The Department of Neurological Surgery research bulletin is updated monthly. Check back for the latest grants, awards, and high-impact publications.
Grants and Awards
Mitch Hart Distinguished Professorship
Dr. Jonathan White has been named the inaugural holder of the Mitch Hart Distinguished Professorship in Neurological Innovation.
Dr. White is a Professor of Neurological Surgery and a cerebrovascular surgeon. His multifaceted practice focuses on innovative approaches to managing facial pain and on working collaboratively with the Department of Neurology to build pathways for diagnosing and managing normal pressure hydrocephalus.
Decherd Neurotrauma Award
Dr. Alex Valadka was selected as this year’s recipient of the Decherd Neurotrauma Award, which recognizes excellence and commitment to outstanding neurotrauma care. Dr. Valadka serves as chief of neurosurgery at Parkland Memorial Hospital and is an internationally renowned expert on traumatic brain injury. This award includes a monetary award and funds to advance professional development.
Distinguished Researcher Award
Dr. Frederick Hitti has received the Distinguished Researcher Award from the President's Research Council (PRC). This recognition celebrates his groundbreaking research using invasive brain recordings to explore anhedonia in patients with treatment-resistant depression.
TRC4 Funding
Congratulations to Dr. Alex Valadka on being selected for funding for the TRC4 program. The Trauma Research and Combat Casualty Care Collaborative (TRC4) is an initiative of the University of Texas System with the mission to harness the power of the University of Texas System to transform trauma care both on the battlefield and in the civilian sector. Its vision is to fund transformative inter-institutional collaborative basic, clinical, and translational research that can be rapidly translated to improve trauma care throughout the state of Texas, and ultimately nationally and internationally.
NREF Research Fellowship Grant
Congratulations to Dr. Panagiotis Mastorakos on being selected as the awardee for the 2024-2024 NREF Research Fellowship Grant.
Medtronic and Abbott Grants
Dr. Bradley Lega has received grants from Medtronic and Abbott to support the Department of Neurological Surgery’s functional fellowship program.
High Impact Publications
Drs. Mazin Al Tamimi and Salah Aoun published "Age is Associated with Level of First-Time Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion: An Ordinal Analysis of Factors Influencing Timing of Cervical Degeneration" in World Neurosurgery.
Dr. Frederick Hitti and his collaborators published "Investigating Resistance to Antidepressants in Animal Models" in Neuroscience.
Dr. Bradley Lega and his collaborators published "Modulation of hippocampal theta oscillations via deep brain stimulation of the parietal cortex depends on cognitive state" in Cortex.
Dr. Panagiotis Mastorakos and his collaborators published "Long-Term Follow-Up of Cerebral Aneurysms Completely Occluded at 6 Months After Intervention with the Woven EndoBridge (WEB) Device: a Retrospective Multicenter Observational Study" in Translational stroke research.
Dr. Panagiotis Mastorakos and his collaborators published "Primary Embolization of Cerebral Arteriovenous Malformations With Intention to Cure: A Systematic Review of Literature and Meta-Analysis" in Neurosurgery.
Dr. Nader Pouratian and his collaborators published "Globus pallidus externus drives increase in network-wide alpha power with propofol-induced loss-of-consciousness in humans" in Cerebral Cortex.
Dr. Matthew Sun and his collaborators published "Epigenetic induction of cancer testis antigens and endogenous retroviruses at single-cell level enhances immune recognition and response in glioma" in Cancer research communications.
Dr. Alex Valadka and his collaborators published "Isolated Traumatic Subarachnoid Hemorrhage on Head Computed Tomography Scan May Not Be Isolated: A Transforming Research and Clinical Knowledge in Traumatic Brain Injury Study (TRACK-TBI) Study" in the Journal of Neurotrauma.
Dr. Alex Valadka and his collaborators published "Use of MRI in patients with severe diffuse traumatic brain injury: A matched National Trauma Data Bank analysis" in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery.
Drs. Jonathan White and Salah Aoun published "Neurologic Quality of Life Outcomes in Patients with Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus After Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt Placement: A Prospective Assessment of Cognition, Mobility, and Social Participation" in World Neurosurgery.
Dr. Venkatesh Aiyagari and his collaborators published "Quantitative Pupillometry: Clinical Applications for the Internist" in The American Journal of Medicine.
Drs. Mazin Al Tamimi and Salah Aoun published "Basilar Impression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Clinical Features, Operative Strategies and Outcomes" in World Neurosurgery.
Dr. Salah Aoun and his collaborators published "Maxine Deborrah Hyde: First Female Graduate of Case Western Reserve University's Neurologic Surgery Residency Program and Second Black Female Neurosurgeon in the United States" in World Neurosurgery.
Dr. Salah Aoun and his collaborators published "Response to the Letter to the Editor on "Psoas Muscle Index as a Predictor of Perioperative Outcomes in Geriatric Patients Undergoing Spine Surgery" in the Global Spine Journal.
Drs. Salah Aoun, Mazin Al Tamimi, James Caruso, Remi Wilson, Luke Dosselman and their collaborators published "Age is Associated with Level of First-Time Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion: An Ordinal Analysis of Factors Influencing Timing of Cervical Degeneration" in the World Neurosurgery.
Dr. Elias Elias and his collaborators published "Assessing Surgical Outcomes for Cage Plate System versus Stand-Alone Cage in Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis" in World Neurosurgery.
Dr. Elias Elias and his collaborators published "Predictive factors and quality of life assessment among patients with spinal cord injury in the Middle East: a systematic review" in Quality of Life Research.
Dr. Zhongzheng Fu and his collaborators published "Dorsolateral prefrontal activity supports a cognitive space organization of cognitive control" in eLife.
Dr. Bradley Lega and his collaborators published "Clinical safety and feasibility of a novel implantable neuroimmune modulation device for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: initial results from the randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled RESET-RA study" in Bioelectronic Medicine.
Dr. Bradley Lega and his collaborators published "Laser interstitial thermal therapy for new and recurrent meningioma: a prospective and retrospective case series" in the Journal of Neurosurgery.
Drs. Christopher Madden, Alex Valadka, and their collaborators published "Clinical Outcomes After Traumatic Brain Injury and Exposure to Extracranial Surgery: A TRACK-TBI Study" in the JAMA Surgery.
Dr. Panagiotis Mastorakos and his collaborators published "Association of preprocedural antiplatelet use with decreased thromboembolic complications for intracranial aneurysms undergoing intrasaccular flow disruption" in the Journal of Neurosurgery.
Dr. Panagiotis Mastorakos and his collaborators published "Dual Layer vs Single Layer Woven EndoBridge Device in the Treatment of Intracranial Aneurysms: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis" in Neurosurgical Review.
Dr. Toral Patel and her collaborators published "Single-Fraction Versus Fractionated Preoperative Radiosurgery for Resected Brain Metastases: A PROPS-BM International Multicenter Cohort Study" in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics.
Dr. Nader Pouratian and his collaborators published "Irregularity of instantaneous gamma frequency in the motor control network characterize visuomotor and proprioceptive information processing" in the Journal of Neural Engineering.
Dr. Nader Pouratian and his collaborators published "Know DBS: patient perceptions and knowledge of deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease" in Therapeutic Advances in Neurological Disorders.
Dr. Nader Pouratian and his collaborators published "Prefrontal-subthalamic theta signaling mediates delayed responses during conflict processing" in Progress in Neurobiology.
Dr. Nader Pouratian and his collaborators published "Stereotactic radiosurgery in the management of non-small cell lung cancer brain metastases: a prospective study using the NeuroPoint Alliance Stereotactic Radiosurgery Registry" in the Journal of Neurosurgery.
Dr. Angela Price and her collaborators published "Pediatric neuromodulation for drug-resistant epilepsy: Survey of current practices, techniques, and outcomes across US epilepsy centers" in Epilepsia Open.
Dr. Matthew Sun and his collaborators published "Approaches to the Middle Cerebellar Peduncle for Resection of Pontine Cavernomas" in Operative Neurosurgery.
Dr. Alex Valadka and his collaborators published "Performance of the IMPACT and CRASH prognostic models for traumatic brain injury in a contemporary multicenter cohort: a TRACK-TBI study" in the Journal of Neurosurgery.
Dr. Alex Valadka and his collaborators published "Isolated Traumatic Subarachnoid Hemorrhage on Head Computed Tomography Scan May Not Be Isolated: A TRACK-TBI Study" in the Journal of Neurotrauma.
Dr. Babu Welch and his collaborators published "Most Promising Approaches to Improve Brain AVM Management: ARISE I Consensus Recommendations" in Stroke.
Dr. Babu Welch and his collaborators published "Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Medical Management of Poststroke Complications Among Patients With Acute Stroke" in the Journal of the American Heart Association.