professor of Neurosurgery, received one of the top awards from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Nedergaard, the codirector of the Center for Translational Neuromedicine, was recognized with the association’s Newcomb Cleveland Prize for a study that has transformed scientists’ understanding of the brain and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. Titled “Sleep Drives Metabolite Clearance from the Adult Brain,” the study appeared in the October 2013 edition of the journal Science.

Building on earlier work by researchers at the Medical Center that showed the brain possesses its own unique waste-removal system, dubbed the glymphatic system, the 2013 paper reported that the glymphatic system is highly active during sleep, clearing away toxins responsible for Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders. The research may explain the biological purpose of sleep by showing that the brain must devote its finite energy to either a state of wakefulness, during which it is alert and processing information, or to a state of sleep, during which it is actively clearing waste.

The association’s oldest honor, the prize annually recognizes the author or authors of an outstanding paper published in Science.