Stefano Negrini, Scientific Director of ISICO, has been named joint winner, together with Christopher Maher (Australia), of the fourth edition of the four-yearly King Salman International Award for Disability Research, in the Rehabilitation and Social Sciences category.

It is perhaps the most prestigious international award dedicated to research in the fields of disability and rehabilitation. This year, it received more than 770 nominations from 111 countries, involving professionals from across the entire rehabilitation and disability field. Following a six-month evaluation process, the ten best candidates in each category were initially selected, followed by three finalists and, ultimately, the winners.

The award recognises the value and impact of a scientific career built through years of research, international collaboration, and commitment to advancing evidence-based rehabilitation, from spinal disorders and scoliosis to rehabilitation research and global health.

Full Professor of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Milan, Stefano Negrini is the founder and former director of CochraneRehab, and has worked extensively with the World Health Organization to bring together the best available scientific evidence to support global health decision-making in rehabilitation. He also founded and has held leading roles within SOSORT, the international Society on Scoliosis Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Treatment, contributing to the development and worldwide dissemination of rehabilitation research.

His scientific and professional activity has also developed through long-standing collaborations with major international rehabilitation and spine societies, including ISPRM, ESPRM, ISSLS, EUROSPINE and the Scoliosis Research Society, further strengthening the international reach of his work.

For several years, he has also been included in the Stanford/Elsevier ranking of the world’s top 2% most-cited scientists across all scientific disciplines, further reflecting the international impact of his research.

“One of the most important awards in the field of rehabilitation”: this is how Stefano described the recognition. A definition that conveys the significance of an award that celebrates not a single study, but the contribution and global impact of an entire scientific career.

“This recognition is the result of a long journey, one that I have never travelled alone. I am deeply grateful to ISICO and to all my colleagues and collaborators who, over the years, have contributed to my personal, professional and scientific growth. Above all, I thank my patients, who remain my greatest teachers. It is also thanks to this collective effort that I have been able to reach such an important milestone today.”