Dear Colleagues,
The past year has been filled with accomplishments for the section. Manish Aghi, MD, PhD, FAANS, finished his term as section chair. Under his leadership, the section has expanded its membership and broadened its financial support. He has expanded its NREF grant offerings and also helped to lead an upcoming 35th anniversary issue of the Journal of Neuro-Oncology (JNO).
Isabella Germano, MD, FAANS, was elected as secretary and treasurer of the AANS/CNS Tumor Section. She brings a depth and breadth of knowledge about the section and has helped to, amongst other initiatives, steward the Tumor Section Awards for the past several years. New section committee leadership has also been put in place. The section’s website and social media platforms have been substantially updated.
In terms of the AANS/CNS Tumor Section Satellite meeting, the meeting was postponed secondary to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is likely that we will host the next Satellite meeting in the fall of 2021. The meeting would be in Austin, Texas, and coincides with the CNS Annual Meeting. Michael Vogelbaum, MD, PhD, FAANS, and Ian Dunn, MD, FAANS, are serving as co-scientific chairs, and Michael Ivan, MD, FAANS, and John Kuo, MD, PhD, FAANS, are the local site hosts. They are putting together an outstanding meeting that focuses on such diverse topics as spinal oncology, the tumor microenvironment, endoscopic skull base surgery, neurosurgeons as clinician scientists, managing recurrence in neuro-oncology and incorporating technology into a neurosurgical oncology practice. Edward Laws, MD, FAANS(L), is the honored guest for the meeting.
Chris Cifarelli, MD, PhD, FAANS, and Nduka Amankulor, MD, FAANS, have developed Tumor Section programming for the 2020 CNS Annual Meeting. While that meeting was cancelled also, selected tumor-related abstracts will be featured by the CNS through an online platform.
In the months to come, we will host virtual scientific offerings with the JNO, CNS and SNO. We will also host a virtual Tumor Section EC meeting in September. I look forward to a time when we can return to in-person meetings. Until then, the Tumor Section continues to fulfill its mission through innovative, technology based approaches.
Sincerely,
Jason Sheehan, MD, PhD, FAANS