Recognition Goes to Dr. Elka Stefanova for Neurodegenerative Disease Studies

Prof. Dr. Elka Stefanova, a neurologist and founder of the Centre for Cognitive Disorders and Dementia with the Clinical Centre of Serbia, is this year’s winner of Hemofarm Foundation Excellence Award. ‘Life, work and dedication of Prof. Dr. Elka Stefanova deserve recognition, and Hemofarm Foundation especially wants to emphasize her exceptional contribution to the study of neurodegenerative diseases, scientific-research and clinical work with people suffering from dementia, as well as development of the first and one-of-a-kind Centre for Cognitive Disorders and Dementia in Serbia and this region“, as emphasized in the explanation of the decision by the Foundation jury.

Hemofarm Foundation established the Excellence Award last year to mark 25 years of existence, and the first laureate of this recognition was Vigor Majić, Director of Petnica Research Centre, for developing an authentic model of extracurricular education through which he managed to keep a high level of quality of education and make a wide impact on whole generations of young people, as well as hundreds of teachers. It is an award which is presented once a year to outstanding individuals, institutions or organizations, which have given an immense contribution in the area of healthcare, education and culture. Apart from a crane-shaped statue as a symbol of perseverance and longevity - work of the artist Aleksandar Vac - the Excellence Award of Hemofarm Foundation also comprises a cash prize as an incentive for further development of projects and ideas.

Prof. Dr. Elka Stefanova is one of our most prominent representatives of the school of neurology which has yielded, apart from significant scientific works, also numerous breakthroughs in the contemporary approach to studying and treating patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases. ‘This award is an exceptional recognition for me and I am here today on behalf of all the colleagues from the Neurology Clinic. We are together a team which has put all its professional capacities and time in the service of studying neurodegenerative diseases and making a diagnosis as early as possible. On that path we are all led by curiosity and desire to fight dementia, because Alzheimer’s disease is a tough opponent. It is progressive, and contemporary medicine has not found the right cure for it yet. My biggest wish is that a therapy which changes the course of not only Alzheimer’s but also other neurodegenerative diseases will be found in the nearest future‘, Dr. Stefanova said on the occasion of the award presentation at the ceremony in the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Dr. Ronald Seeliger, CEO of Hemofarm, presented the award to the laureate of Hemofarm Foundation. On that occasion he emphasized that Hemofarm Foundation had established this award in order to present the individuals or organizations, deserving gratitude of the society for their work, to a wider public. ‘There are persons who have done so much for our lives, while we are not even aware if it. This award is the way to put the public stage lights on them and express our gratitude to them on behalf of the community. I am proud of heading a company which takes care of the health and wellbeing of people, because, at the end of the day, it is all about being human’, Dr. Seeliger emphasized when presenting the award.

Over the course of previous 26 years, Hemofarm Foundation implemented more than 2000 activities worth more than EUR 12.5 million. Besides the support to the healthcare system of Serbia and countries in the region, as well as to numerous projects in the area of education, culture, environmental protection and sports, Foundation has been actively advocating for increasing the number of donors and transplantations in Serbia for three years already.