The Children’s Tumor Foundation’s Friedrich von Recklinghausen Award is given to individuals in the professional NF community who have made significant contributions to neurofibromatosis or schwannomatosis research or clinical care. It is named after Friedrich Daniel von Recklinghausen (1833–1910), the German physician who first described ‘von Recklinghausen’s disease’—what we now know as neurofibromatosis type 1.
2025 Friedrich von Recklinghausen Award Recipient
It is with great pleasure that the Children’s Tumor Foundation announces the recipient of the 2025 Friedrich von Recklinghausen Award, Pierre Wolkenstein, MD, PhD, Henri-Mondor Hospital, Paris East University.
Professor Pierre Wolkenstein, MD, PhD, has dedicated nearly four decades to transforming the landscape of neurofibromatosis care and research, particularly in the field of NF1. A dermatologist by training and visionary leader by nature, he has led the French National Referral Center for Neurofibromatoses since 2004, building it into a world-class center serving over 3,000 patients. As Chair of Dermatology at Henri-Mondor Hospital and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Université Paris-Est Créteil, Professor Wolkenstein has harmonized clinical excellence, academic rigor, and policy advocacy. His groundbreaking research on cutaneous neurofibromas and quality of life in NF1 has yielded over 400 publications and helped define new standards of care. As an outstanding mentor, he has cultivated a vibrant community of trainees, including the next-generation leadership of the Paris NF Center.
Professor Wolkenstein is a natural convener, collaborator, and advocate whose leadership has left a lasting imprint on the global NF field. He has served as President of the European Neurofibromatoses Group, co-chaired and hosted the first joint European–CTF NF Europe meeting in Paris in 2018. He contributed at the national level as medical advisor to the French Ministry of Health. His ability to join colleagues across disciplines, foster collaboration, and envision a better future for people with NF is unmatched. With the imminent publication of the KOMET study in The Lancet, which he signs as senior author, 2025 marks a fitting and timely moment to recognize Professor Wolkenstein’s lifelong contributions to NF science, care, and community.
The Children’s Tumor Foundation, along with his colleagues and peers, is proud and thrilled to recognize Prof. Dr. Wolkenstein with the 2025 Friedrich von Recklinghausen Award, not only for his many outstanding achievements in 38 years in the field but also for his dedicated efforts in supporting the entire NF community. Please join us in congratulating Prof. Dr. Wolkenstein for this well-deserved honor.
