EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE:
Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019
2:15 p.m. EST
BALTIMORE - Aimee W. Smith, Ph.D., was honored with the Rebecca Goldberg Kaufman
Clinical Award in Ethical Neuropsychiatry at the annual meeting of the American Epilepsy
Society (AES), a medical and scientific society whose members are dedicated to advancing
research and education for preventing, treating and curing epilepsy.
Dr. Smith is an assistant professor of psychology at East Carolina University in Greenville,
North Carolina. She also has an adjunct appointment in pediatrics at Brody School of
Medicine, East Carolina University and is a licensed health service psychologist. She is a
researcher, educator and clinician who is dedicated to transforming healthcare’s approach to
epilepsy, medication adherence and healthcare transition using principles of health behavior
change. She mentors graduate students with the aim of training the next generation of
mental health care providers to serve youth with epilepsy.
Dr. Smith has published journal articles and book chapters on pediatric chronic illness, with a
special focus on the psychosocial aspects of pediatric epilepsy (e.g., quality of life,
medication adherence, transition and behavior problems). This year, Dr. Smith received a
Junior Investigator Award from AES to study healthcare utilization and associated costs during
healthcare transition in adolescents and young adults with epilepsy.
The Rebecca Goldberg Kaufman AES Clinical Award in Ethical Neuropsychiatry honors the
memory of educator Rebecca Goldberg Kaufman, who held knowledge and compassion as
keystone virtues. As a mother of a child with epilepsy, she understood the significant
psychiatric and social ramifications of epilepsy and became a staunch advocate for increased
education of the psychological aspects of epilepsy. She also supported clinical research on the
psychiatric effects of anticonvulsants. Supported by the AES Rebecca Goldberg Kaufman Fund,
this award promotes clinical neuropsychiatry, the psychiatric aspects of epilepsy and/or the
use of antiepileptic drugs in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. The award includes a
$1,000 honorarium.