CNS/ASAP Fellowships

ASAP joins with the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) to sponsor resident fellowships. Neurosurgical residents can apply for up to $10,000 to conduct research or receive special training particular to syringomyelia and/or Chiari malformations. These fellowships provide a unique opportunity to encourage upcoming neurosurgeons to explore the complex issues surrounding syringomyelia and Chiari malformations.

ASAP is pleased to announce the 2007-2008 Recipients:

ASAP Mikula CNS Fellowship

Congratulations to Dr. Sandi Lam, a Neurosurgery resident at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). She graduated from Northwestern University Medical School and joined the Orthopedic Surgery residency program prior to pursuing training in Neurosurgery. Her interests include Chiari malformation, syringomyelia, spinal surgery, and international medicine.

Dr. Lam will be working under the mentorship of Dr. Ulrich Batzdorf and Dr. Marvin Bergsneider to conduct a review of patients evaluated and treated for “failed Chiari syndrome,” whose symptoms persist even months after posterior fossa decompression. Specifically, she will investigate the relationship between intracranial vasomotor instability and MRI CSF flow dynamics with continued symptomatology.

ASAP Monkton Institute CNS Fellowship

Congratulations Dr. Matthew McGirt, a fifth year resident in neurosurgery with the Department of Neurological Surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Under the mentorship of Dr. Benjamin Carson and Dr. George Jallo, his CNS / ASAP Monkton Institute fellowship project proposes to determine the pattern or degree of CSF flow abnormality at the hindbrain or cervical spinal cord via cMR imaging to identify patients who will have symptoms refractory to current treatment paradigms.

Dr McGirt said, “I hope to use this CNS fellowship as the foundation of my future research efforts to become a leader in both the practice of pediatric neurosurgery and in the investigation of Chiari malformation and syringomyelia.”

Past Recipients: