The Ryman Prize
In 2015 Ryman Healthcare announced it was supporting the launch of the Ryman Prize.[17]
The Ryman Prize[18] is an annual $250,000 NZD for the best idea, innovation or advance in the world that enhances quality of life for older people. It is a philanthropic initiative administered by The Ryman Foundation. Hollows Foundation founding director Gabi Hollows won the inaugural Ryman Prize[19] for her decades of work to restore the sight of more than 1 million people with preventable blindness.
Alzheimer's Disease researcher Professor Henry Brodaty won the 2016 prize. Professor Brodaty, who lives in Sydney, is Scientia Professor of Ageing and Mental Health, the founding Director of the Dementia Collaborative Research Centre and Co-Director of CHeBA, the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing at the University of New South Wales.[20]
The 2017 Ryman Prize went to Professor Peter St George-Hyslop. Professor St George-Hyslop is a medical scientist, neurologist and molecular geneticist who is known for his research into neurodegenerative diseases. He has identified a number of key genes that are responsible for nerve cell degeneration and early-onset forms of Alzheimer's disease. He splits his time between the University of Cambridge and the University of Toronto where he has research labs.[21] [22] [23]
Professor Takanori Shibata was awarded the 2018 Ryman Prize in recognition of his more than 25 years of ground-breaking research into new technology to help older people.
Professor Shibata, an artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics pioneer, was presented with the prize by the Right Honourable Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand.
The 2019 Ryman Prize was awarded to Dr Michael Fehlings, a Canadian neurosurgeon, for his pioneering research into degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM), a spinal disorder that affects older people.[24]
The 2020 Ryman Prize went to Dr. Miia Kivipelto of Finland, for her work on cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease, and dementia.
The 2021 Ryman prize was awarded to Dr. Kenneth Rockwood[25] of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, for his work on a geriatric Frailty index, done jointly with Dr. Arnold Mitnitski, also of Dalhousie University.
The 2022 Ryman Prize was awarded to Professor Perminder Sachdev, neuropsychiatrist and Scientia Professor at the University of New South Wales in Sydney for his more than 30 years of research into the causes and treatment of psychiatric disorders including dementia.
