AANS Annual Meeting Advances

Thursday’s Socioeconomic Session a Fitting Finale

The theme “Advancing Patient Care Through Technology and Creativity” defines the 72nd Annual Meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), to be staged May 1-6 in Orlando, Fla.

“Technology leads the way to better diagnoses and treatments for our patients,” stated AANS President A. John Popp, MD. “At the same time it challenges neurosurgeons, at times to the limits of their expertise and creativity, to employ the increasing array of diagnostic tools and therapies in patients’ best interest. This meeting celebrates the science and technology at the heart of our profession as well as the individuals whose innovative minds create the art of our profession.”

The meeting’s comprehensive scientific program features four plenary sessions, six scientific sessions, nine section sessions, 80 breakfast seminars, 43 practical clinics, 137 oral papers, and more than 500 posters.

In addition to previously announced Cushing Orator Ken Burns, a deft hand at creatively combining social science and art in his documentary films, five special lecturers highlight the meeting with their experience and perspective. Among them, it was just announced, is leading health economics and policy authority Uwe Reinhardt, PhD, who will deliver the Rhoton Family Lecture during the fourth plenary session-new this year-which will focus exclusively on socioeconomic issues.

Rhoton Family Lecture-Thursday, May 6
Uwe Reinhardt, PhD, is James Madison Professor of Political Economy and professor of Economics and Public Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University where he has taught since 1968. He received the Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1964 and earned a doctoral degree in economics from Yale University in 1970.

Hunt-Wilson Lecture-Wednesday, May 5
Pasko Rakic, MD, PhD, is professor of Neurobiology and Neurology at Yale University School of Medicine, where he is chair of the Department of Neurobiology. At Yale his research objective has been to understand the cellular events and molecular mechanisms that govern development of the mammalian central nervous system. Dr. Rakic received his medical and doctoral degrees from the University of Belgrade in the former Yugoslavia.

Theodore Kurze Lecture-Wednesday, May 5
Robert F. Spetzler, MD, has served as the director of the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Ariz., since 1985. His contributions to neurosurgery have included innovative surgical approaches for skull-base surgery. Dr. Spetzler received his medical degree in 1971 from Northwestern University and completed his residency at the University of California at San Francisco in 1977.

Van Wagenen Lecture-Tuesday, May 4
Anders Bjorklund, MD, PhD, professor and section chief of Wallenberg Neuroscience Center at Lund University in Sweden, focuses his research on the development of new therapeutic approaches in Parkinson´s disease based on neurorestorative and neuroprotective strategies. He is former president of the European Neuroscience Association, and he has been a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences since 1989.

Richard C. Schneider Lecture-Monday, May 3
Regis W. Haid Jr., MD, PhD, a neurosurgeon with Atlanta Brain & Spine Care, specializes in the management of spinal disorders. Dr. Haid is the chair of the AANS/CNS Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves. He completed much of his medical training and residency at West Virginia University. 3 Manda J. Seaver is staff editor of the Bulletin.