Meryl Butters, PhD, Honored by the Massachusetts Neuropsychological Society
Congratulations to Meryl Butters, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Clinical and Translational Science. Dr. Butters has been awarded the Edith Kaplan Award, which is given biannually by the Massachusetts Neuropsychological Society to a clinician/researcher in the field of neuropsychology who has continued to uphold the theory of the Process Approach to Neuropsychology.
Dr. Butters is nationally and internationally recognized as an expert geriatric neuropsychologist. She uses advanced neurocognitive, neuroimaging and molecular approaches to determine if people with persistent, treatment-resistant, late-life depression experience accelerated cognitive decline that could increase risk for dementia.
Dr. Butters remarked on the personal importance of receiving the Kaplan award: “Edith Kaplan was a zany, brilliant clinician with a unique knack for questioning patients with brain lesions in such a way as to unearth and parse their underlying impairments. She was a pioneer in the field of neuropsychology, or study of brain-behavior relationships. She trained so many early neuropsychologists that she went on to become known as the ‘Grandmother of Neuropsychology.’ I was extraordinarily lucky to have been exposed to Edith’s savvy detective work focused on understanding how our brains work, early enough in life, that I made this my career.”