INPCS Lifetime Achievement Award
Robert Holloway, MD, MPH
Dr. Robert Holloway is Professor and Vollertsen Rykenboer Chair of Neurology at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. He earned his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Connecticut and completed neurology and health services research training (MPH) at the University of Rochester (UR), where he has been a faculty member since 1996 and Chair since 2012. He became board-certified in Hospice and Palliative Medicine since 2008. He continues to practice both neurology and palliative care, which has fueled his passion for over 30 years. Under his leadership, the department has more than doubled its faculty and created five new divisions, including a division of neuropalliative care. Renowned for its academic excellence, the department sees nearly 10% of its medical school graduates pursue neurology and conducts over $25 million in annual research across translational neuroscience, experimental neurotherapeutics, community-engagement, and global neurology. Dr. Holloway serves as Principal Investigator (PI) for the Rochester Site within the NINDS NeuroNEXT Network and the NIH-funded T32 training program in experimental neurotherapeutics. As the author of over 200 publications and co-editor of Case Studies in Neuroscience and Neuropalliative Care, he has received numerous honors, including the Dr. Robert Joynt Kindness Award, the C. Miller Fisher Neuroscience Visionary Award, the Harry Segal Prize for Excellence in Third Year Teaching, the UR Susan H. McDaniel Collaborative Care Award, and the University of Rochester Junior Faculty Mentoring Award.
INPCS Outstanding Scientific Contribution Award
Jean Kutner, MD, MSPH
Dr. Kutner is the inaugural UCHealth Chief Academic Officer and a tenured Distinguished Professor of Medicine in the Divisions of General Internal Medicine and Geriatric Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Dr. Kutner received her MD from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and completed residency training in internal medicine at UCSF. Subsequently, she completed a NRSA primary care research fellowship, earning an MSPH degree with honors, and a fellowship in geriatric medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She is Board Certified in internal medicine, geriatric medicine, and hospice and palliative medicine and cares for patients on the palliative care service at University of Colorado Hospital. Her research focuses on improving symptoms and quality of life for people with serious illness and their family caregivers and building capacity for palliative care research. Dr. Kutner was Co-Chair of the NIH-funded Palliative Care Research Cooperative Group (PCRC) and a member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Transforming End of Life Care Committee. She is a Past-President of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) and of the Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM). Dr. Kutner is Vice Chair of the Vizient AMC Chief Medical Executives Steering Committee and previously served as Chair of the AAMC CMOG Steering Committee. She is a member of the Cambia Sojourns Scholars Program Advisory Board and is on the Board of Directors for DSST Public Schools. Dr. Kutner served as the Head of the University of Colorado School of Medicine Division of General Internal Medicine from 2002-2014 and as the inaugural Chief Medical Officer, University of Colorado Hospital and Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, University of Colorado School of Medicine from 2014 to 2025.
INPCS Neuropallitaive Care Advocate of the Year Award
Priya Treesa Thomas, PhD
Dr. Priya Treesa Thomas holds Ph D in Psychiatric Social Work from National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, India. and currently is an Additional Professor in the department. She coordinates the psychosocial care services to the neurologically ill and is involved in clinical, teaching and research activities. In NIMHANS, she essentially concentrates her clinical expertise in neuropalliative care, social work and social science research with persons living with various neurological illness and their families and works extensively with neurodegenerative disorders including dementia and movement disorders. She is interested in the social contexts that define people’s experiences and the complex social networks that influence caregiving and psychological wellbeing across the life span. Her main area of work currently focuses on developing psychosocial care models for various neuropsychiatric conditions and has been instrumental in establishing one of the first integrated multidisciplinary neuropalliative care services in the public healthcare sector in India. She is a Commonwealth Scholar- India for her Dementia Studies Programme and undertakes qualitative research with the group that she is working with. Dr Priya is passionate about compassionate care and building micro-skills among healthcare professionals. She has several publications and ongoing research projects in these areas to her credit, and is guiding doctoral research students in related fields.
INPCS Tara Cook Award for Innovation in Neuropalliative Education
Yaowaree "Noona" Leavell, MD
Yaowaree "Noona" Leavell is a Neurologist and Palliativist currently practicing in the Neurology department at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) and at the Portland Veteran's Affairs Hospital in Portland, OR. She completed her Neurology Residency, as well as her Palliative Care and Hospice and Neuromuscular Medicine Fellowship years at Mount Sinai Hospital in the Upper East Side of New York City. She serves as the Neuromuscular Fellowship Director at OHSU, where she also practices clinically seeing patients with serious Neurologic illnesses including ALS, muscular dystrophies, and immune neuromuscular disorders, and is the ALS Clinic Medical Director for the Portland VA ALS Multidisciplinary Clinic. In addition to clinical, educational, and research work in the neuropalliative and neuromuscular fields, she enjoys watching sci-fi horror movies with her husband, oil painting, and climbing.
