Research Fellowship Grants & Young Clinician Investigator Awards

Research Fellowship Grants & Young Clinician Investigator Awards is sponsored by Neurosurgery Research & Education Foundation (NREF). The NREF provides funding for studies in basic, translational, and patient-oriented clinical research for North American investigators.

Research Fellowship Grants & Young Clinician Investigator Awards - Neurosurgery Research & Education Foundation Research Fellowship Grants & Young Clinician Investigator Awards As the premier funder of neurosurgical studies, the Neurosurgery Research & Education Foundation (NREF) provides funding for studies in basic, translational and patient-oriented clinical research annually for North American investigators.

Research Fellowship Grant Open to residents only, the NREF Research Fellowship Grant provides funding for neurosurgeons preparing for academic careers as clinician investigators. Applicants must be physicians who are currently accepted into an approved residency training program in neurological surgery within North America.

One hundred percent of the resident’s research effort during the funding period of this grant should be devoted to the project. Young Clinician Investigator Award The NREF Young Clinician Investigator Award supports junior faculty pursuing careers as clinical investigators.

Applicants must be neurosurgeons, no more than two years from completing neurosurgical residency training or clinical fellowship, who are full-time faculty in North American teaching institutions. Fifty percent of the young clinician investigator’s efforts during the funding period of this grant should be devoted to research, but exceptions can be considered. The NREF does not pay for any indirect costs related to our grant awards.

Grants may be awarded in lesser amounts depending on available support. Application Instructions - Read first Apply for a Research grant or investigator Award For additional information, visit NREF Grants & Fellowships online or contact the NREF team at info@nref. org .

I was fortunate to develop an exciting co-mentored research program with neurosurgeon-scientist, Dr. E. Antonio Chiocca at Harvard Medical School/Brigham and Women’s Hospital and neuroscientist Dr. Ed Boyden at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The NREF is a fantastic mechanism to foster young neurosurgeon-scientists in their career to develop the initial phases of their research program, and I have been very fortunate to be a recipient of an NREF research fellowship award during my residency.

As a neurosurgeon-physician scientist, having the support of mechanisms and foundations such as the NREF are imperative to our ability to help conduct research to bridge the gap between the basic, translational and clinical neurosciences with our neurosurgical practice. I am extremely grateful for the support of the NREF to help foster my career goals.

Pablo Valdes Quevedo, MD, PhD, NREF Research Fellowship Grant Alexander Perdomo-Pantoja, MD, Washington University in Saint Louis Award: 2026-27 NREF & AANS/CNS Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves Sanford J.

Larson Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Engineering Transient, Lesion-Targeted CAR-T Cell Therapy to Modulate Inflammation and Improve Recovery after Acute Spinal Cord Injury Adriel Barrios-Anderson, MD, University of Washington Award: 2026-27 NREF & AANS/CNS Section on Pediatric Neurological Surgery Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Genomic analysis of mosaic variants and epigenetic features in drug-resistant focal epilepsy using tissue from stereo-EEG electrodes Spyridon Karadimas, MD, FAANS, Stanford University Award: 2026-27 Academy of Neurological Surgeons Young Clinician Investigator Award Project Title: Brain Arteriovenous Malformations (AVMs) and Developmental Neuroplasticity Zachary T.

Olmsted, MD, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles Award: 2026-27 NREF & Academy of Neurological Surgeons Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Multicellular signaling networks regulating spinal cord-matched graft integration after chronic spinal cord injury Jawad Fares, MD, Northwestern University Award: 2026-27 NREF & Academy of Neurological Surgeons Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Mechanistic dissection of nucleocytoplasmic transport as a biomarker axis for oncolytic virotherapy in high grade gliomas Edwin Nieblas-Bedolla, MD, MPH, University of Michigan Award: 2026-27 NREF & Andrew T.

Parsa Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Exploring Astrocyte-Glioblastoma Cell Communication Following Surgical Resection Connor Liu, MD, Johns Hopkins University Award: 2026-27 NREF & Bagan Family Foundation Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Targeting Monocarboxylate Transporter-1 with an Antibody-Drug Conjugate for the Treatment of Glioblastoma Click here to learn more about this year’s award recipients’ research projects.

Rebecca Du, MD , Northwestern University Award : 2025-26 NREF & AANS/CNS Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves Sanford J. Larson Research Fellowship Grant Sponsor : Catalina Lee-Chang Project Title : TIM3 as a Therapeutic Target for Chordomas Ashley M.

Dunbar, MD , Washington University in Saint Louis Award : 2025-26 NREF & AANS/CNS Section on Pediatric Neurological Surgery Research Fellowship Grant Sponsor : Jennifer Strahle, MD, FAANS Project Title : Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation and intraventricular hemorrhage of prematurity Matthew W.

Pease, MD , Indiana University Award : 2025-26 Academy of Neurological Surgeons Young Clinician Investigator Award Sponsor : Jamie Bradbury, MD Project Title : Deep learning approaches to prognostication in traumatic brain injury Jennifer L.

Quon, MD, MHS , The Hospital for Sick Children; University of Toronto Award : 2025-26 NREF & Academy of Neurological Surgeons Young Clinician Investigator Award Sponsor : Peter Dirks, MD Project Title : Machine learning for prediction and delineation of pediatric arteriovenous malformation recurrence after surgery Zachary A.

Sorrentino, MD , University of Florida Award : 2025-26 NREF & Academy of Neurological Surgeons Research Fellowship Grant Sponsor : Brian Hoh, MD, FAANS, FACS, FAHA, MBA Project Title : Endovascular immune-modulatory therapy for treatment of subarachnoid hemorrhage associated cerebral vasospasm and other neurological disorders Samantha E.

Spellicy, MD, PhD , Duke University Award : 2025-26 NREF & AANS/CNS Cerebrovascular Section Research Fellowship Grant Sponsor : Daniel Laskowitz, MD, MHS Project Title : IL-1ß-mediated stimulation of the adrenergic systemic and immune polarization in a mouse model of stroke Matthew Z. Sun, MD , UT Southwestern Medical Center Award : 2025-26 NREF & Andrew T.

Parsa Young Clinician Investigator Award Sponsor : Bradley Lega, MD, FAANS Project Title : Investigating the Immunomodulatory Effects of Radiation on Targeted Meningioma Immunotherapy Xiaonan (Richard) Sun, MD, PhD , Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center Award : 2025-26 NREF & Bagan Family Foundation Young Clinician Investigator Award Sponsor : Matthijs van der Meer, PhD Project Title : Cortico-subthalamic population code in the representation of cognitive computations Click here to learn more about this year’s award recipients’ research projects.

Kathryn Kearns, MD , University of Virginia Award : 2024-25 NREF & AANS/CNS Cerebrovascular Section Research Fellowship Grant Sponsor : Petr Tvrdik, PhD Project Title : The Effect of Long-Term Exogeneous VEGF Administration on Angiogenesis in a Murine Model of Moyamoya Brandon Lucke-Wold, MD, PhD , University of Florida Award : 2024-25 NREF & AANS/CNS Cerebrovascular Section Research Fellowship Grant Sponsor : Brian Hoh, MD, FAANS Project Title : Satralizumab as a Treatment for Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (the STASH Trial) Chloe Gui, MD , University Health Network Award : 2024-25 NREF & AANS/CNS Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves Sanford J.

Larson Research Fellowship Grant Sponsor : Gelareh Zadeh, MD, PhD, FAANS Project Title : Lineage tracing in malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors and plexiform neurofibromas to assess tumoral heterogeneity and mechanisms of MEK inhibitor resistance Riccardo Serra, MD , University of Maryland – Baltimore Award : 2024-25 NREF & AANS/CNS Section on Pediatric Neurological Surgery Research Fellowship Grant Sponsor : J.

Marc Simard, MD, PhD, FAANS Project Title : Intercellular Junctions Modulate Paracellular Flow after Intraventricular Hemorrhage Adip G.

Bhargav, MD , University of Kansas Medical Center Award : 2024-25 NREF & AANS/CNS Section on Tumors Research Fellowship Grant Sponsor : David Akhavan, MD, PhD Project Title : Enhancing CAR-T Cell Therapy by Reprogramming Tumor-associated Macrophages using a Novel Nanosponge against GBM Malia McAvoy, MD , University of Washington Award : 2024-25 Academy of Neurological Surgeons Research Fellowship Grant Sponsor : Michael R.

Levitt, MD, FAANS Project Title : A Novel Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Coated Flow Diverting Stent as a Drug Delivery System for Intracranial Aneuysms Panagiotis Mastorakos, MD, PhD , UT Southwestern Medical Center Award : 2024-25 NREF & Academy of Neurological Surgeons Young Clinician Investigator Award Sponsor : Bradley Lega, MD, FAANS Project Title : IL6/JAK/STAT pathway activation drives microglia-mediated angiogenesis after stroke Andrew T.

Hale, MD, PhD , University of Alabama at Birmingham Award : 2024-25 NREF & Academy of Neurological Surgeons Research Fellowship Grant Sponsors : Graham Fieggen, MD, IFAANS and Mubeen Goolam Project Title : Cerebral organoids as a model of genetic and acquired hydrocephalus Arushi Tripathy, MD , University of Michigan Award : 2024-25 NREF & Andrew T.

Parsa Research Fellowship Grant Sponsor : Daniel Wahl, MD Project Title : Defining spatial transcriptional mediators of DNA repair in glioblastoma as a mechanism of treatment resistance Shehryar R. Sheikh, MD, MPH , Cleveland Clinic Award : 2024-25 NREF & Bagan Family Foundation Research Fellowship Grant Project Title : An EEG-based Predictive Biomarker of Seizure Outcome after Epilepsy Surgery Benjamin T.

Himes, MD , Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine Award : 2024-25 B*CURED & NREF Young Clinician Investigator Award Sponsor : XingXing Zang, PhD Project Title : The role of B7-H3 in glioblastoma extracellular vesicles in tumor-mediated immune suppression Click here to learn more about this year’s award recipients’ research projects.

Barrow Neurological Institute Award: 2023-24 NREF & SBTF Research Fellowship Grant on behalf of the AANS/CNS Section on Tumors Project Title: Characterizing glioma evolution through longitudinal cerebrospinal fluid liquid biopsy in a Phase 0/2 clinical trial of niraparib for newly-diagnosed glioblastoma Sponsor: Nader Sanai, MD, FAANS Washington University in St.

Louis School of Medicine Award: 2023-24 NREF & AANS/CNS Section on Pediatric Neurological Surgery Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Microstructural Injury to the Brainstem and Spinal Cord Determines Outcomes in Chiari Malformation and Syringomyelia Sponsor: David Limbrick, MD, PhD, FAANS Natasha T. L.

Ironside, MD Award: 2023-24 Academy of Neurological Surgeons Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Predicting Hematoma Expansion in Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage Sponsor: Gustavo Kunde Rohde, PhD and Min Park, MD, FAANS Award: 2023-24 NREF & Andrew T.

Parsa Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Utilizing Chimeric Antigen Receptor Macrophages (CAR-M) to promote tumor phagocytosis and repolarization of the tumor microenvironment in Glioblastoma Sponsor: Minna Roh-Johnson, PhD Award: 2023-24 NREF & Academy of Neurological Surgeons Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Diagnostic and Therapeutic Implications of KRAS Mutations in Brain Arteriovenous Malformations Sponsor: David J.

Daniels, MD, PhD, FAANS Peyton Lubbock Nisson, MD Barrow Neurological Institute Award: 2023-24 NREF & Bagan Family Foundation Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Vascular-Endothelial-Growth-Factor A and Angiogenesis Role in the Growth and Rupture of Intracranial Aneurysms. The Missing Link in a Complex Pathophysiologic Process in Females Sponsor: Tomoki Hashimoto Jonathon J.

Parker MD, PhD Award: 2023-24 NREF & Academy of Neurological Surgeons Young Clinician Investigator Award Project Title: Short Fiber Stimulation to Suppress Epileptiform Activity in Human Neocortical Epilepsy Sponsor: Greg Worrell, MD, PhD Award: 2023-24 NREF & Gladiator Project Young Clinician Investigator Award on behalf of the AANS/CNS Section on Tumors Project Title: Visualization, quantitation, and targeting of infiltrating glioblastoma cells with pH sensitive amine chemical exchange saturation transfer magnetic resonance imaging Sponsor: Harley Kornblum, MD, PhD UT Southwestern Medical Center Award: 2023-24 NREF & AANS/CNS Section on Tumors Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Investigating acquired resistance to DHODH inhibition in IDH mutant glioma Sponsor: Samuel McBrayer, PhD Click here to learn more about this year’s award recipients’ research projects.

Washington University School of Medicine Award: NREF & Academy of Neurological Surgeons Young Clinician Investigator Award Project Title: Predicting Spinal Cord Injury Prognosis Using a Novel Non-Invasive Biomarker Sponsor: Wilson Z. Ray MD, FAANS Washington University in St. Louis Award: NREF & Henry G.

Schwartz Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Determinants of Cognitive Outcome through Functional Resting State and White Matter Connectivity in Pediatric Patients with Posterior Fossa Tumors Sponsor: Eric Leuthardt, MD, FAANS Massachusetts Institute of Technology Award: NREF & Academy of Neurological Surgeons Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Recapitulating proprioceptive function via biological actuation in a neural prosthetic model Christopher S.

Graffeo, MD Award: NREF & Albert L. Rhoton Young Clinician Investigator Award Project Title: Skull Basics: Novel Tools for Simulation & Education in Complex Cranial Surgery Sponsor: Ian F. Dunn, MD, FAANS Mount Sinai Health System Award: Academy of Neurological Surgeons Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: The role of IL-3 in the regulation of post-stroke inflammation Sponsor: Filip K.

Swirski, PhD Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Award: NREF & AANS/CNS Section on Pediatric Neurosurgery Young Clinician Investigator Award Project Title: Development of CAR-T cells against claudin-6 in atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor Sponsor: Adam C. Resnick, PhD Angela M.

Richardson, MD, PhD Award: NREF & AANS/CNS Section on Tumors Young Clinician Investigator Award Project Title: Tumor selective retroviral replicating vectors for the treatment of leptomeningeal medulloblastoma Sponsor: Karen E. Pollok, PhD Award: NREF & Andrew T.

Parsa Young Clinician Investigator Award Project Title: Epigenetic potentiation of immune checkpoint inhibition through endogenous retroviral immune responses Brigham and Women’s Hospital Award: NREF & StacheStrong Research Fellowship Grant on behalf of the AANS/CNS Section on Tumors Project Title: Assessing Tumor-Associated Macrophage Plasticity Regulation by HNRNPH1 to Augment Adaptive Antitumor Responses in Glioblastoma Sponsor: E.

Antonio Chiocca, MD PhD FAANS Mark William Youngblood, MD Award: 2022-23 NREF & Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation (SBTF) Research Fellowship Grant on behalf of the AANS/CNS Section on Tumors Project Title: Molecular Markers of Meningioma Growth Arrest after HDAC Inhibition Sponsor: Craig Horbinski, MD, PhD University of California, San Francisco Award: NREF & Bagan Family Foundation Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Improving Traumatic Brain Injury Stratification and Prognosis through Big Data Harmonization and Machine Learning Sponsor: Geoffrey T.

Manley, MD, PhD, FAANS Click here to learn more about this year’s award recipients. Oluwaseun O.

Akinduro, MD Award: 2021-22 NREF & AANS/CNS Section on Tumors Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Targeting Chordoma Therapy Resistance Through the YAP Pathway Sponsor: Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa, MD, FAANS Medical College of Wisconsin Award: 2021-22 NREF & American Society of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery (ASSFN) Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: The Contribution of Prefrontal Cortical-Thalamic Circuits to Fear Memory and Extinction: Potential New Targets for Deep Brain Stimulation Sponsor: Marieke Gilmartin, PhD Award: 2021-22 NREF & StacheStrong Research Fellowship Grant on behalf of the AANS/CNS Section on Tumors Project Title: Investigating the Role of CD97/ADGRE5 Receptor in Glioblastoma Invasion and its Mechanism of Action in the Brain Sponsor: Michael Ivan, MD and Nagi Ayad, PhD Award: 2021-22 B*CURED & NREF Research Fellowship Grant/Young Clinician Investigator Award Project Title: Targeting the malignant epigenome of IDH1 mutant gliomas Award: 2021-22 NREF & AANS/CNS Section on Pediatric Neurological Surgery Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: The role of complement in pediatric intraventricular hemorrhage and development of posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus Sponsor: Guohua Xi, MD, PhD Benjamin R.

Johnston MD, PhD Brigham & Women’s Hospital Award: 2021-22 NREF & Medtronic Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Optogenetic Motor Neuron Transplantation to Restore Bladder Contraction Sponsor: Justin Brown, MD, FAANS Michael B. Keough, MD, PhD Award: 2021-22 NREF & Andrew T.

Parsa Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Targeting neuron-glioma circuit dynamics as a novel treatment for high-grade glioma Sponsor: Michelle Monje, MD, PhD Alexander Ksendzovsky, MD, PhD Award: 2021-22 NREF & Academy of Neurological Surgeons Young Clinician Investigator Award Project Title: LDHA enzyme may form the link between metabolism and epilepsy Sponsor: Peter Crino, MD, PhD Nealen Gordon Laxpati, MD, PhD Award: 2021-22 NREF & Bagan Family Foundation Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Optogenetic Neuromodulation of the Septohippocampal Axis for the Treatment of Epilepsy Sponsor: Robert E.

Gross, MD, PhD, FAANS Mark Alexander MacLean, MD, MSc Award: 2021-22 NREF & Academy of Neurological Surgeons Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Exploring Mechanisms Underlying Mild Traumatic Brain Injury-Related Microvasculopathy Sponsor: Alon Friedman, MD, PhD University of Texas-San Antonio Award: 2021-22 NREF & Academy of Neurological Surgeons Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Closed-loop sodium administration system for treatment of cerebral edema and intracranial hypertension: System development and proof-of-concept evaluation in a rat model Award: 2021-22 NREF & L.

Nelson “Nick” Hopkins Research Fellowship Grant jointly sponsored by Arvind Ahuja, MD, FAANS, and the AANS/CNS Cerebrovascular Section Project Title: Characterizing Changes in Functional Connectivity After Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Using Bedside Diffuse Optical Tomography Sponsor: Joseph P.

Culver, PhD Justin Zihan Wang, MD, BSc Award: 2021-22 NREF & Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation (SBTF) Research Fellowship Grant on behalf of the AANS/CNS Section on Tumors Project Title: Establishing the utility of plasma-based liquid biopsies in meningiomas using cell-free methylated DNA immunoprecipitation with deep sequencing Sponsor: Gelareh Zadeh, MD, PhD, FAANS, FRCSC University of California, San Francisco Award: 2021-22 NREF & StacheStrong Research Fellowship Grant on behalf of the AANS/CNS Section on Tumors Project Title: In Vivo Gene Screening and Transcriptome Editing with Retroviral-Delivered CRISPR-Cas for the Treatment of Glioblastoma Sponsor: Manish K.

Aghi, MD, PhD, FAANS Click here to learn more about this year’s award recipients.

Award: Academy of Neurological Surgeons 2020-21 Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Dissecting the role of the subthalamic nucleus in inhibitory control Medical University of South Carolina Award: AANS/CNS Section on Pediatric Neurological Surgery & NREF 2020-21 Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: The Role of Complement in Secondary Injury after Neonatal Germinal Matrix Hemorrhage Award: AANS/CNS Section on Tumors & NREF 2020-21 Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Leveraging metabolic vulnerabilities of cell populations in the glioma microenvironment to trigger ferroptotic cell death and immune response in GBM Jacob F.

Baranoski, MD, MHS St. Joseph’s Hospital/Barrow Award: L.

Nelson “Nick” Hopkins/NREF 2020-21 Research Fellowship Grant jointly sponsored by Arvind Ahuja, MD, FAANS, and the AANS/CNS Cerebrovascular Section Project Title: Effects of dietary phytoestrogens on aneurysm wall inflammation and rates of aneurysmal rupture Brigham & Women’s Hospital / Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard University Award: NREF/Medtronic 2020-2021 Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Transplantation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Spinal Motor Neurons to Restore Function following Peripheral Nerve or Spinal Cord Injury Award: 2020-21 StacheStrong and NREF Research Fellowship Grant on behalf of the AANS/CNS Section on Tumors Project Title: Developing a patient-derived B-cell-based vaccine, a novel therapeutic agent for glioblastomas Victoria E.

Clark, MD, PhD Massachusetts General Hospital Award: Andrew T.

Parsa 2020-21 Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Characterizing Recurrent RNA Polymerase II Meningioma Driver Mutations Award: Academy of Neurological Surgeons/NREF 2020-21 Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Elucidating the mechanisms of glutamate-mediated activation of adult spinal cord neural stem/progenitor cells to reveal therapeutic targets for spinal cord injury Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center Award: Bagan Family Foundation/NREF 2020-21 Young Clinician Investigator Award Project Title: Axonal reprogramming to accelerate nerve regeneration University of California, San Francisco Award: AANS/CNS Section on Tumors & NREF 2020-21 Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Identification of genes mediating brain-tropism in a syngeneic model of metastatic breast cancer Award: Academy of Neurological Surgeons/NREF 2020-21 Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Reversal Through Revertance: Targeting Pathogenic Mutations in Pediatric Brain Tumors with Gene Editing Award: 2020-21 Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation and NREF Research Fellowship Grant on behalf of the AANS/CNS Section on Tumors Project Title: Neoantigens arising from alternative pre-mRNA splicing may be targeted by tumor-specific T lymphocytes in histone H3.

3 G34R mutant pediatric GBM University of Kansas Medical Center Award: AANS/CNS Section on Neurotrauma & Critical Care/NREF 2020-21 Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Evaluation of Novel Polymeric Substrates for Direct Extradural Application of Therapies Following Traumatic Brain Injury: An Innovative Approach to a Difficult Problem Click here to learn more about this year’s award recipients.

Westchester Medical Center Foundation Award: Academy of Neurological Surgeons 2019-20 Young Clinician Investigator Award Project Title: eICU Virtual Clinician Corrects the Discrepancies Between Ordered, Charted, and Observed RASS Scores in Mechanically Ventilated ICU Patients while Resolving Day/Night RASS Discordance Sponsor: Christian Becker, MD, PhD Award: Andrew T.

Parsa 2019-20 Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Extracellular vesicle-mediated immunosuppression in glioblastoma Sponsor: Ian F.

Parney, MD, PhD, FAANS Award: B*CURED/NREF 2019-20 Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: The changing neoantigen landscape and associated immune response during immune checkpoint blockade in recurrent glioblastoma: a pathway to personalized tumor immunotherapy Sponsor: Drew Pardoll, MD, PhD University of Southern California Award: Academy of Neurological Surgeons/NREF 2019-20 Young Clinician Investigator Award Project Title: Septohippocampal stimulation for cognitive restoration and seizure reduction in epilepsy Massachusetts General Hospital Award: AANS/CNS Section on Neurotrauma & Critical Care & NREF 2019-20 Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Development and characterization of a mouse model of midbrain compression to explore neural circuits underlying coma and consciousness Sponsor: Naoshige Uchida, PhD Award: AANS/CNS Section on Tumors & NREF 2019-20 Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Establishing the prognostic implications of heterogeneity in meningioma using single-cell sequencing Sponsor: Gelareh Zadeh, MD, PhD, FAANS University of California, San Francisco Award: AANS/CNS Section on Pediatric Neurological Surgery & NREF 2019-20 Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Defining Mechanisms of Immune Cell Depletion in Group 3 Medulloblastoma Sponsor: Manish Aghi, MD, PhD, FAANS Award: Academy of Neurological Surgeons/NREF 2019-20 Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Identifying Biomarkers and Mechanisms of Radiation Resistance in Grade II Meningiomas Sponsor: Albert H.

Kim, MD, PhD, FAANS Jennifer Sokolowski, MD, PhD Award: L.

Nelson “Nick” Hopkins NREF 2019-20 Research Fellowship Grant jointly sponsored by Arvind Ahuja, MD, FAANS, and the AANS/CNS Cerebrovascular Section Project Title: Role of the meninges and meningeal lymphatic system in the immune response after ischemic stroke Sponsor: Yashar Kalani, MD, PhD, FAANS Award: AANS/CNS Section on Pain & NREF 2019-20 Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: BVR and NRF2 as potential regulators of oxidative stress and pain in trigeminal neuralgia Sponsor: Michael Lim, MD, FAANS Award: Bagan Family Foundation & NREF 2019-20 Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Examination of brainstem lesions on CT following Severe TBI for prognostication of outcome Sponsor: Christine Mac Donald Award: Medtronic 2019-20 Young Clinician Investigator Award Project Title: Deep Machine Learning and Convolutional Neural Networks for the Evaluation and Classification of Peripheral Nerve Tumors Sponsor: Robert J.

Spinner, MD, FAANS Click here to learn more about this year’s award recipients.

Award: NREF & Medtronic 2018-19 Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Multi-target neurostimulation to recover locomotion in a large animal model of contusive spinal cord injury Sponsor: James Guest, MD, PhD Massachusetts General Hospital Award: NREF & B*CURED 2018-19 Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell Therapy for Glioblastoma Sponsor: Bob Carter, MD, PhD, FAANS University of Kansas Medical Center Research Institute (KUMCRI) Award: L.

Nelson “Nick” Hopkins NREF 2018-19 Research Fellowship Grant jointly sponsored by Arvind Ahuja, MD, FAANS, and the AANS/CNS Cerebrovascular Section Project Title: Comparative Use of Human Umbilical Cord Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells and their Exosome Derivatives for Functional Improvement after Induced Ischemic Stroke: a Springboard for Translational Studies Sponsor: Randolph J.

Nudo, PhD Massachusetts General Hospital Award: NREF & American Academy of Neurological Surgery 2018-19 Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Studying the neural encoding of social interaction in the primate amygdala using a game theory task Sponsor: Ziv Williams, MD, FAANS Award: NREF/Bagan Family Fellowship 2018-2019 Young Clinician Investigator Award Project Title: Evaluation of the Human Cortical Connectome as a Biomarker of Spinal Cord Injury Sponsor: Wilson Z.

Ray, MD, FAANS Wake Forest School of Medicine Award: Andrew T. Parsa Research Fellowship 2018-19 Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: VSV-LASV as oncolytic virus therapy for glioblastoma Sponsor: Douglas Lyles, PhD Maria Peris-Celda, MD, PhD Award: Rhoton Young Clinician Investigator Award for Neuroanatomical Research Project Title: North-East Anatomy Laboratory Sponsor: Alan S.

Boulos, MD, FAANS Award: NREF and AANS/CNS Section on Neurotrauma & Critical Care 2018-19 Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Spreading depolarizations in subdural hematoma Sponsor: Kevin C. Brennan, MD, & John D.

Rolston, MD, PhD Award: NREF & AANS/CNS Section on Tumors 2018-19 Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Facilitating pre-operative sensori-motor network plasticity with non-invasive brain stimulation and prehabilitation in patients with diffuse glioma: a multimodal TMS/TDCS/fMRI study Sponsor: John Kelly, PhD, MD Whitney E.

Parker, MD, PhD Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University Award: NREF and AANS/CNS Section on Pediatric Neurological Surgery 2018-19 Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: The Role of Novel NMDA Receptor Variants in Human Brain Development and Epilepsy Sponsor: M.

Elizabeth Ross, MD, PhD University of California, San Francisco Award: American Academy of Neurological Surgery 2018-19 Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Molecular targeting of CD97 as a therapeutic approach for glioblastoma Sponsor: Manish Aghi, MD, PhD, FAANS Award: NREF & American Academy of Neurological Surgery 2018-19 Young Clinician Investigator Award Project Title: Electrophysiological Properties of the Peritumoral Region in a Slice Model Glioma Associated Seizures Sponsor: Guy M.

McKhann II, MD, FAANS University of California, Los Angeles Award: NREF & Kate Carney Family 2018-19 Young Clinician Investigator Award Project Title: Characterization of cerebral arteriovenous malformations and their surrounding astrocytes Sponsor: Linda Liau, MD, PhD, MBA, FAANS Oregon Health & Science University Award: NREF & Bagan Family Foundation Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Investigating the role of Wnts in seizure-induced aberrant hippocampal neurogenesis Sponsor: Eric Schnell, MD, PhD Award: NREF & AANS/CNS Section on Pain Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Neuroinflammation and Exercise in Regeneration and Recovery of the Injured Peripheral Nervous System Sponsor: Doug Wright, PhD University of California-San Francisco Award: Andrew T.

Parsa Research Fellowship sponsored by the NREF and the AANS/CNS Joint Section on Tumors Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: The Role of c-Met/ß1-integrin Complex Formation in the Establishment of Brain Metastases Sponsor: Manish K.

Aghi, MD, PhD California Institute of Technology Award: NREF & American Academy of Neurological Surgery Young Clinician Investigator Award Project Title: Generating artificial sensation by electrical stimulation of the hand area of the primary somatosensory (S1) cortex for a closed-loop brain- machine interface (BMI) Sponsor: Richard Andersen, PhD Award: NREF & AANS/CNS Section on Neurotrauma & Critical Care Young Clinician Investigator Award Project Title: A Tool to Improve Treatment Threshold Compliance in the Neurocritical Care Unit Sponsor: Gregory Hawryluk, MD, PhD Arjun Vivek Pendharkar, MD Award: NREF & American Academy of Neurological Surgery Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Role of Contralesional (Uninjured) Hemisphere Activation in Functional Recovery after Stroke Sponsor: Gary K.

Steinberg, MD, PhD Pablo Valdes Quevedo, MD, PhD Harvard/Brigham and Women’s Hospital Award: B*CURED & NREF Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Expansion Microscopy for Interrogation of Cancer Mechanisms and Phenotypes in Gliomas Sponsor: Ennio A. Chiocca, MD, PhD Award: L.

Nelson “Nick” Hopkins NREF Young Clinician Investigator Award jointly sponsored by Arvind Ahuja, MD, FAANS, and the AANS/CNS Cerebrovascular Section Project Title: The Role of Endothelial Cell Dysfunction & Differentiation in Aneurysms Progression & Healing Sponsor: Joshua M.

Hare, MD Krishanthan Vigneswaran, MD Award: NREF & AANS/CNS Section on Pediatric Neurological Surgery Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Identification of small molecule inhibitors of novel receptor tyrosine kinase pathways in adult and pediatric glioblastoma. Sponsor: Jeffrey J. Olson, MD University of Toronto/St.

Michael’s Hospital Award: NREF & Medtronic Young Clinician Investigator Award Project Title: The Aging Face of Spinal Trauma: Exploring the Epidemiology and Impact of Spinal Cord Injury in the Elderly Sponsor: Michael Fehlings, MD, PhD Award: NREF & AANS/CNS Section on Tumors Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Immunogenetic profiling and targeting novel immune check point regulators in meningiomas Sponsor: Lieping Chen, MD, PhD Christopher Alvarez-Breckenridge, MD, PhD Massachusetts General Hospital Award: AANS/CNS Joint Section on Tumors Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Genomic characterization of melanoma’s metastatic genetic drivers to the brain and predictors of response to immune checkpoint blockade Sponsor: Pricilla Brastianos, MD University of Pennsylvania Award: Bagan Family Foundation Young Clinician Investigator Award Project Title: Restoring visual cortex function using self-aggregating cortical spheroid tissue or dissociated neurons Sponsor: Stewart Anderson University of Wisconsin-Madison Award: AANS/CNS Joint Section on Pediatric Neurological Surgery Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: The Folate and Methylation Pathway in Regeneration and Recovery of the Injured Peripheral Nervous System Sponsor: Bermans Iskandar, MD, FAANS Award: NREF/Medtronic Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Preclinical model of rapid-stretch nerve injuries Massachusetts General Hospital Award: AANS/CNS Joint Section on Pain Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Emotional Conflict Processing in Humans Sponsor: Emad Eskandar, MD, FAANS Stanford University School of Medicine Award: B*CURED/NREF Research Grant Project Title: Exploring the Epigenetic Regulation of Neuronal Differentiation to Differentiate Medulloblatoma Cells Sponsor: Margaret T.

Fuller Baylor College of Medicine/M. D.

Anderson Cancer Center Award: AANS/CNS Joint Section on Cerebrovascular Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Endovascular Delivery of Allogenic Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Transfected with the Delta-24 Oncolytic Virus in a Canine Model of Glioblastoma Sponsor: Peter Kan, MD, FAANS Washington University School of Medicine Award: NREF and American Academy of Neurological Surgery Young Clinician Investigator Award Project Title: Activation of Endogenous Protective Mechanisms: A Potential Therapeutic Strategy to Combat SAH-induced Neurovascular Dysfunction Sponsor: Gregory J.

Zipfel, MD, FAANS Massachusetts General Hospital Award: NREF and American Academy of Neurological Surgery Research Fellowship Grant Project Title: Circulating Tumor Cells and Brain Metastasis Sponsor: Daniel Haber, MD, PhD Award: NREF/Medtronic Research Fellow Project Title: Responsive neurostimulation for obesity: evidence from a mouse model of diet-induced obesity Sponsor: Robert Malenka, MD, PhD Award: AANS/CNS Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves Research Fellow Project Title: Resting-state brain functional magnetic resonance imaging to predict functional recovery following spinal cord injury Sponsor: Wilson Z.

Ray, MD Mayo Clinic College of Medicine Award: NREF/Columbia Neurosurgery Softball Research Fellowship in Neuro-Oncology Project Title: Normalizing tumor vasculature to promote targeted nanomedicine delivery and therapy of glioblastoma multiforme Sponsor: Robert Wharen, MD Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary Award: NREF and Academy of Neurological Surgery Edward H.

Oldfield, MD Research Award Project Title: Network and neuronal activity evoked by DBS of the ventro-medial prefrontal cortex: a therapeuticmodel for treatment refractory depression.

Sponsor: Zelma Kiss, MD, PhD Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Award: NREF Research Fellow Project Title: The role of menin and a novel approach for targeted therapy in Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma Sponsor: Viviane Tabar, MD Massachusetts General Hospital Award: NREF Research Fellow Project Title: Developing a novel cortical-spinal neural prosthesis for reconstituting volitional movement of a paralyzed limb Sponsor: Ziv Williams, MD Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Award: Bagan Family Young Clinician Investigator Award Project Title: Tenascin-C as a Therapeutic Target in Pediatric Brainstem Glioma (AGFs) in the development of Medulloblastoma Sponsor: Andrew T.

Parsa, MD, PhD Award: NREF and AANS/CNS Cerebrovascular Section Research Fellow Project Title: The therapeutic role of hematopoietic growth factors in the subacute phase of traumatic brain injury.

Sponsor: Li-Ru Zhao, MD, PhD Massachusetts General Hospital Award: NREF Research Fellow Project Title: Identifying human glioma propagating cells and their vulnerabilities using single cell transcriptome sequencing technology Sponsor: Mario Suva, MD, PhD University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center Award: NREF and AANS/CNS Joint Section on Tumors Research Fellow Project Title: Targeting Radiogenomics-derived core Periostin Correlated Gene Networks in Glioblastoma Sponsor: Rivka R.

Colen,