2018 INDUCTEE Vladimir Hachinski, MD Brain & Mind, Brain & Mind, Leadership in Organizational Development

Born:

August 13, 1941

(Zhytomyr, Ukraine)

Education:

MD, University of Toronto (1966)

Awards & Honours:

2020: F. N. G. Starr Award, Canadian Medical Association

2018: Killam Prize Winner for Health Sciences

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At least half of all strokes are now preventable thanks to scientists like Dr. Vladimir Hachinski

A pioneer in cerebrovascular research and a champion for stroke awareness

At least half of all strokes are preventable, yet only one in four people knows a single risk factor for stroke. Dr. Hachinksi co-authored a book with his daughter Larissa Hachinski educating people to recognize the warning signs of stroke and to seek immediate help to reduce the risk of long-term damage.

In addition, some of our most important advances in understanding cerebrovascular diseases and their treatment are discoveries of Dr. Hachinski and his colleagues, including identification of a link between Alzheimer’s and stroke with David Cechetto and Shawn Whitehead, along with a host of new concepts captured in his new terminology: multi-infarct dementia, leukoaraiosis, vascular cognitive impairment, and brain at risk stage.

Key Facts

Coined the term “brain attack” for stroke and stroke warning to emphasize urgency in dealing with stroke symptoms

Authored, co-authored, or co-edited 17 books and more than 700 frequently-cited scientific publications

Helped to develop the World Stroke Organization and the declaration of World Stroke day

The eponymic Hachinski Ischemic Score (HIS) is now a standard means for identifying the treatable components of dementia

He has written poetry in Spanish and orchestrated a musical composition, Dream Waltz, with Jason Standford

Professional timeline

Impact on lives today

Dr. Hachinski has transformed the understanding, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of the two greatest threats to the brain: stroke and dementia. For generations to come, the promise of longer life may also be a promise of better life thanks to his ground-breaking discoveries.

2023

July 2018
Treatable and Potentially Preventable Dementias

Edited by Dr. Hachinski
April 12, 2018
Vladimir Hachinski inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame

London, Ontario
2011
Dr. Hachinski became the Inaugural chair of the World Brain Alliance
Brain & Mind
2010
After 53 years, the World Federation of Neurology chose Dr. Hachinski to become its first Canadian president
2006
Dr. Hachinski became Distinguished University Professor of Neurology at the University of Western, Ontario

He was the first member of the Faculty of Medicine to be so honoured.
2000
Dr. Hachinski began his 10-year tenure as Editor-in-Chief of "Stroke", the top journal in the field.
1975
Dr. Hachinski co-founded the first acute comprehensive stroke unit in the world
Brain & Mind
In collaboration with Dr. John Norris at the Sunnybrook Medical Centre in Toronto.