Awards & Recognitions – July 2025

HDSA Honor

Nicki Niemann, MD, a movement disorders neurologist in the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at Barrow, was honored by the local chapter of the Huntington’s Disease Society of America at its recent “Celebration of Hope” community fundraising event. Each year, the event recognizes honorees in different categories, such as professionals and community members. These honorees are acknowledged for going above and beyond to improve the lives of people with Huntington’s disease in some way. Dr. Niemann leads the Huntington’s disease program at Barrow, which is the only HDSA Center of Excellence in Arizona. As such, Barrow serves an important role in providing specialty treatment and clinical trial participation for people with Huntington’s in the state.

Barrow Mentorship Award

John Karis, MD, (right) Chair of the Department of Neuroradiology at Barrow, received the 2025 Dr. Roger Bird Mentorship Award. Named after the Institute’s former Neuroradiology Fellowship Program director, the Dr. Roger Bird (left) Mentorship Award is given to a member of the neuroradiology faculty who most inspires and challenges the neuroradiology fellows to achieve their potential.

DAISY Awards

Three nurses from Barrow—Yvette Agbebaku, McKenna Reed, and Maryam Saeidi—recently received The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses from The Daisy Foundation. The award recognizes nurses for going above and beyond to provide excellent and compassionate clinical care. It is based on nominations from patients, care partners, and co-workers. View the nominations for Yvette, McKenna, and Maryam.

1,000+ Peer-Reviewed Papers

Barrow President and CEO Michael T. Lawton, MD, reached and surpassed a significant career milestone: 1,000 PubMed peer-reviewed published papers. To read his top seven papers, follow his #1KPubMed hashtag on X.

No. 1 in Doximity Residency Navigator

For the second consecutive year, the Doximity Residency Navigator has ranked Barrow as having the No. 1 neurosurgery residency program in the United States. As an online networking service for medical professionals, Doximity updates its Residency Navigator each year to empower graduating medical students to make informed decisions when applying for residency programs in various specialties.

U.S. News ‘Best Hospitals’

U.S. News & World Report has again named Barrow Neurological Institute as one of the country’s “Best Hospitals for Rehabilitation.” The Institute continues to climb the ranks in rehabilitation, coming in at No. 32 for 2025-26—two spots higher than last year and five spots higher than the previous year. Barrow is also ranked in the “neurology and neurosurgery” category.

AHA Get With The Guidelines Award^®

St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, home to Barrow Neurological Institute, has earned the 2025 Get With The Guidelines® Stroke Gold Plus quality achievement award with Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll. The achievement award, given by the American Heart Association, recognizes our commitment to adhering to the latest nationally recognized, evidence-based treatment guidelines for stroke.

AANS/CNS Dacey Medal

Barrow President and CEO Michael T. Lawton, MD, received the 2025 Ralph G. Dacey, Jr. Medal for Outstanding Cerebrovascular Research at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery meeting. The American Association of Neurological Surgeons/Congress of Neurological Surgeons Cerebrovascular Section has given this award annually since 2019 to recognize practicing neurosurgeon-investigators who have made game-changing contributions to our understanding of cerebrovascular diseases—from the laboratory to the clinic.