Dear Friends & Colleagues,

One of the most gratifying aspects of being chair of the Neurosurgery Research & Education Foundation (NREF) is announcing the results of our grant and fellowship programs.

2024-25 will be a historic year for the foundation.

With your support, the NREF will bestow a record $2.1 million in grant and fellowship funding this year. We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the individual donors, industry partners, sections and partner organizations that make this possible.

Becoming an NREF awardee is a long process. Applications open in September and are due in November. Hundreds of applications from some of the most promising young researchers in the country are then reviewed by experts across all the neurosurgical subspecialties during the winter. Simultaneously, our physician leaders and staff are confirming the funding support for each program. The process culminates with award announcements in the spring.

For the coming academic year, the NREF will support:

• 28  Clinical Fellowship Grants
• 11  Research Fellowship Grants and Young Clinician Investigator Awards
• 15  Medical Student Summer Research Fellowships

In the months and years ahead, I urge you to keep an eye on the young people who have won NREF awards. They are among the best and brightest in our specialty, and based on the history and Success Stories of previous NREF grant and fellowship recipients, I believe we will see great things from the 2024-25 class.

Over the past few months, the NREF has shared video updates from past grant recipients about the impact the NREF award has had on their careers. You can see these messages on our social media platforms – Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn. And beginning next month, you’ll be able to hear from both awardees and physician leaders with the launch of our NREF Instagram account.

Your donations open doors to future breakthroughs by contributing to the development of leading-edge educational opportunities and groundbreaking research projects.

To make a tax-deductible donation, please visit our secure online Donate page.

Your gift will empower the next generation of neurosurgeons, and together, we will leave the field of neurosurgery better than we found it and improve our patients’ lives.

Sincerely,