Newswise — ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. (March 25, 2014) — The William P. Van Wagenen Fellowship Selection Committee has announced Ausaf Bari, MD, PhD, as the recipient of the 2015 William P. Van Wagenen Fellowship. Dr. Bari, a resident in neurological surgery at the University of California, Los Angeles, will commence his fellowship in July 2014.

Dr. Bari will travel to Toronto, where he will be hosted by the Department of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery at the University of Toronto. Under the mentorship of Andres Lozano, MD, PhD, FAANS, Dr. Bari plans to study distinct parts of the ventral striatum and accumbens that may mediate different aspects of addiction.

Awarded annually since 1968, the Van Wagenen Fellowship is offered for post-residency study in a foreign country for a period of 12 months. In 2008, the award stipend was increased from $60,000 to the present $120,000, with an additional $15,000 awarded to the host university, lab or program to help defray research, education and investigation costs for the 12-month fellowship.

The William P. Van Wagenen Fellowship committee would also like to acknowledge Lisa Anne Felman, MD, PhD, of Virginia Commonwealth University, for her submission. Dr. Feldman, the alternate award winner, submitted a strong proposal earning recognition from the committee.

The William P. Van Wagenen Fellowship was established by the estate of Dr. Van Wagenen, who was one of the founders and the first President of the Harvey Cushing Society, now the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS). The Van Wagenen Fellowship was designed to provide freedom in scientific development without the restrictive limitations usually imposed by many research grants and fellowships. For additional information on the Van Wagenen Fellowship opportunity or for an application, visit www.aans.org or call the AANS at 847.378.0500.

Founded in 1931 as the Harvey Cushing Society, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) is a scientific and educational association with more than 8,600 members worldwide. The AANS is dedicated to advancing the specialty of neurological surgery in order to provide the highest quality of neurosurgical care to the public. All active members of the AANS are certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (Neurosurgery) of Canada or the Mexican Council of Neurological Surgery, AC.

Neurological surgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of disorders that affect the entire nervous system including the spinal column, spinal cord, brain and peripheral nerves.

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