Neurosurgery Research Symposium
Message from our Chairman, Dr. Anil Nanda
We’d like to send a heartfelt thank you to all participants involved in helping to facilitate the 2nd Annual Neurosurgery Research Symposium, hosted by the Department of Neurosurgery at Rutgers – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and New Jersey Medical School, as well as RWJBarnabas Health. The event featured keynote lectures from respected guest speakers, Dr. Jonathan D. Geiger and Dr. Jeffrey G. Ojemann, in addition to presentations from several of our own research faculty members and residents, paving the way on basic, translational, and clinical research projects. We had over 470 registrants with 9 countries represented!
Our research department is an integral part of contributing to the success of our annual academic endeavors, and this meeting would not have been possible without the leadership and support of Drs. Detlev Boison and Hai Sun. Our department will be moving forward this year with a continued series of events highlighting global topics including Stroke, Education, Spine, and Brain Tumors.
The tentative date for next year’s symposium is March 24th, 2022. Be sure to mark your calendar!
Welcome to the 2nd Annual Neurosurgery Research Symposium
The Neurosurgery Research Symposium hosted by the Department of Neurosurgery at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and New Jersey Medical School, as well as RWJBarnabas Health, will feature cutting edge neurosurgery research from bench to bedside, ranging from spinal cord and brain injuries and epilepsy, to age related neurodegenerative disorders and brain cancers. A specific focus is on regenerative, restorative, and preventive therapies, as well as cutting edge neurosurgical therapeutic interventions.
Our Plenary Speakers are:
Jonathan D. Geiger PhD, is a Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor in the Biomedical Sciences Department at the University of North Dakota. Dr. Fritz will give a presentation entitled: “An ‘iron-ic’ story about the involvement of endolysosomes in the pathogenesis of age-related neurological disorders.”
The main focus of Dr. Geiger’s research is on brain energy metabolism in general and purines in particular, regulation of levels of intracellular calcium with emphasis on intracellular pools of calcium, the control of neuronal cell life and death in neurodegenerative diseases, and neurological complications associated with HIV-1 infection. Dr. Geiger has published over 145 papers and has delivered over 100 invited talks worldwide. He has served on over 100 local, national and international grant review study sections including those for the NIH, the CIHR, the Alzheimer’s Society, and the Canada Foundation for Innovation; he has served as Chair or co-Chair on 14 of these panels.
Jeffrey Ojemann, MD, is a Professor of Neurological Surgery and Vice-Chairman for Research at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He holds the Richard G. Ellenbogen Chair in Pediatric Neurological Surgery and is Chief of Neurosurgery at Settle Children’s Hospital. He is Director of Epilepsy Surgery at the Regional Epilepsy Center at Harborview as part of the University of Washington Neurosciences Institute. He will give a lecture entitled: The adaptable homunculus – lessens from epilepsy research.
Dr. Ojemann’s research focuses on the effects of neurosurgical procedures on memory and cognition in children and adults. Neurosurgical patients also offer the opportunity to study electrocorticography (direct brain electrical recordings) during cognitive tasks such as working memory, language, and visual attention. These recordings lead to complex signal analysis, and the signals can be used to support a brain-computer interface (BCI) models. His research has been funded by NIH and NSF since 2001, with a focus on brain signals related to motor control and learning.
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8:45 – 9:00 Introductions: Anil Nanda, MD, MPH, FACS & Detlev Boison, PhD
9:00 – 10:00 Jonathan D. Geiger, PhD, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (Keynote Lecture)
An ‘iron-ic’ story about the involvement of endolysosomes in the pathogenesis of age-related neurological disorders
10:00 – 10:20 Dongsheng Cai, MD, PhD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Secretomes of neural stem cells
10:20 – 10:40 Yong Kim, PhD, Dept. of Neurosurgery, RWJMS
Molecular and cellular mechanism underlying susceptibility and resilience to chronic social stress
10:40 – 11:00 Mi Hyeon Jang, PhD, Mayo Clinic
Adult neurogenesis as a potential regenerative strategy for chemobrain
11:00 – 11:20 Stella Elkabes, PhD, Dept. of Neurosurgery, NJMS
The role of innate immune receptors in spinal cord injury
11:20 – 12:05 Data Blitz Sessions, Research Staff
Spencer Chen, PhD: High frequency oscillations (HFO) in temporal lobe epilepsy
Daniel Valdivia, MS: Seizure onset patterns of temporal lobe epilepsy
Benton Purnell, PhD: Role of adenosine in breathing and seizure-induced respiratory arrest
Madhuvika Murugan, PhD: Adenosine kinase in the cell nucleus – target for epilepsy prevention
Enmar Alharfoush, BSc: An epigenetic drug screening platform
Amir Wahba, PhD: Adenosine kinase expression determines DNA methylation in cancer cell lines
Anna Fateeva, BSc: Targeting adenosine kinase for the study of cancer cells
Hoda Gebril, PhD: Developmental role of adenosine kinase in the cerebellum
Ajay Peddada, BS: Alterations of structural and functional connectivity following mild TBI
12:05 – 1:00 LUNCH BREAK
1:00 – 2:30 Resident Presentations
Amanda Carpenter, MD: Outcomes after distal posterior cervical fusion
Neil Majmundar, MD: Anesthesia for Thrombectomy in Acute Ischemic Stroke: General versus Conscious sedation
Ali Tayebi Meybodi, DO: Analytical anatomy of nervus intermedius and the neuromuscular complex at the internal acoustic canal.
Ali Tayebi Meybodi, DO: Coding language for cerebrovascular bypasses.
Evgenii Belykh, MD: Real-time intraoperative optical biopsy for brain tumor surgery: results of the prospective ex-vivo study using CONVIVO(R) confocal laser endomicroscope.
Kevin Zhao, DO: Patient-derived glioblastoma spheres: principles and practice.
Grant Arzumanov, DO: The impact of DNA checkpoint inhibition and radiation on patient-derived glioblastoma spheres.
Omar Iqbal, MD: Trends in Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery
Blake Taylor, MD: Assessing post-operative physical activity and recovery among neurosurgical patients using smartphone accelerometers
BREAK
2:40 – 3:00 Pankaj Agarwalla, MD, Dept. of Neurosurgery, RWJMS
Adenosine kinase as target for glioma therapy
3:00 – 3:20 Amit Singla, MD, Dept. of Neurosurgery, NJMS
Adenosine augmentation for subarachnoid hemorrhage: challenges and opportunities
3:20 – 3:40 Shabbar Danish, MD, Dept. of Neurosurgery, NJMS
MR-Guided Laser Interstitial Therapy – Can we treat brainstem pathologies?
3:40 – 4:00 Hai Sun, MD, PhD, Dept. of Neurosurgery, RWJMS
Optogenetic activation of CA1 neurons induces hypersynchronous and low voltage fast seizures
4:00 – 5:00 Jeffrey G. Ojemann, MD, Seattle Children’s (Keynote Lecture)
The adaptable homunculus – lessens from epilepsy research
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Please complete the registration form by clicking the button below. After confirming your attendance, you will receive the zoom link and event announcements. If you have any questions, please contact aa2077@njms.rutgers.edu.
