The future of neurosurgery is dependent upon our ability to advance our understanding of disease processes that afflict the nervous system and develop the technical and biological resources that will enable us to combat neurological disorders. To that end, our future is inextricably bound to the activities of the Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. By supporting talented clinician scientists in their efforts to unravel the mysteries of neurological disease and define the technologies by which neurosurgeons may affect a resolution of these disorders, we are shaping the future of our specialty.
As the newly appointed NREF chair, I believe it is my responsibility and the responsibility of my colleagues on the NREF Executive Council to heighten awareness among AANS members about the NREF, its mission, goals and plans for the future.
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About NREF Two award programs are sponsored annually; applications are due each year in October.
Information: (847) 378-0500; |
Through the Research Fellowship and Young Clinician Investigator award programs, the NREF provides the mechanism for young investigators to establish their research efforts. Their energies are directed at studies that define the fundamental biological processes underlying diseases of the nervous system in order for us to design treatment modalities that combat these disorders. Their discoveries provide the infrastructure upon which we can build therapeutic ventures of the future. NREF Research Fellows and Young Clinician Investigators are shaping the future of neurosciences. Currently they are working with minimal support; my colleagues and I would like to change that.
In addition, the principles of science as well as the agencies responsible for administering healthcare increasingly demand verification of the efficacy of the technologies that we employ in our present practices. The dynamic of evidence-based medicine is part of our present professional lives, and the support of scientifically based outcome analysis of neurosurgical procedures by the NREF provides a vehicle by which we can analyze, improve and promulgate our efforts of today. Without such support and evidence, our practice patterns are at risk for disenfranchisement by those agencies charged with oversight of medical care delivery. We can and will demonstrate the efficacy of our therapeutic ventures in alleviating the medical problems of our patients as we move forward in alliance between the NREF, its funded investigators and our practitioners.
I am honored to have the opportunity to captain the leadership team of the NREF. My predecessor, Julian T. “Buz” Hoff, MD, has done an outstanding job in developing the resources that we require to move forward in our efforts and promulgating the programs that we now offer. His shoes indeed will be difficult to fill. But I am optimistic that with continued participation from you, the dedicated supporters of this noble and vital effort, we will be successful in achieving our mission. Research and development are the lifeblood of any profession; it is certain that, working together, we can assure that the future for neurosurgery will indeed be bright. I look forward to traveling the road ahead with you, with the success of the NREF and improved patient care as the ultimate destination.
Martin H. Weiss, MD, FACS, the 1999-20000 AANS president, is the NREF chair. He is a professor of neurosurgery at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.