ECNP Media Award

For contributions to destigmatising disorders of the brain

The ECNP Media Award celebrates the achievements of those who promote a better understanding of the complexity and impact of disorders of the brain, stimulate discussion, and challenge stereotypes and stigma.

The award was given for a specific work, or body of work, in any medium – including journalism, literature, dance, film or theatre –, published, broadcast or posted online within Europe, in any European language, and readily accessible to the general public. Works that highlight the connection with scientific research and help to make the science of disorders of the brain accessible to a wide audience are especially encouraged. A European-wide scale and breadth of impact is preferred.

The award winner received a personal EUR 1,000 prize and a commemorative certificate, as well as travel to and accommodation at the ECNP Congress.

The last ECNP Media Award was given at the 28th ECNP Congress in Amsterdam (29 August 2015) to Mary Baker. 

Winner 2015

Mary G Baker, UK  View the press release

Mary G. Baker is the past president of the European Brain Council (EBC), and chair of its European Year of the Brain initiative. She is also the past president of both the European Federation of Neurological Associations (EFNA) and the European Parkinson’s Disease Association (EPDA), of which she is currently the patron, having retired as chief executive of the Parkinson’s Disease Society of the United Kingdom in 2001, where she had worked for 18 years. Among her other roles, she is a consultant to the World Health Organisation (WHO), a member of EFPIA Advisory Board and chair of the Working Group on Parkinson’s Disease, and a member of the EU Commission’s CONNECT Advisory Forum. Her academic appointments include associate membership of the Health Services Research Unit at the University of Oxford and a visiting fellowship at the London School of Economics (LSE) Health Centre. As well as being awarded an honorary doctorates from the University of Surrey And Aston University, she has received the prestigious British Neuroscience Association (BNA) Award for outstanding contributions to British neuroscience and public service and was made by a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the U.K. civil honours list.

Winner 2014

Dick Swaab with the book: “We are our brains”  View the press release

Dick Swaab was director of the Netherlands Institute for Brain Research from 1978 to 2005. Since 1979 he has been professor of neurobiology at the University of Amsterdam. In 1985 he founded the Netherlands Brain Bank and served as its director until 2005. He leads research team on neuropsychiatric disorders at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). In 2011-2017 he was Chao Kuang Piu chair at Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, in the Peoples’ Republic of China. His major research interests focus on, sexual differentiation of the human brain in relation to gender identity and sexual orientation, aging of the brain, Alzheimer’s disease, the neurobiological basis of depression and eating disorders. He has published over 540 papers in SCI journals, authored more than 200 chapters in books, and edited 41 books. He has mentored 84 PhD students, from which 16 are now full professors. A Companion in the Order of the Dutch Lion, bestowed by the Queen of the Netherlands, in 2008 he was awarded the Academy medal for his role in national and international neuroscience.

Winner 2013

'Brain: The Inside Story' Exhibition

Winner 2012

The winner of the first ECNP Media Award is: Science Media Centre, United Kingdom. 




Press release 
The Science Media Centre, London, wins the 2012 ECNP Media Award
08 May 2012