Reflecting on Contributions to Child Neurology at 2025 CNS Annual Meeting: Brenda Banwell, MD, FRCPC, FAAN

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"I’m incredibly honored to be this year’s recipient of the Bernard Sachs Award, which is awarded annually to pediatric neurologists who’ve contributed substantially to the field of child neurology. The award is in honor of a brilliant scientist who described a number of clinical conditions before the turn of the century but also described many of the outcomes of neurological diseases in children in ways that have stood the test of time."

Multiple sclerosis (MS) expert Brenda Banwell, MD, FRCPC, FAAN, pediatrician-in-chief and co-director at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, was recently named the recipient of the 2025 Bernard Sachs Award by the Child Neurology Society (CNS). The award is given annually to honor an expert of international status who has completed leading research in the field of neuroscience with relevance to the care of children with neurological disorders. As this year’s recipient, Banwell delivered a lecture on pediatric central nervous system demyelination as part the 54th CNS Annual Meeting, held October 8-11, 2025, in Charlotte, North Carolina.¹

Banwell’s research focuses on the clinical and cognitive impact of neurological conditions in children, using neuroimaging and immunologic studies to better understand disease processes. Throughout her career, she's developed a standardized clinical care algorithm and database to evaluate outcomes in pediatric MS, and has published more than 30 manuscripts in high-impact journals, along with over 25 book chapters. In addition, she has delivered more than 200 invited lectures and visiting professorships worldwide. Banwell also serves as chair of the pediatric committee of the National Institutes of Health NeuroNEXT program, which advances clinical studies on neurological treatments through collaborations across academia, industry, and private sectors.

In an interview at CNS 2025 with Contemporary Pediatrics, our sister publication, Banwell shared recent results from a phase 3 study comparing 2 treatments among patients with pediatric-onset relapsing-remitting MS. During the conversation, Banwell emphasized that there are currently limited treatment options available for pediatric MS and the importance of clinical trials in expanding access to effective therapies. She also reflected on receiving the Bernard Sachs Award for her contributions to pediatric neurology and underscored the collaborative as well as mentorship-focused environment of the child neurology community.

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REFERENCES
1. Banwell B. Bernard Sachs Award Lecture: The Evolution of Clinical Diagnostic Criteria in Pediatric CNS Demyelination: Contributions of Clinical Observation, Imaging, and Biomarker Discovery. Presented at: 2025 Child Neurology Society Annual Meeting. October 8-11; Charlotte, North Carolina.