This award recognizes an outstanding poster presented by a trainee at the annual AACN conference.
Manfred Greiffenstein (1952-2016)
The Greiffenstein-Kaplan Student Poster Award, formerly the Edith Kaplan Award, was originated and funded by Manfred F. Greiffenstein (1952-2016). Dr. Greiffenstein obtained his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a specialty in Clinical Neuropsychology from Wayne State University in 1983. He completed his internship in Clinical Neuropsychology at the Boston VA Healthcare in 1983 and advanced training in polysomnography and the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders at the Allen Park VA Healthcare in 1989. In addition to being board certified in both Forensic Psychology and Clinical Neuropsychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology, Dr. Greiffenstein was also board certified in Clinical Sleep Disorders by the American Board of Sleep Medicine.
Dr. Greiffenstein was a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. He published widely in the area of forensic neuropsychology. He is especially well known for his interests in history and evolutionary psychology, for having dispelled various myths of forensic neuropsychology, for developing the Reliable Digit Span metric for performance validity assessment, and for studying many diverse issues related to the examination of mTBI litigants. Beyond his academic and professional accomplishments, Dr. Greiffenstein was described by those who knew him as a brilliant, big-hearted, iconoclast and loving family man.
Dr. Greiffenstein was especially proud to list among his many activities that he created and fully endowed the Edith Kaplan Student Research Award. He was a judge of eligible scientific presentations for this award at the Annual Meetings of the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology from 2006 to 2015. In memoriam to Dr. Greiffenstein, the AACN is pleased and proud to continue the tradition of this award. In recognition and tribute to the originator, the award has been renamed to reflect Dr. Greiffenstein’s key contribution.
Edith Kaplan (1924-2009)
Dr. Edith Kaplan completed her Ph.D. at Clark University in Worcester. She worked at the Boston VA and the Boston University Aphasia Research Center where she collaborated with luminaries like Norman Geschwind and Harold Goodglass. At the time of her death at age 85, she was working as a Professor of Psychology at Suffolk University and as an adjunct Professor in the Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine.
Dr. Kaplan was a pioneer in the development of education and training in clinical neuropsychology. She was one of the founders of the American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology and one of the first to earn diplomate status. She served as the president of the International Neuropsychology Society and the president of Division 40 (Clinical Neuropsychology) of the American Psychological Association.
Dr. Kaplan is widely regarded as one of the founders of modern clinical neuropsychology. She is best known for her pioneering work on the “Boston Process Approach” and test development. She developed or co-developed numerous measures such as WAIS-R-NI, Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System, Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination, Boston Naming Test, and the California Verbal Learning Test. She conducted research in the areas of disconnection syndromes, the process approach to neuropsychological assessment, and analytic methods for clock drawings. She made important contributions to the field of neuropsychology through her dedication to teaching and promotion of clinical neuropsychology as a specialty in psychology.
The Greiffenstein-Kaplan Student Poster Award is conferred in recognition of excellence in abstract submission and scientific poster presentation by a student at the annual meeting of the AACN. Students eligible for the Greiffenstein-Kaplan Student Poster Award are the first authors on their posters and are present at AACN to present them.
If you would like to contribute to the award fund so that students can continue to receive financial support, along with the important merit recognition of their accomplishment, please use the following form.
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