Heinrich Hoffmann Medal of the World Federation of ADHD
The Medal of the World Federation of ADHD is the Federation's highest distinction. It recognizes individuals whose outstanding scientific achievements and lifelong commitment have made a lasting contribution to the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of ADHD.
About the Medal
The Medal of the World Federation of ADHD was first presented at the 3rd World Congress on ADHD in Berlin, Germany, in May 2011 by Congress President Prof. Dr. Warnke.
Crafted in silver, the medal commemorates individuals whose work has significantly advanced ADHD research and clinical practice.
Heinrich Hoffmann – Inspiration for the Medal
The medal is named in honour of Heinrich Hoffmann (1809–1894), the German psychiatrist, physician, poet and author best known for Struwwelpeter.
Beyond his literary work, Hoffmann played an important role in the history of psychiatry. From 1851 until his retirement in 1888, he served as Director of the Frankfurt "Asylum for the Insane and Epileptic". Today, he is regarded as one of the pioneers of child and adolescent psychiatry.
His descriptions of children displaying behaviours now associated with ADHD are considered among the earliest literary observations of ADHD-like symptoms.
Medal Awardees
2025
Prof. Anita Thapar
was awarded the Heinrich Hoffman Medal of the World Federation of ADHD for a life devoted to clinical work, teaching and research on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.
Anita Thapar is a clinician scientist specializing in neurodevelopmental disorders, neurodivergence, and youth depression. She is the Lead Editor (Joint) for the 6th and upcoming 7th editions of Rutter’s Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Anita heads the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Section and the developmental disorders group at the Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics. She holds honorary NHS consultant contracts and is involved in teaching, NHS liaison, and policy translation. Currently, she co-chairs the Welsh Government Neurodivergence Ministerial Advisory Group and chairs the NHS England ADHD Taskforce.
Prof. Dr. Luis Augusto Rohde
was awarded the Heinrich Hoffman Medal of the World Federation of ADHD for a life devoted to clinical work, teaching and research on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.
Prof. Rohde is a Full Professor of Psychiatry at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and Professor in the Graduate Program in Psychiatry at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. He heads the ADHD Program at Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre and is a level 1A researcher at CNPq. He also serves as vice coordinator of INPD and CISM. Internationally, he has held significant roles, including President of the World Federation of ADHD and the International Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP). Prof. Rohde has published around 500 scientific articles and 50 book chapters, with an H Index of 94. He was recognized as one of the top 1% most influential researchers in psychology and psychiatry from 2020 to 2023 by Clarivate.
2023
Prof. Dr. Manfred Gerlach
was awarded the Medal of the World Federation of ADHD for his outstanding contributions.
He was honored for his creativity, insights and leadership in improving the World Federation of ADHD and in designing meetings that have successfully educated thousands of clinicians and researchers and, in doing so, improved the lives of people with ADHD and their families.
Prof. Dr. Rosemary Tannock
was awarded the Medal of the World Federation of ADHD for a life devoted to clinical work, teaching and research on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.
Under her leadership at The Hospital for Sick Children and as a Canada Research Chair in the Department of Human Development and Applied Psychology at OISE/University of Toronto, she created innovative clinical research services for children and youth with ADHD. The cognitive, academic and language difficulties of these patients were systematically documented and she inspired many talented clinicians and scientists to push the boundaries of clinical work and research to make a measurable difference for these families.
2021
Prof. Dr. Joseph Biederman
was awarded the Medal of the World Federation of ADHD for a lifetime of outstanding contributions to the science and practice of ADHD.
Dr. Biederman, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, was Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Chief of the Pediatric Psychopharmacology and Adult ADHD Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston Massachusetts.
2019
Prof. Dr. Yufeng Wang
was awarded 4th medal. With this medal the World Federation of ADHD honours her life work, which is devoted to clinical work, teaching and research on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.
Under her leadership, state-of-the-art clinical services for ADHD patients were implemented, which led to ADHD research flourishing, and many talented clinicians and scientists were trained to continue the mission of helping ADHD patients and their families.
2017
Prof. Joseph Sergeant
The World Federation of ADHD has honoured Prof Sergeant for his lifetime work in the field of ADHD with the 3rd medal.
2015
Prof. Paul Wender
The 2nd medal of the World Federation was awarded to Prof. Wender for his lifetime work in the field of ADHD.
Professor Wender was born in Manhattan in 1934. Psychiatry has always played a significant role in his life, as his father was a psychiatrist with psychoanalytic training, which was the norm at that time. Throughout his very successful career, Prof. Wender has been part of numerous academic appointments, including administrative responsibilities, committee assignments and participation in editorial boards. Furthermore, he came up with the idea of ADHD in adults. Prof. Wender began his studies on ADHD in adults in 1975, when the current knowledge stated that ADHD is a disorder in children that vanishes at puberty.
2011
Prof. Dr. Eric Taylor
In 2011, the award honoured the outstanding contributions of Prof. Taylor in the fields of clinical care, teaching and research for the benefit of individuals with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Prof. Taylor is an emeritus professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at King's College London.
He has researched neuropsychiatric issues – especially, the causes and course of ADHD – and treated affected people, since 1971. He has been an honorary consultant at The Maudsley since 1977. Prof. Taylor chaired the NICE guidelines development group for ADHD; serves as Chair of the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health; and is also a Trustee of the National Academy of Parenting Practitioners and a Non-Executive Director of the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. His research won the Ruane Prize for severe child psychopathologies from NARSAD and he is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. His publications include more than 200 scientific papers and several books.