Dr. Nicole Baumer To Receive Prestigious Pueschel/Tjossem Research Award

Earlier this month, the National Down Syndrome Congress announced that Dr. Nicole Baumer will receive its prestigious Pueschel/Tjossem Research Award at its convention in July in Orlando. Dr. Baumer is the Director of GLOBAL’s Affiliate, the Anna & John J. Sie Center for Down Syndrome.

The award recognizes, “research that has contributed to more excellent knowledge and understanding of Down syndrome and has improved the lives of people with Down syndrome and their families.” The award can be given to an individual researcher, a program, or a research institute. Dr. Baumer has led research efforts on a variety of fronts, including a National Institutes of Health (NIH) INCLUDE Project grant examining early developmental and medical profiles of Down syndrome, and another investigating mobility interventions for infants with Down syndrome.

In addition to her own research grants, Dr. Baumer invests in the development of research infrastructure and nurtures the skills of those around her. She developed and awarded the first Sie Center Pilot Research Grant to encourage other healthcare providers to become more involved in Down syndrome research. Dr. Baumer is known for her collaborative spirit, working on research projects with Colorado State University, Boston Children’s Hospital, and the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, among others. Additionally, she recently served as president of the Down Syndrome Medical Interest Group – USA. Notably, Dr. Baumer is both a clinician and a researcher, which is a highly valued, but uncommon combination.

The award is named in honor of two giants in Down syndrome research, Dr. Sigfried Pueschel, a renowned pediatric researcher and clinician who authored hundreds of scientific articles and medical texts about Down syndrome, and Dr. Theodore Tjossem, a retired NIH psychologist who was chief of the Developmental Disabilities Research Centers branch at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NIH) for 22 years. Past recipients include Drs. Brian Chicoine, Dennis McGuire, George Capone, Ed McCabe, Anna Esbensen, and the Beach Center on Disability.

Dr. Baumer will be presented with the award at a special ceremony at the 54th annual NDSC Convention in Orlando, Florida. Additional awardees for 2026 include GLOBAL Membership Advisory Board Member Amy Van Bergen (Sig Pueschel NDSC Service Award), Paige Faucheux (Christian Pueschel Memorial Self-Advocate Award), Majo Paiz (Media Award), Roxane Romanick (Laura Lee Advocacy Award), Dr. Teresa Aguilasocho-Montoya (International Service Award), Raising Robust Readers (Education Award), and Orlando Health: We Build (Employer of the Year Award).  GLOBAL Congratulates all awardees!

 

 

 

 

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