NREF Success Story:
Connor Berlin
In 2017, I was honored to receive the NREF Medical Student Summer Research Fellowship for my project, “Characterization of methotrexate-induced brain injury in young rats,” under the mentorship of Viviane S. Tabar, MD, FAANS, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
That summer changed the course of my career. For the first time, I was responsible for every step of a project—from perfusing and sectioning to immunostaining and stereology. I learned that research is unpredictable but deeply rewarding when persistence and curiosity lead to new insight. Most importantly, I learned what it meant to be trusted as a young trainee. That sense of ownership inspired me to stay in Dr. Tabar’s lab throughout all four years of medical school, where her mentorship fostered both my scientific growth and my commitment to academic neurosurgery.
Today, as a PGY-6 neurosurgery resident at the University of Virginia, I continue to benefit from the foundation NREF provided—from early research training to resident education courses, including a recent NREF resident course led by Drs. Praveen Mummaneni and Juan Uribe. The mentorship and support that began with NREF also opened doors to meaningful humanitarian work, including neurosurgical missions to Ukraine during the current conflict. That work was encouraged by my late mentor and UVA Chairman, Dr. Mark Shaffrey, who deeply understood the importance of service beyond our own institutions. His belief in advancing neurosurgery through education, mentorship, and global outreach continues to guide me every day.
Dr. Shaffrey was recently honored with an NREF Honor Your Mentor Fund—a fitting tribute to a leader whose example reminds us that progress in neurosurgery depends not only on technical excellence, but also on generosity of spirit and dedication to others.
That summer changed the course of my career. For the first time, I was responsible for every step of a project—from perfusing and sectioning to immunostaining and stereology. I learned that research is unpredictable but deeply rewarding when persistence and curiosity lead to new insight. Most importantly, I learned what it meant to be trusted as a young trainee. That sense of ownership inspired me to stay in Dr. Tabar’s lab throughout all four years of medical school, where her mentorship fostered both my scientific growth and my commitment to academic neurosurgery.
This is why your support matters. Every gift to NREF nurtures the next generation of neurosurgeons—medical students, residents, fellows, and young faculty—at the most critical stages of their training. Donations fuel opportunities that simply would not exist otherwise: early research experiences, resident education, and pilot funding for innovative ideas that will shape the future of our field.
I am living proof of the difference NREF makes. Your generosity ensures that others will have the same chance to discover, to grow, and to lead.
Thank you for supporting not only me, but all the young neurosurgeons who will shape the future of our specialty.