Asa J. Wilbourn, MD
AANEM 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award

Dr. Asa J. Wilbourn was a superb communicator and teacher who carefully and scientifically scrutinized and evaluated a wide spectrum of neuromuscular disorders that pertain to electrodiagnostic medicine.

Known as a modest and pleasant man, Dr. Wilbourn was well-respected by his colleagues and students. He was widely recognized as an extraordinary teacher and was the director of the EMG Laboratory at Cleveland Clinic for many years. He is probably best known for his teaching and his research to distinguish axon-loss from demyelinating processes, brachial plexopathy, peroneal mononeuropathies, and radiculopathies.

Dr. Wilbourn had served as the Chair of the ABEM and had chaired or served on numerous committees of the AANEM and the ABEM. He served at the AANEM Annual Meeting as a speaker at numerous sessions for more than 20 years, and had written manuscripts for several AANEM courses.

Dr. Wilbourn was also a member of several other professional associations and served all with an avid enthusiasm for teaching. He was the author or coauthor of nearly 30 book chapters as well as numerous articles. Asa passed away after a long illness in February of 2007.