William P. Van Wagenen, MD 1897-1961
The William P. Van Wagenen Fellowship was established by the estate of William P. Van Wagenen, MD, a founder and first President of the Harvey Cushing Society (now the American Association of Neurological Surgeons). In considering what permanent contribution he would make to neurosurgery, Dr. Van Wagenen chose to provide financial support to a neurosurgical resident for foreign travel and study, following his or her residency. The Van Wagenen Fellowship is awarded prior to the start of a senior resident’s academic career, to further his or her scientific and clinical knowledge, giving the recipient freedom in scientific and clinical development, without the limitations often imposed by many research grants and fellowships.
Recipients of this award have used the endowment to lay the groundwork for many scientific and technical innovations in neurosurgery. The fellowship remains an unmatched opportunity to explore new lines of investigation, foster academic and research goals, incorporate new technology and skills into American neurosurgical practice, and motivate young neurosurgeons to transform our field. The legacy of mentorship, scientific inquiry, and clinical excellence personified by Cushing and Van Wagenen is memorialized in the Van Wagenen Fellowship.
Your donation to the Van Wagenen Fellowship Fund will help us continue supporting promising residents in their pursuit of this amazing professional opportunity, and ultimately, your gift will have a major impact on neurosurgical patients, educators, researchers and clinicians.
Over the years, Van Wagenen Fellows have shared insights and reminiscences about their experience, and offered advice to residents considering a fellowship abroad. We’ve compiled their quotes, comments and summaries of their work in this Van Wagenen Fellowship Yearbook.
Year | Fellow |
1968 | Richard M. Bergland, MD |
Host country | Host Institution |
United Kingdom | Oxford University |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience helped his career, Dr. Bergland responded: The Van Wagenen award
allowed me to work with Professor Geoffrey Harris at Oxford. We became friends and he encouraged me to study
brain/pituitary relationships – both anatomical and physiological relationships. Because of the
gasoline which he poured into my tank, I was able to enjoy seven years in happy experimental lab work
… untangling complexities. |
Year | Fellow |
1969 | John M. Tew, Jr., MD, FAANS(L) |
Host country | Host Institution |
Sweden | Kanatonsspital Zurich |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in his neurosurgical career,
Dr. Tew responded: When I received the Van Wagenen Fellowship, it was not only a great honor, but an impetus
for many areas of my career. This experience allowed me to focus my neurosurgical expertise under the
guidance of Gazi Yasargil, who was my model as I moved into a teaching role with many residents and fellows
who trained at our institution. The fellowship was the beginning of my career in microneurosurgery for the
treatment of neurological disorders. The personal relationships afforded by this fellowship extended
globally – with patients, surgeons, and various health providers over many continents and cultures
during many years. |
Year | Fellow |
1970 | M. Peter Heilbrun, MD |
Host country | Host Institution |
Denmark | Bispejerg & Rigs Hospitals |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in his neurosurgical career,
Dr. Heilbrun responded: During my 1970-1971 Van Wagenen Fellowship year, I studied cerebral blood flow under
the mentorship of Dr. Neils Lassen at the Bispebjerg and University Hospitals in Copenhagen, Denmark. This
period of time allowed me to consolidate my early neurosurgical research interests in cerebrovascular
disease and cerebral hemodynamics and intracranial pressure. This research served me well in my early
academic years at the University of Utah. After the introduction of CT scanners in the mid 1970s, my
academic interests shifted to stereotactic methodologies, which I pursued until I stopped the operative
practice of neurosurgery at age 65. For the past five years, I have been involved in training surgeons and
radiation oncologists on how to use non-isocentric radiosurgery utilizing the CyberKnife, an image guided
robotic radiosurgery device developed at Stanford by John Adler. My fellowship year is now far in the past.
The research methods I learned served me well throughout my neurosurgical career. |
Year | Fellow |
1971 | Ira C. Denton, Jr., MD, FAANS(L) |
Host country | Host Institution |
Switzerland | Kantonsspital Zurich |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in his neurosurgical career,
Dr. Denton responded: The Van Wagenen Fellowship blew great good fortune my way. It transported me during
the birth of the micro-neurosurgical revolution to one of its centers, the Kantonsspital Zurich, and into
the whirl of new ideas, people, tools and techniques, all there because of Professor Yasargil’s
genius. |
Year | Fellow |
1972 | Robert A. Ratcheson, MD FAANS(L) |
Host country | Host Institution |
Sweden | Brain Research Laboratory |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in his neurosurgical career,
Dr. Ratcheson responded: The Van Wagenen Fellowship was instrumental in development of my academic career.
It provided opportunities for learning and laboratory work free of other responsibilities and was an
important time. |
Year | Fellow |
1973 | Joan L. Venes, MD |
Host country | Host Institution |
Scotland | Wellcome Research Institute |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in her neurosurgical career, Dr. Venes responded: I used mine to travel to several different sites in Europe where ICP monitoring was being done. When, as a resident at an M&M conference, I presented a case in which I used that technique, one neurosurgeon literally jumped to his feet “Are you telling me you passed a catheter through a sick brain?!” It was my experience as a Van Wagenen fellow that allowed me to defend myself and the methodology I had used in the management of a very ill child with Reye’s syndrome. As one of only a few pediatric neurosurgeons in the country, I was, unfortunately, never able to find the time I needed to follow through with the needed laboratory research. |
Year | Fellow |
1974 | W. Michael Vise, MD |
Host country | Host Institution |
Germany | Max Planck Institute |
I spent fourteen months as a Van Wagenen Fellow in 1975 and 1976. I was based at Max Planck Institute in
Cologne, Germany, studying cerebral metabolism and blood brain barrier injuries with Peter Hossman. I took
trips through the year to approximately three dozen neurosurgical centers in Eastern and Western Europe. Of
particular value were the several weeks I spent observing operations performed by Dr. Yasargil in Zurich.
|
Year | Fellow |
1975 | Lawrence H. Pitts, MD, FAANS(L) |
Host country | Host Institution |
Scotland | Institute of Neurological Sciences |
Dr. Pitts had a superb experience during his fellowship studying under Professor Bryan Jennett at the
Institute for Neurological Sciences in Glasgow, Scotland. He was able to investigate cerebral vasospasm in
subarachnoid hemorrhage, acute spinal cord injury in an animal model, and the effects of apnea on
intracranial hemodynamics in animals. Many of the current leaders in British neurosurgery were in training
in Glasgow at that time, and Dr. Pitts has maintained close personal relationships with many of them. |
Year | Fellow |
1976 | Patrick J. Kelly, MD, FAANS(L), FACS |
Host country | Host Institution |
France / Scotland | Saint Ann and Foch Hospitals / Western General Hospital |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in his neurosurgical career,
Dr. Kelly responded: I learned new techniques that I refined and have used throughout my career. I made
personal contacts that have remained friends to this day. I learned to speak French (albeit badly) and
experienced Paris and France which I have enjoyed returning to often. I am not considered just another
American neurosurgeon but instead am part of an international community of neurosurgeons. |
Year | Fellow |
1977 | William F. Chandler, MD, FAANS(L), FACS |
Host country | Host Institution |
Sweden | Karolinska Institute |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in his neurosurgical career,
Dr. Chandler responded: The Van Wagenen Fellowship provided me with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and
experience. My wife and I lived and worked in an environment totally foreign to us – one which we
never would have experienced without the support and encouragement of the fellowship. This experience gave
me a prestigious jump start on an academic career in neurosurgery. It allowed me to greatly broaden my then
limited view of clinical neurosurgery. |
Year | Fellow |
1978 | Jay D. Law, MD |
Host country | Host Institution |
Spain | Centro Ramon y Cajal |
I studied applied electrical neurophysiology under Dr. Jose M.R. Delgado at Centro Ramon y Cajal Institute in Madrid. Building on this background, I've devoted most of my neurosurgical career to implanting and improving electrical stimulators of intractable pain. There is an undeniable continuity in that educational experience and my clinical practice for which I am grateful. |
Year | Fellow |
1979 | George W. Tyson, MD, MBA, FAANS(L) |
Host country | Host Institution |
Scotland | Institute of Neurological Sciences |
Although my Van Wagenen Fellowship was a very long time ago, its legacy is still fresh and immediate. My
daughter, Diana, was only three months old when I dragged her and her mother off to the Wellcome Surgical
Institute of the University of Glasgow. Today, Diana is a freshman at that same University and her
“second parents” (and the source of most of my peace of mind) are Graham and Evelyn
Teasdal. |
Year | Fellow |
1980 | L. Dade Lunsford, MD, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
Sweden | Karolinska Sjukhuset |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in his neurosurgical career,
Dr. Lunsford responded: My 1980-1981 experience at the Karolinska Institute, working with pioneers in image
guided, stereotactic surgery and radiosurgery set the entire focus of my academic career. By concentrating
on a subspecialty fellowship after a busy residency, I was able to fine tune my future career goals in a
unique and stimulating environment. |
Year | Fellow |
1981 | Stephen J. Haines, MD, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
England | Radcliffe Infirmary |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in his neurosurgical career,
Dr. Haines responded: My Van Wagenen Fellowship began a career-long thematic research program in the
application of sophisticated clinical research techniques to neurosurgery. The opportunity to study with
leaders in the development and application of clinical trials methodology to neurosurgical disease formed a
solid base for expansion into other methodologies that have matured into the discipline of evidence-based
medicine. It also allowed me to forge lifelong friendships with other clinical neuroscientists with similar
interests. |
Year | Fellow |
1982 | Larry Van Carson, MD, MBA, FACS, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
France | Hospital Foch |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in his neurosurgical career,
Dr. Carson responded: The Van Wagenen Fellowship provided the opportunity to learn from some of the
brightest and innovative physician/scientists of our time. The fellowship enriched my educational
experience, providing a broader armamentarium of training which has been in valuable in career development.
|
Year | Fellow |
1983 | Lawrence F. Borges, MD, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
England | Merck, Sharpe & Dohme Research Laboratories |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in his neurosurgical career,
Dr. Borges responded: The Van Wagenen Fellowship led to my career in academic neurosurgery. It allowed me to
move from a research experience as a resident to an independent investigator with independent, extramural
funding. In addition, the Van Wagenen Fellowship led to substantial personal friendships for me and for my
family, which continue today. These friendships continue not only with my mentor, Dr. Susan Iversen, and her
family, but also with others that we met during our stay in England. |
Year | Fellow |
1984 | Edmund Frank, MD, FACS |
Host country | Host Institution |
Switzerland | Universitaire Vaudis |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in his neurosurgical career,
Dr. Frank responded: Established lifelong relationships with physicians in Europe. Established research
methods – improved my writing abilities – opened my eyes to another way of looking at clinical
problems – learned new techniques. |
Year | Fellow |
1985 | Marc R. Mayberg, MD, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
England | Queens Square |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in his neurosurgical career,
Dr. Mayberg responded: The Van Wagenen Fellowship helped me initiate an academic career through a period of
focused research prior to my first academic position. It also gave me the opportunity to travel through the
major neurosurgical centers of Europe and meet European leaders in the field. |
Year | Fellow |
1986 | Edward George Hames III, MD, PhD, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
England | Kings College |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in his neurosurgical career,
Dr. Hames responded: The Van Wagenen experience afforded me the tremendous opportunity to visit British
neurology/neurosurgical centers in 1986. Through these encounters, lifetime friendships evolved with my
family and many families of staff and registrars in training in the U.K. at that time. The fellowship
afforded me a “window” to step away from those regions of residency and an opportunity for
international neurosurgical exposure before entering neurosurgical practice. |
Year | Fellow |
1987 | Emily D. Friedman, MD, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
England / France / Sweden | Sandoz Institute/Hospital Salpetriere/Laboratory of Professor Bjorklund |
The six months research experience in Europe was split between two labs, each with a different focus in
studying glial transplantation. In London, the focus was cell culture methods and labeling with retroviral
markers. In Paris, histochemical methods were used to evaluate the survival and extent of connections of
glial transplants into rodent spinal cord. The research experience was invaluable in giving me a broader
exposure to the field of transplantation science, and certainly helped me to successfully apply for and be
awarded an NIH Clinical Investigator Award. On a personal side, I developed lasting friendships with my
English and French colleagues, which I enjoy even today. |
Year | Fellow |
1988 | Mark W. Jones, MD, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
England | Queens Square |
The Van Wagenen Fellowship afforded me the opportunity to work closely with great thinkers. My fellowship experience has had a direct, positive impact on my development as a neurosurgeon. I was freely and completely accepted into the work and social environments of these men. The skills that I developed by actively participating with these gentlemen have been invaluable. I was able to develop confidence and skill in dealing with issues in their respective fields that would have otherwise been impossible. Above all, I value their friendship and an ongoing, open dialogue that continues to satisfy and enlighten. |
Year | Fellow |
1989 | David W. Newell, MD, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
Switzerland | Inselpital |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in his neurosurgical career,
Dr. Newell responded: The Van Wagenen Fellowship helped me to gain valuable research experience which I have
continued to build upon to this day. The fellowship also helped me make and maintain valuable connections
with other neurosurgeons in Europe who have been collaborators on a number of research projects. |
Year | Fellow |
1990 | Walter A. Hall, MD, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
Norway / England | Norwegian Radium Hospital / Frenchay Hospital |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in his neurosurgical career,
Dr. Hall responded: My Van Wagenen experience in Oslo, Norway with Dr. Oystein Fodstad allowed me to
continue the early development of targeted toxins which were called immunotoxins at the time. One of the
drugs we were developing was based on a toxin that has since been tested in two different clinical trials
and is seeking FDA approval at this time. This early scientific work has led me to develop and patent my own
targeted toxin that we are now in the process of performing the preclinical testing in order to secure an
investigational drug number from the Food and Drug Administration. Our phase I trial has already been
designed and approved by our institutional Investigational Review Board. |
Year | Fellow |
1991 | Ian F. Pollack, MD, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
Switzerland / Sweden | Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois / University of Uppsala |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in his neurosurgical career,
Dr. Pollack responded: On a personal level, it was a great opportunity to meet with and study under
clinicians and scientists in different countries, and to experience living in a different culture. The
techniques that I learned formed a foundation for my first several years of laboratory research, and helped
me gain the experience needed to compete effectively for extramural funding. |
Year | Fellow |
1992 | Mary Louise Hlavin, MD, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
England | Cambridge University |
I can’t speak highly enough of the Van Wagenen Fellowship program and the opportunity it affords young
neurosurgeons. For me, it was one of the most rewarding years of my life. It provided not only the
opportunity to do exciting research in the company of terrific scientists, but it also enabled me to work
with a great neurosurgeon and mentor, Mr. Alan Crockard. The opportunity to spend time with him was well
worth the 5:00 a.m. bus trip to make it to the operating theatre by 7:00 a.m. |
Year | Fellow |
1993 | Mark E. Linskey, MD, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
England | Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in his neurosurgical career,
Dr. Linskey responded: I performed my Van Wagenen Fellowship with Mark Noble, PhD, (one of the foremost
developmental glial biologists) at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, at University College, London,
England. I studied the first primary human GBM cell line confirmed to be of human O-2A origin and applied
developmental glial biology principles to studying glioma cell biology in 2-D culture, 3-D culture and with
normal CNS co-culture conditions. This experience rapidly provided me with a large basic science
neuro-oncology research experience including experimental techniques, technique trouble-shooting,
experimental design, and critical thinking along the scientific method. I have continued my interest in
neuro-oncology from both the clinical, clinical research and basic science research lines as co-director of
the Neuro-Oncology Program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (1998-2004), as well as the
Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, Irvine (2004-present). |
Year | Fellow |
1994 | Ivar M. Mendez, MD, PhD, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
Sweden | University of Lund |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in his neurosurgical career,
Dr. Mendez responded: The support of the Van Wagenen Fellowship to pursue basic research in
neurotransplantation in brain repair in Sweden was critically important for the development of an academic
neurosurgical career. This period of dedicated time in basic science research prepared the pathway for my
career as a clinician scientist. The experience in Sweden was invaluable for putting together a program in
cell-restoration strategies to repair the brain using progenitor cells. |
Year | Fellow |
1995 | Timothy C. Ryken, MD, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
United Kingdom | Cambridge Centre for Brain Repair |
Dr. Ryken is an Iowa native. He attended Iowa State University majoring in biochemistry where he received
highest honors and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He completed medical school at the University of Iowa in
1984 with election to AOA. He worked as a neurochemistry research assistant throughout that time and
following medical school entered neurosurgical training, completing residency at the University of Iowa in
1995. |
Year | Fellow |
1996 | Howard L. Weiner, MD, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
France | Institut d'Embryologie Cellulaire et Moleculaire |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in his neurosurgical career,
Dr. Weiner responded: The Van Wagenen Fellowship was an absolutely pivotal experience in my career, as well
as on a personal level. It was a unique opportunity to explore a compelling question in developmental
neurobiology on a very high level, in a setting that fostered creativity, without any of the distractions
one normally encounters in a busy career. I was privileged to befriend an amazing and talented group of
scientists, with whom I remain in contact. This work directly fostered my current research which is funded
by a NIH grant. For my family, this was an adventure we will never forget. Imagine arriving in Paris in the
middle of winter, with newborn twins, barely speaking the language. |
Year | Fellow |
1997 | Zelma HT Kiss, MD, PhD |
Host country | Host Institution |
France | Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Grenoble |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in her neurosurgical career,
Dr. Kiss responded: The Van Wagenen Fellowship was a wonderful experience; essential to having an
international experience while in training – interaction with trainees from other places in the world,
different health care approaches and research styles is invaluable. It provided an opportunity to work with
an international star mentor, in a very specialized field. The experience defined my research path. |
Year | Fellow |
1998 | Kamal Thapar, MD, FAANS, FACS |
Host country | Host Institution |
Germany | University of Erlagen-Nurnberg |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in his neurosurgical career,
Dr. Thapar responded: This fellowship has had a profound impact on my professional career, the extent of
which I seem to better appreciate with each passing year. The opportunity to study in the company of master
surgeons in Germany in the fields of pituitary surgery, epilepsy surgeon, and intraoperative navigation, not
only provided technical skills that I use on a daily basis, but did so in the context of an enriching
cultural experience for both my family and me. With the benefits of the experience being as much cultural
and philosophical as they were scholarly and neurosurgical, I regard the Van Wagenen Fellowship as one of
the defining and most precious moments in my professional career. |
Year | Fellow |
1999 | Theodore H. Schwartz, MD, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
Germany | Tobias Bonheoffer Max-Planck Institute for Neurobiology |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in his neurosurgical career,
Dr. Schwartz responded: I currently run a basic science laboratory funded with an RO1, an R21 and a K08 from
NINDS. The laboratory employs an assistant professor, two post-doctoral fellows and a technician. Without
the data and experience obtained during my Van Wagenen Fellowship, I would not have been able to obtain
independent funding and begin an independent laboratory |
Year | Fellow |
2000 | P. Charles Garell, MD, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
France | Centre Hospitalier Universitaire |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in his neurosurgical career,
Dr. Garell responded: Spending an extended period of time immersed in another culture has broadened my
outlook both personally and professionally. Too often, we find ourselves trending toward the “standard
of care,” without appreciating that commonly there is little objective evidence to support one local
practice over another. Thus, by learning a different set of “standards,” one can better
appreciate the range of treatment options available and develop more encompassing theories to advance our
mission of patient care, teaching and research. |
Year | Fellow |
2001 | Shekar N. Kurpad, MD, PhD, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
Sweden | Karolinska Institute |
Shekar N. Kurpad, MD, the recipient of the 2001 William P. Van Wagenen Fellowship is the Chief Resident of
the Department of Neurosurgery at Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Kurpad earned an undergraduate degree
from Bangalore University in India, a medical degree from Bangalore Medical College and a PhD in pathology
from Duke University. His research at Duke on the molecular and cell biology of gliomas was published in
first-rate peer-reviewed journals. |
Year | Fellow |
2002 | Saadi Ghatan, MD |
Host country | Host Institution |
England | Institute of Child/Health/Great Ormond Street Hospital |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in his neurosurgical career,
Dr. Ghatan responded: The Van Wagenen Fellowship gave me scientific and clinical perspective that was
invaluable. I studied neural development in London, and have used the lab techniques learned there to begin
my lab efforts at Columbia. This has led to studies in neural tube defects and pediatric brain tumors. Most
importantly, I’ve made lasting professional contacts and friendships from my year abroad. |
Year | Fellow |
2003 | Odette Althea Harris, MD, MPH, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
Jamaica | University Hospital of the West Indies |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in her neurosurgical career,
Dr. Harris responded: It has served as a framework for ongoing research in the area of trauma epidemiology -
an invaluable opportunity. |
Year | Fellow |
2004 | Stephen M. Russell, MD, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
Germany | Ludwig Maximilians, University of Munich |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in his neurosurgical career,
Dr. Russell responded: Established a number of European collaborations and jump-started my academic career,
laboratory experience, NREF grant, book on peripheral nerve injury and much more. |
Year | Fellow |
2005 | Devin K. Binder, MD, PhD, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
Germany | University of Bonn Medical Center |
When asked how the Van Wagenen experience made a difference personally and/or in his neurosurgical career,
Dr. Binder responded: Currently in the middle of the fellowship, I already recognize the important
professional benefits. I am learning epilepsy surgery and other approaches to neurosurgical problems all in
the setting of the best neurosurgery program in Germany. Certainly, I am exposed to a wealth of clinical
material. In addition, I am working in the laboratory with a world-class physiologist and other colleagues
to push forward the understanding of the role of glial cells in epilepsy. |
Year | Fellow |
2006 | Yu-Hung Kuo, MD, PhD, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
Australia | Fliders Medical Centre |
Yu-Hung Kuo, MD, PhD, is one of the recipients of the 2006 William P. Van Wagenen Felowship. He obtained his
undergraduate degree in the biological sciences at the California Institute of Technology. After completing
the first year of medical school at the University of Iowa, Dr. Kuo transferred to Columbia University,
P&S where he joined the MD/PhD program. As a student of the Integrated Program in Cellular, Molecular,
and Biophysical Studies, the isolation and characterization of a novel transynaptic regulatory protein led
to his doctoral dissertation, “The role of the N-terminus in neuregulin function.” |
Year | Fellow |
2006 | Uzma Samadani, MD, PhD, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
Germany | University of Goettingen |
Uzma Samadani was born in Wimbledon, England and moved to Beaver Dam, Wisconsin at the age of two. She
matriculated into the University Wisconsin-Madison’s Medical Scholars Program after high school. While
in Madison, she had her first exposure to research, developing a new model for cornea transplantation in
mice in the laboratory of ophthalmologist John Chandler. For this work, she won the Academic Award for
Excellence in science research, as one of the top two undergraduate researchers in the College of Letters
and Sciences. She was also awarded a research grant from the Center for Biology Education for work performed
in the research lab of transplant surgeon Hans Sollinger. After three years at the University of Wisconsin,
Uzma graduated Phi Beta Kappa with majors in Molecular Biology and English Literature. |
Year | Fellow |
2007 | James C. Miller, MD, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
Germany | University of Tubingen |
James C. Miller was raised in Moravia, Iowa. He attended the University of Iowa, obtaining a double major in
Biochemistry and History graduating with honors in 1996. As an undergraduate, he worked in the laboratory of
Dr. Kevin Campbell, a leading muscular dystrophy researcher. He then attended medical school at the
University of Iowa and developed interest in neurosurgery and performed research with Dr. Vincent
Traynelis. |
Year | Fellow |
2008 | Samuel H. Cheshier, MD, PhD, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
Sweden | Lund University |
Samuel H. Cheshier, MD, PhD, began his academic career as an undergraduate at the University of California,
Los Angeles. It was there that he became intrigued with blood stem cells as the source for immune cells.
Although his long-term goal was to develop stem cell based therapies for CNS diseases, he realized that the
immunology and hematology communities were highly advanced in their understanding of stem cells and the
application of these cells in the clinical setting. Indeed they have made cell based therapies a reality
with the advent of bone marrow transplantation. Thus upon matriculating to Stanford Medical School, he
decided to study stem cell biology with the person who purified the hematopoetic stem cell, Dr. Irving
Weissman. As a graduate student, he ascertained the kinetics of the blood stem cell proliferation in vivo,
which served as the basis of modeling the stochastic nature of steady state hematopoietic stem cell
proliferation. He continued his training as a resident and postdoctoral fellow at Stanford, where he
continued his work in the laboratories of Dr. Weissman and Dr. Roeland Nusse. He studied both normal and
cancer-stem cells in the brain and identified the role of an important factor (Wnt protein) in the life
cycle of these cells. As a Van Wagenen fellow he will continue his studies of stem cells with one of the
fathers of cellular transplantation, Dr. Anders Bjorklund. |
Year | Fellow |
2009 | Michael C. Park, MD, PhD |
Host country | Host Institution |
France | Assistance Publique L' Hospital d' Adulte de la Timone |
A native of Seoul, South Korea, Michael C. Park, MD, PhD, moved to Overland Park, Kan. at age 12. He
received his medical and doctorate degrees from the University of Kansas. |
Year | Fellow |
2010 | Andrew W. Grande, MD |
Host country | Host Institution |
Germany | Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen |
Andrew W. Grande, MD, a native of St. Paul, MN, received his medical degree from the University of Minnesota
in 2003. He completed his neurosurgical residency at the University of Cincinnati and Mayfield Clinic in
2009 and is currently doing a fellowship in cerebrovascular/endovascular neurosurgery under the direction of
Mario Zuccarello, MD, Professor and Interim Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery, Andrew Ringer, MD,
Associate Professor and Director of Endovascular Neurosurgery, and Todd Abruzzo, MD, Assistant Professor of
Neuroradiology. |
Year | Fellow |
2011 | Nicholas F. Marko, MD |
Host country | Host Institution |
United Kingdom | University of Cambridge |
Nicholas F. Marko, MD, is chief neurosurgery resident at the Cleveland Clinic and will complete his
residency in June 2011. He received his medical degree from the George Washington University School of
Medicine in 2005. He is the recipient of numerous past research grants and academic awards. |
Year | Fellow |
2011 | Ben Waldau, MD, FAANS |
Host country | Host Institution |
Germany | University of Dresden (Center for Regenerative Therapies) |
Ben Waldau, MD, received his medical degree magna cum laude from Ruprecht-Karls University in Heidelberg,
Germany. He completed his neurosurgical residency in June 2010 at Duke University in Durham, NC, and is
currently an endovascular fellow at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He is the recipient of several
past research grants and academic awards. |
Year | Fellow |
2012 | Matthew Christopher Tate, MD, PhD |
Host country | Host Institution |
France | Hopital Guide Cliauliac/Institute of Neuroscience of Montpellier |
My goals in academic neurosurgery are to establish a practice focusing on the treatment of patients with brain tumors involving eloquent areas and to establish a laboratory effort aimed at understanding the structural substrates underlying both normal human brain function as well as functional reorganization in response to brain tumor growth. As a Van Wagenen Fellow under the mentorship of Dr. Hugues Duffau in Montpellier, France, I will utilize direct cortical stimulation in awake human patients to both establish a standardized functional atlas of human brain function and to investigate the functional consequence of brain plasticity following injury. |
Year | Fellow |
2013 | David Ryan Ormond, MD |
Host country | Host Institution |
Germany | Rheinische Friedrich Wilhelms Universitat Bonn |
The Institute for Reconstructive Neurobiology at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms Universität Bonn,
Germany, under the directorship of Oliver Brüstle, is a research institute focused on the development
of novel stem cell-based therapies for diseases of the central nervous system. The research institute
remains highly interested in translational projects and works in close collaboration with a number of
clinical departments at the university and elsewhere. |
Year | Fellow |
2014 | Ausaf A. Bari, MD |
Host country | Host Institution |
Canada | University of Toronto |
The William P. Van Wagenen Fellowship allowed me to travel to the University of Toronto to work with Dr. Andres Lozano, one of the world’s experts on neuromodulation for psychiatric disorders. Dr. Lozano’s laboratory is at the forefront of this type of basic science research. This fellowship also provided me with the funding and recognition to advance our understanding of how the human brain processes reward, and how this knowledge can be used for the benefit of patients suffering from some of the most devastating disorders such as addiction. |
Year | Fellow |
2015 | Lisa Anne Feldman, MD, PhD |
Host country | Host Institution |
New Zealand | University of Auckland |
Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is an important treatment option for numerous neurosurgical diseases,
including skull base tumors, metastatic brain tumors and arteriovenous malformations. Radiation necrosis
(RN) is a severe complication of SRS that results in irreversible, coagulative necrosis of surrounding
peri-lesional normal brain. We propose here to assess the efficacy of oxygen-therapeutic perfluorocarbon
(PFC) nanoparticles as both a neuroprotective agent and a treatment for cerebral RN. We will use a murine
model of late cerebral RN, and provide PFC or control at various time points before and after radiation. The
progression of RN will be monitored by longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging, supported by correlative
histology. |
Year | Fellow |
2016 | S. Kathleen Bandt, MD |
Host country | Host Institution |
France | Aix-Marseille Universite |
The William P. Van Wagenen Fellowship Selection Committee has announced S. Kathleen Bandt, MD, as the
recipient of the 2017 William P. Van Wagenen Fellowship. Dr. Bandt, a Fellow in Epilepsy & Functional
Neurosurgery at Yale University, will commence her Van Wagenen fellowship in July 2016. |
Year | Fellow |
2017 | Darrin J. Lee, MD, PhD |
Host country | Host Institution |
Canada | University of Toronto |
Epilepsy is a chronic neurological condition that can result in abnormalities in hippocampal physiology and
subsequent impaired cognition. Deep brain stimulation neuromodulation has shown promising results in
alleviating cognitive dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injury, and epilepsy. The
aim of my research is to better understand the mechanisms and functional connectivity underlying
neuromodulation for cognition in epilepsy and neuropsychiatric disorders, and to further develop novel
applications for neuromodulation. |
Year | Fellow |
2018 | Kai Joshua Miller, MD |
Host country | Host Institution |
The Netherlands | University Medical Center, Utrecht |
My fellowship with at UMC Utrecht in Netherlands will focus on understanding network neurophysiology for
implanted closed-loop brain computer interfaces (BCIs). The team in Utrecht has developed a device for
standalone BCIs using a fully implanted recording device that wirelessly interacts with a tablet. I will
spend my Van Wagenen fellowship year learning scientific and surgical techniques for implanting these
devices. I will also be learning techniques for electrode implantation in epilepsy patients with research in
brain connectivity using paired cortical stimulation and recording in concert with 7-tesla fMRI. I will be
under the mentorship of Drs. Ramsey, van Rijen, and Robe. |
Year | Fellow |
2020 | Ezequiel D. Goldschmidt, MD, PhD |
Host country | Host Institution |
Sweden | Karolinska Instituet |
I am deeply honored and grateful to be awarded the Van Wagenen Fellowship. As the 2020 Van Wagenen Fellow, I
plan to obtain a broad-based foundation in the genomics, neurophysiology and axonal tracking techniques
currently applied to study neuroplasticity in animals. I will apply single cell m-RNA sequencing to study a
potential novel way to induce brain connectivity and better understand the gyrification process. During the
fellowship period, the main focus of my research will deal with the possibility of inducing transcortical
neuroplasticity in the auditory and somatosensory cortex of ferrets. I will also study, at a single cell
level, the genetic basis for gyrification and functional differentiation of gyri in the mammalian
brain. |
Year | Fellow |
2022 | Bhuvic Patel, MD |
Host country | Host Institution |
Germany | Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ)/ Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg |
I am honored and excited to have been awarded the Van Wagenen Fellowship to pursue neuro-oncology research abroad at the prestigious German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, Germany. During my time there I will develop expertise in genetic, epigenetic and transcriptional analysis of skull base tumors, create and foster cross-institutional and international research collaborations, and lay the foundation for my own independent scientific inquiry as an aspiring academic neurosurgeon. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work with world-renowned investigators and gain unique insight from experiencing a foreign culture. |
Year | Fellow |
2024 | Brandon P. Lucke-Wold, MD, PhD, MCTS |
Host country | Host Institution |
Japan | Fujita Health University |
The Van Wagenen Fellowship offers a once in a lifetime opportunity to foster international connections, establish global research across continents, and to learn unique surgical skill sets and perspectives. I am honored to have been chosen for this Fellowship and am confident that it will be a key catalyst as I launch my career. |