JAMAICA’S own Dr Amza Ali, founder and president of the Jamaican League Against Epilepsy (JLAE) and medical director of the Epilepsy Centre of Jamaica (ECJ), has been recognised by the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) for his work in the field of epilepsy locally and across the English-speaking Caribbean.

The award was received by Ali at the 2009 Palatucci Advocacy Leadership Forum held recently in California.

The annual award, which is in its seventh year, was created by the AAN in honour of Donald M Palatucci a visionary neurologist in San Francisco California who understood that enduring change required a commitment to effective advocacy. Over the years, some of the most well-known neurologists from developed countries such as the United States have received the award.

“I have been working in the field for several years. That the AAN has seen it fit to recognise my work and my future plans for advancing epilepsy care in the Caribbean is humbling and a great honour,” Ali said.

He recalled that on his return from study in 1992, the majority of patients in the neurology clinics of the public hospitals were patients with intractable epilepsy. It was this situation that inspired him to leave Jamaica in 2000, sponsored by the Jamaican government, to train in epilepsy at the Columbia University, New York.

Ali said in Jamaica the JLAE together with the Jamaican Epilepsy Association (JEA) – an organisation of laypersons led by Nora Perez – has been working for several years to improve the care of people with epilepsy in Jamaica.

“This award from the American Academy of Neurology means that as a country and a region we are on the right path to improve epilepsy treatment and care,” he said.

Ali was trained in Neurology at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London. Locally he has served as head of the department of medicine at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH). At present he is a senior consultant neurologist to KPH and the South East Regional Health Authority, as well as associate lecturer in Neurology at the UWI, Mona.

In 2005, he was appointed to the North American Regional Commission on Epilepsy and in 2006 to the International Affairs Commission of the American Epilepsy Society (AES). In 2007, Ali was elected to the Faculty of 1,000 of the International League Against Epilepsy, for Epilepsy work in the Caribbean and in recognition of his status as one of 1,000 neurologists and neurosurgeons in the world capable of being an educator in the field of epilepsy.