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| 2004 NREF Awardee Robert J. Kowalski, MD, received a fellowship of $70,000 to conduct a two-year study of artificial discs for the lumbar spine, exploring whether artificial discs can preserve a normal range of motion and withstand stress better than standard therapies such as discectomy and spinal fusion. |
“The AANS is committed to ensuring that neurosurgery flourishes as the future unfolds,” said AANS President Donald O. Quest, MD. “This exciting new opportunity is another way to make that happen.”
This research fellowship program offers first- and second-year medical students the chance to spend a summer working in a U.S. or Canadian neurosurgery department or research laboratory. Up to 10 fellowships of $2,500 each will be awarded annually, with the entire process being directed by an NREF subcommittee led by Robert A. Ratcheson, MD.
“This fellowship program is an excellent compliment to NREF’s existing grant program,” said Dr. Ratcheson. “It exposes young medical students to research activities from the beginning of their medical studies, thus whetting their appetites for and cultivating their interests in scientific investigations.”
Applications are available through the AANS Web sites beginning Oct. 1 and will be distributed to neurosurgery department chairs, residency program directors, current National Institutes of Health investigators and the deans of all U.S. and Canadian medical schools.
“Through these new fellowships we invite medical students to sample the exciting prospects of this challenging and dynamic specialty in the hope that the best and brightest of them will pursue neurosurgery as a career,” commented Dr. Quest.
The new Medical Student Summer Research Fellowship program is the latest addition to the many research opportunities available through the NREF and funded through generous voluntary donations from the AANS, AANS members, corporate partners and the general public. Annually the NREF awards important research fellowships and young clinician investigator awards. These NREF awardees are the neurosurgeons of tomorrow—bright, young residents and academicians whose research has the potential to improve the lives of those suffering from neurosurgical disorders through innovations in the field of neurosurgery.
One example is Joseph Ong, MD, who was awarded the NREF/DePuy Spine Research Fellowship in 2005. His study, entitled “Design of Human Cortical Neural Prosthetic,” addressed improved processing and interpretation of neural recordings and how they enhance the development of human cortical neuroprosthetic devices.
In 2006, the NREF awarded 13 research grants in the form of four young clinician investigator awards and nine research fellowships. While this is a record number of supported research grants in the NREF’s 25-year history, nearly two-thirds of the highly qualified research applications remain unfunded due to lack of financial support. The NREF dedicates 100 percent of every dollar contributed to the NREF to neurosurgical medical research and educational opportunities.
The NREF sincerely appreciates the investment of every contributor into neurosurgical research and education as it enables the foundation to fund research grants which generate progress in the quest to conquer neurological disorders and improve patient care. The foundation will benefit from your support in the form of additional research grant funding. It will not be able to continue supporting important research efforts without donations.
In honor of its 25th Anniversary, the NREF is asking previous supporters to increase their contributions by $25 or 25 percent and new supporters to contribute a minimum of $175 to this year’s fundraising campaign. NREF Chair Martin H. Weiss, MD, FACS, believes that these increases are necessary and in line with the foundation’s ongoing effort to award at least one new grant each year.
“We cannot do it without your support,” said Dr. Weiss. “Research and development opens the door to advances in the specialty, and these young researchers, with our support, hold the key.”
Kristen A. Weber, [email protected], is AANS director of development.