March 3, 2022, Schaumburg, Il. – The Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) announced a five-year, $1,200,000 pledge to the CNS Foundation in support of annual K12 awards in partnership with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Foundation for National Institutes of Health (FNIH).
“The Getch is one of neurosurgery’s most prestigious and productive awards for developing our next generation of clinician scientists,” said Nicholas Bambakidis, CNS President. “Doubling our investment in the NIH and the Getch award will increase the opportunities for early career clinicians in their research. We are excited to do this for the patients of the future.”
“We are delighted to expand our long-standing partnership with the NIH and the FNIH,” said Alexander Khalessi, CNS Vice President and co-chair of the CNS Foundation with Martina Stippler. “We look forward to the contributions of these scholars and what the next five years will bring to the science of neurological surgery.”
The CNS Foundation is pleased to announce the fourth recipient of the NINDS/CNS Getch K12 Scholar Award, Dr. Todd Hollon, a neurosurgeon who specializes in brain tumors at the University of Michigan. Dr. Hollon is also a past winner of the CNS Data Science Abstract Award.
Named in honor of the late Christopher C. Getch, MD, President of the CNS in 2011, “The Getch” provides an early career neurosurgical clinician with two-years of fully funded, uninterrupted investigation. Unique to these awards, the recipient may choose to either remain at their home institution or move to a lab of their choice.
Past Getch scholars are:
2016-2017 Brian Dlouhy, M.D., University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics
Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy
Presented at the 2018 CNS Annual Meeting
2018-2019 Babacar Cisse, M.D. Ph.D., Weill Cornell Brain and Spine Center
How Brain Tumors Develop, Grow, and Become Malignant
Presented at the 2021 CNS Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas.
2020-2021 Nick Au Yong, M.D., Emory University School of Medicine
Neuromodulation Therapies for Restoring Motor Control and Homeostatic Regulation to Promote Recovery
To present at the 2022 CNS Annual Meeting, San Francisco, October 8-12, 2022
Award application information can be found here.
About the CNS Foundation
The CNS Foundation’s philanthropic mission is to improve worldwide patient health by supporting innovative programs that allow neurosurgeons to collaborate globally as researchers, learners, educators and caregivers. As a 501(c)(3) based in Schaumburg, Illinois, the four mission pillars are Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; International Philanthropy; Clinical Scientist Development, and CNS Guidelines Development. For more information, please visit foundation.cns.org, or contact Courtney Johnson, Director of Foundation@CNS.org.
About the Congress of Neurological Surgeons
The Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) is the global leader in neurosurgical education, serving to promote health by advancing neurosurgery through innovation and excellence in education. The CNS provides leadership in neurosurgery by inspiring and facilitating scientific discovery and its translation into clinical practice. The CNS maintains the vitality of the profession through volunteer efforts of its members and the development of leadership in service to the public, to colleagues in other disciplines, and to neurosurgeons throughout the world in all stages of their professional lives. For more information, visit cns.org.
About the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH)
The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health creates and manages alliances with public and private institutions in support of the mission of the NIH, the world’s premier medical research agency. The Foundation, also known as the FNIH, works with its partners to accelerate biomedical research and strategies against diseases and health concerns in the United States and across the globe. The FNIH organizes and administers research projects; supports education and training of new researchers; organizes educational events and symposia; and administers a series of funds supporting a wide range of health issues. Established by Congress in 1990, the FNIH is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization. For additional information about the FNIH, please visit fnih.org.