Tumor Section Awards

The Tumor Section Awards Committee continues to expand and develop its robust award program for outstanding research during both AANS and CNS scientific meetings, with new key steps below summarized:

  • In 2019, the Leksell award previously given only at the AANS was also given for the first time at the CNS, bringing our total awards to 22 per year: 12 at the AANS and 10 at the CNS. Additionally, the section continues to sponsor three bi-annual special awards given at our satellite meeting and one named lectureship at the AANS and co-sponsors, with the Society of Neuro-Oncology (SNO), a lectureship presented at the CNS/SNO annual meeting on alternate years as well as three special awards.
  • In 2020, thanks to generosity of philanthropic support, we will be able to more specifically focus and support two of our main awards:
    • The pediatric brain tumor award will be supported by the NREF fund in honor of Dr. James T. Rutka and re-named the James T. Rutka Pediatric Award.
    • The Columbia Softball Charity Award will be renamed as the Columbia Softball Charity Skull Base Award.

The AANS/CNS Section on Tumors extends its gratitude to the Award Sponsors for helping to encourage submission of the highest quality work in neuro-oncology.

The 10 Tumor Section award winners at the CNS 2019, and the Gupta Award lectureship, this year given at the CNS 2019, are shown below. Congratulations to each winner!

The Tumor Section congratulates Michael Vogelbaum, MD, PhD, FAANS, for the 2019 CNS Neurosurgery Tumor Paper of the Year Award. Pictured with Drs. Michel Berger and William Couldwell, CNS invited speakers on Tumors.

Abhijit Guha Award and Lecture

David Guttman, MD, is the recipient of the 2019 Abhijit Guha Award for his outstanding scientific contribution with clinical and research relevant in the field of brain tumors.

Jointly sponsored by the AANS/CNS Section on Tumors and the Society for Neuro-Oncology and presented at their respective annual meeting on alternate years, the Guha Award recognizes an accomplished investigator who has achieved significant results both in the laboratory and the clinic. In addition, the recipient will have played an active role in the mentorship of the next generation of neuro-oncology professionals.

Dr. David Guttman’s lecture at the CNS Annual Meeting on Sunday, October 20, 2019, was introduced by AANS/CNS Section on Tumors Chair Dr. Manish Aghi.

2019 Congress of Neurological Surgeons Awardees

American Brain Tumor Association Young Investigator Award

Bryan D. Choi, MD, is the recipient of the American Brain Tumor Association Award at the 2019 CNS Annual Meeting for the work entitled: “BiTE-armored CAR T cells overcome antigen escape from EGFRvIII-targeted therapy for glioblastoma” and presented during the Section on Tumors I on Monday, October 21, 2019.

Sponsored by the American Brain Tumor Association, the Young Investigator Award is given at the AANS and the CNS annual meetings to a young faculty member involved in neuro-oncology research who has demonstrated outstanding potential for future basic science research. The applicant must have been out of training for less than six years. A $2,000 honorarium accompanies this award.

Dr. Bryan D. Choi receives the American Brain Tumor Association Young Investigator Award at the 2019 CNS meeting from Dr. Isabelle M. Germano, AANS/CNS Section on Tumor Awards Chair.

BrainLab Neurosurgery Award

Dr. Hao Chen is the recipient of the BrainLab Neurosurgery Award at the 2019 CNS Annual Meeting for the work entitled: “A brain penetrating HSP90 inhibitor NXD30001inhibits glioblastoma as a monotherapy or in combination with radiation”, presented during the Section on Tumor Session II on October 22, 2019.

The Brainlab Neurosurgery Award is presented at the annual meetings of the AANS and CNS. This award is given to a neurosurgeon practicing in a nonacademic or international setting with the best abstract related to central nervous system tumors. Previous AANS/CNS Section on Tumors chairs Michael McDermott, MD, FAANS, and Ronald Warnick, MD, FAANS, were instrumental in securing this award, given through the generosity of Brainlab. The award carries an honorarium of $1,000.

Dr. Hao Chen receives the BrainLab Neurosurgery Award from Dr. Walavan Sivakumar, CNS 2019 AANS/CNS Joint Section on Tumor Scientific Program co-chair.

Columbia Softball Pediatric Brain Tumor Award

Jignesh Tailor, MD, PhD, is the recipient of the Columbia Softball Charity Award for the work entitled: “Recapitulation of Genetic Predisposition to Medulloblastoma in Human Neuroepithelial Stem Cells”, presented during the Section on Tumor Session II October 22, 2019.

The Columbia Softball Pediatric Brain Tumor Award is given to the best pediatric tumor abstract submitted by a resident or faculty member who is a member of the Tumors Section each AANS and CNS meeting. The section would like to acknowledge previous Section Chairs Drs. Jeff Bruce, Fred Barker and Rich Anderson for putting together the plan to use a portion of the proceeds from the annual tournament to support this award. The award carries an honorarium of $1,000.

Dr. Jignesh Tailor receives the Columbia Softball Charity Awardfrom Dr. Walavan Sivakumar, CNS 2019 AANS/CNS Joint Section on Tumor Scientific Program co-chair.

Integra Foundation Award

Karam P. Asmaro, MD, is the recipient of the Integra Award for the presentation entitled: “Candidate Regulatory Elements in Coding and Noncoding Regions are Associated with Invasive Behavior in Pituitary Tumors”, presented during the Section on Tumor Session I on October 21, 2019.

The Integra Foundation Award, sponsored by the Integra Foundation, is given at both the AANS and CNS meetings for the best research or clinical paper submitted investigating benign brain, spinal or peripheral nerve tumors. The award carries an honorarium of $1,000.

Dr. Karam P. Asmaro receives the Integra Award from Dr. Isabelle M. Germano, AANS/CNS Joint Section on Tumor Awards chair.

Rosenblum-Mahaley Clinical Research Award

Daniel A. Orringer, MD was the recipient of the Rosenblum-Mahaley Clinical Research Award at the CNS 2019 for the presentation entitled: ” First in Human Phase I Trial of Dual Vector (HSV1-TK, Flt3L) Immunotherapy For The Treatment of Newly Diagnosed High-Grade Glioma: Initial Results”, presented during the Section on Tumor Session II October 21 2019.

The Rosemblum-Mahaley Award is given at each of the AANS and CNS annual meetings to a neurosurgery resident, fellow or attending physician who submits the best clinical study in neuro-oncology. Special recognition is given to innovative approaches and those that lead to improved patient outcomes and quality of life.

About 25 years ago, just after founding the section, Dr. Mark Rosemblum established the Mahaley Clinical Award in honor of his friend and colleague, Steve Mahaley, who was terminally ill at the time of the award’s inception. While this award was not independently funded, it has been a hallmark of the section. In 2019, Dr. Mark Rosenblum and his wife Pam pledged funds to continue this award in perpetuity. The award was re-named the Rosenblum-Mahaley Clinical Research Award. The recipient is awarded a $1,000 honorarium.

Dr. Daniel A. Orringer receives the Rosenblum-Mahaley Clinical Research Award from Dr. Isabelle M. Germano, AANS/CNS Joint Section on Tumor Awards chair.

Preuss Research Award

Clark C. Chen, MD, PhD, FAANS, is the recipient of the 2019 Preuss Young Scientist Award for the work entitled: “Immuno-stimulatory effects of mechanical and thermal high intensity focused ultrasound”, presented during the Section on Tumor Session I on October 21, 2019.

Sponsored by the Preuss Foundation, the Preuss Research Award is given at each of the AANS and CNS annual meetings to a young scientist investigating brain tumors, within 10 years of training, who has submitted the best basic science research paper. This award has a $1,000 honorarium.

Dr. Clark C. Chen receives the Preuss Young Scientist Award at the CNS 2019 from Dr. Isabelle M. Germano, AANS/CNS Section on Tumor Awards chair.

Journal of Neuro-Oncology Award

Matthew M. Grabowski, MD, is the recipient of the 2019 Springer Journal of Neuro-Oncology Award for the work entitled:” Decreased Circulating Myeloid Derived Suppressor Cells at First Follow-up Predict Favorable Response to Immunotherapy in a Randomized Trial of Nivolumab and Bevacizumab in Recurrent GBM” presented during the Section on Tumor Session II on October 22, 2019.

The Springer Journal of Neuro-Oncology Award is presented at both the annual AANS and CNS annual meetings to a highly-ranked abstract in either clinical or basic science as related to neuro-oncology. This award is sponsored by the generosity of Springer and carries a $1,000 honorarium.

Dr. Matthew M. Grabowski receives the Journal of Neuro-Oncology Award from Dr. Walavan Sivakumar, CNS 2019 AANS/CNS Joint Section on Tumor Scientific Program co-chair.

AANS/CNS Joint Section on Tumors Skull Base Award

Bledi C. Brahimaj, MD, is the recipient of the AANS/CNS Joint Section on Tumors Skull Base Award for the presentation entitled: “Dural Venous Sinus Thrombosis after Vestibular Schwannoma Surgery: The Anticoagulation Dilemma” presented during the Section on Tumor Session I on October 21, 2019.

AANS/CNS Joint Section on Tumors Skull Base Award is given to a high-ranking brain tumor clinical or basic science abstract submitted by a resident or medical student. The award is presented at the CNS and AANS annual meetings and the senior author of the paper must be a member of the AANS/CNS Section on Tumors. This award carries a $1,000 honorarium.

Dr. Bledi C Brahimaj receives the AANS/CNS Joint Section on Tumors Skull Base Award from Dr. Isabelle M. Germano, AANS/CNS Joint Section on Tumor Awards chair.

AANS/CNS Joint Section on Tumors Neuro-Oncology Trainee Award

Dr. Connor Liu is the recipient of the AANS/CNS Joint Section on Tumors Neuro-Oncology Trainee Award for the presentation entitled: “Combination Immune Treatment of a Highly Aggressive Orthotopic Murine Glioblastoma with Checkpoint Blockade Inhibition and Neoantigen Vaccination”, presented during the Section on Tumor Session I on October 21, 2019.

The AANS/CNS Joint Section on Tumors Neuro-Oncology Trainee Award is given to a high-ranking brain tumor clinical or basic science abstract submitted by a resident or medical student. The award is presented at the CNS and AANS annual meetings and the senior author of the paper must be a member of the AANS/CNS Section on Tumors. The award is sponsored through the generosity of Stryker and has a $1,000 award certificate.

Dr. Connor Liu is the recipient of the AANS/CNS Joint Section on Tumors Neuro-Oncology Trainee Award.

Leksell Radiosurgery Award

Matthew Shepard, MD, is the recipient of the 2019 Leksell Award for the presentation entitled: “Stereotactic Radiosurgery with and without Checkpoint Inhibition for Patients with Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer to the Brain: A Matched Cohort Study”, presented during the AANS/CNS Section on Tumors II on October 20, 2019.

This award, presented at each AANS meeting, starting in 2009, and at the CNS annual meeting for the first time this year, is for the best paper on stereotactic radiosurgery related to brain tumors, given through the generosity of Elekta. The award includes a $2,000 award certificate.

Dr. Matthew Shepard receives the Leksell Award from Dr. Walavan Sivakumar, CNS 2019 AANS/CNS Joint Section on Tumor Scientific Program co-chair.

Please join us in congratulating all our awardees scheduled to be announced at the AANS meeting this year.

Award

Awardee

Title

 

James T. Rutka Pediatric Brain Tumor Award

 

Rahul Kumar

 

Early Detection of Medulloblastoma Relapse by Genomic Profiling of CSF‐Derived Circulating Tumor DNA

 

Preuss Research Award

 

Anthony C. Wang, MD

Engineering T Cell Receptors to Target H3.3G34 Mutant GlioblastomaEngineering T Cell Receptors to Target H3.3G34 Mutant Glioblastoma

 

American Brain Tumor Association Young Investigator Award

 

Zsolt Zador, MD, PhD

Distinct Regional Activity And Ontogeny Of Tumor Associated Macrophages In Human Glioblastoma Suggests Parallel Recruitment Processes.

Journal of Neuro‐Oncology

Addison Barnett, MS

Sex‐Associated Analysis of MGMT Promoter Site Methylation in Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma

 

Brainlab Neurosurgery

 

Sebastian Ille, MD

Navigated Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Improves the Outcome of Postsurgical Ischemia‐related Paresis in Glioma Patients – A Randomized, Sham‐controlled Double‐blinded Trial

 

Leksell Radiosurgery

 

Akiyoshi Ogino, MD, PhD

Useful Hearing Preservation Is Improved in Vestibular Schwannoma Patients Who Undergo Stereotactic Radiosurgery Before Further Hearing Deterioration Ensues

 

Columbia Softball Skull Base

 

Avital Perry, MD

 

Differential Methylation Patterns Are Associated With Variable Vestibular Schwannoma Clinical Phenotypes

Brian D. Silber

Sakibul Huq

Epigenetic Modulation As A Novel Treatment Strategy for Chordoma

 

Rosenblum‐Mahaley Clinical Research

 

Joseph Paul Antonios, MD

 

Improved Survival for GBM Patients Treated with DC Vaccine and Adjuvant TLR‐3 Agonist in Phase II Clinical Trial

 

Ronald L. Bittner Award on Brain Tumor Research

 

Pablo Valdes Quevedo, MD

 

Protein Decrowding ExM For Discovery Of Previously Unidentified Structures And Cell Populations In Gliomas

 

AANS/CNS Section on Tumors Neuro‐Oncology Trainee Award

 

Sricharan Gopakumar

 

Oncolytic Viral Delivery Into The Surgical Resection Cavity For The Treatment Of Glioblastoma In A Murine Model

 

Integra Foundation Award

 

David S. Baskin, MD, FAANS

 

Characterization of Rathke’s Cleft Cyst (RCCs) by 1H‐MRS: Differential Diagnosis of Pituitary Adenomas and RCCs