Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation Honored that Chairman Receives 2003 Mary Woodard Lasker Award

9/19/2003

From: Maggie Goldberg of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, 800-225-0292 ext. 115

SPRINGFIELD, N.J., Sept. 19 -- The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation (CRPF) congratulates Chairman Christopher Reeve who is receiving this year's Mary Woodard Lasker Award for Public Service in Support of Medical Research and the Health Sciences. For 56 years, the Albert Lasker Medical Research Awards, the nation's most distinguished honor for outstanding contributions to basic and clinical research, have celebrated scientists, physicians, and public servants whose accomplishments have made major advances in understanding, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and even cures for many of the devastating diseases of the 20th century.

Recognized for perceptive, sustained, and heroic advocacy for medical research in general, and people living with disabilities in particular, Reeve was selected for this distinction by a jury of scholars and scientists.

"I am delighted and grateful to be the recipient of this year's Lasker Public Service Award," said Christopher Reeve. "As an advocate and as Chairman of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, I have had the privilege of working to improve the lives of people with disabilities and to seek better treatments and a potential cure for paralysis. The Lasker Awards recognize world-renowned scientists, physicians and public servants. It is an overwhelming honor for me to be included in such distinguished company."

Paralyzed in a 1995 equestrian accident, Reeve quickly began working on behalf of those living with paralysis and disabilities. In 1996, he, with his wife Dana, founded the Christopher Reeve Foundation, which merged with the American Paralysis Association in 1999. The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation funds research to develop treatments and cures for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury and other central nervous system disorders. Through research grants and Quality of Life Grants, which are awarded to organizations that provide services to improve the lives of those living with disabilities, the Foundation expects to award almost $7.4 million this year.

"As a board member of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, I am thrilled that the Lasker Foundation has decided to recognize Christopher Reeve with this honor," said Dr. Gerald D. Fischbach, Executive Vice President for Health and Biomedical Sciences and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Columbia University and former Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. "Although Christopher is spinal cord injured, he has always been an articulate spokesman for all fundamental research. Christopher adds an emotional tone to the intellectual effort surrounding science that is essential in translating research into promising new therapies."

Reeve's role as an advocate for those living with disabilities is well known. The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Act, which was introduced in Congress in May 2003, calls for enhanced and further research into paralysis, and would improve rehabilitation and the quality of life for people living with paralysis.

The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation (CRPF) is committed to funding research that develops treatments and cures for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury and other central nervous system disorders. The Foundation also vigorously works to improve the quality of life for people living with disabilities through its grants program, Paralysis Resource Center, and advocacy efforts. For more information, please visit http://www.ChristopherReeve.org or call 800-225-0292.