At the Board of Director’s meeting held in April, I commended my predecessors on the outstanding work they have done to set in place strong socioeconomic and political advocacy programs, such as the AANS/CNS Washington Committee and the Council of State Neurosurgical Societies. These groups are functioning at levels beyond our modest expectations, and for that we should be proud.
With our successes in these two arenas well underway, I plan to focus the energies of the Association on several other program elements during the year ahead. Accordingly, I have selected five specific areas for attention that are critical to the future growth of organized neurosurgery and our role in the delivery of quality patient care.
Programmatic Goals
My first two programmatic goals are truly “no brainers.” First, we need to remain committed to maintaining the Annual Meeting as the world’s leading resource for the dissemination of cutting-edge research and socioeconomic information. Second, we need to take every step necessary to ensure that our scientific publication, the Journal of Neurosurgery, along with its online counterpart, Neurosurgical Focus, remain the standard by which all other neurosurgical publications are judged.
My remaining goals relate to: (3) expansion of the resources and activity of the Research Foundation; (4) enhancement of the role of our Sections in the deliberations and actions of the AANS; and (5) expansion and enhancement of the role of our Young Neurosurgeons Committee in the activities of the Association.
Research Foundation of the AANS
Of these goals, I wish to focus the remainder of this message on the Research Foundation. I choose to do so because I believe that it has the potential to reap tremendous benefits for the field of neurosurgery, as well as individual practitioners.
Investment in R&D is the only mechanism to assure the long-term growth and survival of a focused discipline. This fundamental truism is particularly important to us in neurosurgery, as we are poised on the threshold of some of the most exciting molecular and technical advances ever open to our practices and patients. Basic neuroscience research has recently focused upon efforts of translational import that will lead to clinical applications literally undreamed by all of us even in the recent past.
Some areas of fertile research that will impact the future of our practices include tumor molecular biology, vascular physiology, spinal biomechanics, cortical architectonics, and more. Each of these areas of research is poised to provide new opportunities for expansion of the neurosurgical armamentarium that will constitute our practices in the future.
Think of the excitement and satisfaction that we will derive in being able to define, and then eradicate, the genetic changes underlying the evolution of glioblastoma. Or, consider the benefits of reversing the malignant effects of cerebral vasospasm or the degenerative brain diseases that afflict our aging population. Each of these achievements, along with many others, are within the reach of the next generation of clinicians. However, this scenario for success requires that we invest in our own future.
One of the Foundation’s proudest achievements has been its ability to provide start-up funding for both residents and junior faculty pursuing an academic career. It has already built an outstanding track record in helping to launch a distinguished group of young neurosurgical investigators. These investigators, among whom include many of today’s neurosurgical leaders, have compiled an enviable record with respect to continued research that has earned support from national extramural funding agencies such as the National Institutes of Health. Our responsibility is to assure the continued growth of this effort, which yields benefits to each of us and our patients.
In its formative years, the Research Foundation focused on support of basic neuroscience research to unravel the mysteries of diseases of the nervous system. With this process soundly in place, the leadership of the Foundation is now looking to develop clinical research that could translate some of the meaningful information already derived to the clinical setting. This is a major new effort that deserves our strong support.
Your Help is Needed
At present, only about 4 percent of AANS members actively support the Foundation. We can do better. I’m embarrassed to tell you that, in comparison, more than 50 percent of practicing orthopaedic surgeons support the Research Foundation of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons! Is that the reason that orthopedics has enjoyed such a lead in the development of spinal biomechanics laboratories that has postured them in the arena of spinal surgery? We have the manpower; we certainly have the brainpower! I’d hate to think we are losing out for lack of support for our own Foundation.
We must invest in our future if neurosurgery is to thrive. Please consider a generous gift to the Foundation this year. I hope that you will join me in wearing a Research Foundation major contributor pin on your lapel.