FORT LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla. – Nova Southeastern University (NSU) researcher and professor Nancy Klimas, M.D., was recently awarded the 2014 Perpich Award by the International Association for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (IACFS/ME) for distinguished community service.
The award is named for the late Minnesota Gov. Rudy Perpich who as an IACFS/ME board member, worked hard to influence his fellow politicians in other states and in Washington, D.C., to recognize CFS/ME and fund research to help treat and find a cure for the disease. This award is presented to a distinguished scientist, physician or healthcare worker every two years at the IACFS/ME conferences.
Klimas was honored at the 11th IACFS/ME Biennial International Research and Clinical Conference in San Francisco.
“This high honor recognizes Dr. Klimas’ important and unique contributions to the field of chronic fatigue syndrome and myalgic encephalomyelitis,” said Fred Friedberg, Ph.D., president of the IACFS/ME.
Klimas has achieved international recognition for her research and clinical efforts in multi-symptom disorders, CFS/ME, Gulf War illness (GWI), and fibromyalgia. She currently serves as director of NSU’s Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine, professor of medicine, and chair of the Department of Clinical Immunology at NSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is also professor emerita at the University of Miami School of Medicine, director of clinical immunology research at the Miami Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) and leads the GWI and ME/CFS clinical and research program at the Miami VA.
Klimas is a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and a diplomate in diagnostic laboratory immunology. She is immediate past president of the IACFS/ME and is also a member of the VA Research Advisory Committee for GWI, the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) P2P CFS committee, and the Institute of Medicine’s ME/CFS review panel.
Klimas has advised three U.S. secretaries of health and human services during her repeated service on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services CFS Advisory Committee. She is currently funded by the VA, Department of Defense and NIH to study these complex disorders using a systems biology approach with a strong focus on illness models that lead to therapeutic targets and clinical trials.