The Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation
Testimonials
Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation Awardee Testimonials
Supporting a young scientist in their efforts to make a difference in the field of neurosurgical research strengthens the possibility for advancement in our field, with the potential for increased positive outcomes and improved patient care. Listen to what receiving NREF funding has meant personally to past awardees:
Nirav Patel, MD
NREF/Codman Research Fellow
"Receiving the NREF award is an honor, motivating and an opportunity to continue what we believe is important research to treat disease and better understand inheritance. With this research support we hope to study a link between epigenetics and CNS regeneration, providing a novel avenue for intervention for recalcitrant CNS disorders."
Jenny Zou, MD
NREF/Codman & DePuy Spine Young Clinician Investigator
"Winning the NREF/YCI award is a vote of confidence at this early stage of my professional career as a clinician scientist to start my own independent research and to take care of neurosurgical patients. The NREF/YCI award helps me to fulfill my long term interest in understanding the molecular mechanisms of axon growth and regeneration."
Deshdeepak Sahni, MD
NREF/Medtronic Research Fellow
"The support provided by the NREF has not only provided material assistance in my research endeavors but also encouraged me to pursue a career in academic neurosurgery investigating the application of nanotechnology in the treatment of central nervous system pathology. Neuroscience burgeons with almost unlimited possibilities for the advancement of knowledge. Initiatives such as the NREF are instrumental in guiding clinician-scientists to explore these possibilities for the benefit of society"
Allen Waziri, MD
NREF/Biomet Microfixation Young Clinician Investigator
"To date, very little clinical success has been achieved through the use of immunotherapeutic strategies against most human cancers. This fact is particularly relevant for patients with glioblastoma, who are in desperate need of new therapeutic options. Through prior clinical efforts (and failures) using vaccines and immunostimulation in patients with a variety of cancers, it has become clear that targeting factors involved with tumor-specific suppression of cellular immunity will be critical for the development of effective immunotherapy. The NREF Young Clinicians Investigator Award is an instrumental and inspiring investment in my growing research effort focusing on the study of immune defects in patients with malignant brain tumors."
David Ormond, MD
NREF/Medtronic Research Fellow
"Winning the 2010 NREF/Medtronic Research Fellowship has provided me an extraordinary opportunity to investigate the means to enhance recovery from spinal cord injury (SCI). We hypothesize that stem cell therapy in conjunction with anti-inflammatory compounds will provide a more rapid and improved recovery from SCI with limited side-effects, and we believe this award will grant us the means to achieve our goals. While stem cells would regenerate myelin at the site of injury, the use of anti-inflammatory compounds would aid recovery by limiting glial scar formation.
The significance of these studies lies in the fact that an integrated treatment for SCI involving stem cells, novel naturally-occurring anti-inflammatory compounds, and an understanding of the molecular pathophysiology of SCI, has great potential in dramatically improving patient outcomes for this devastating condition. Recovery from SCI is hindered by the limited capacity to replace lost neurons and damaged myelin, in addition to reestablishing functional neuronal connections. Recent advances in stem cell biology have made it possible to induce the regeneration of injured axons after SCI. While a multitude of issues remain before this approach can be expanded to standard clinical practice, the data generated from this study can help elucidate methods to overcome inflammation following SCI and maintain a microenvironment maximally conducive to recovery. This model would provide a basis for SCI treatment in humans where induced pluripotent stem cells from a patient may be utilized for autologous therapy."
Michael Steinmetz, MD
NREF/ Spine Section Young Clinician Investigator Award
"The NREF young investigator award is permitting me to perform a new cutting edge research project for which grant money would not be immediately possible. I hope to generate interesting preliminary data to use as a springboard in a larger NIH grant in the near future."
Jonathan Miller, MD
NREF/Biomet Microfixation Young Clinician Investigator
"I am grateful to have had the opportunity to pursue this research project, which would not have been possible without support from the NREF."