SNIS Candidates for Election

Biographical Sketches of the 2022-2023 Candidates

Vice President

Johanna T. Fifi, MD

I am honored to be nominated for the position of Vice President of SNIS. I have been an active member of SNIS for over 15 years most recently being involved in a two-year term as chair of the governance committee where I lead initiatives to update our bylaws to better serve the changing needs of our diverse society. I previously served as neurology member-at-large on the board in the 2017-2018 term. In between, I have participated in the Get Ahead of Stroke campaign, visiting legislature in New York and Washington DC, have served on the annual meeting committee, being involved in each meeting for numerous years in some capacity including being faculty of the fellows course. I have served in the mentorship program, the Women in Neurointervention committee, participated in guideline writing, and in the education programming multiple times with our robust webinar series started during COVID.

My passion for the neurointerventional field has led me to serve in several capacities where I have met and worked with many of our leaders. I have recently ended my term as chair of the NESAC committee and serve on the CESAC committee, where we have worked hard to come together as all three specialties to uphold high standards for education and certification in our field. I have previously served on the SVIN board, chairing the annual meeting in 2016, and worked to strengthen the relationship between the two societies.

Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to work in multidisciplinary environments. I am currently in academic practice with a true multidisciplinary, unified team of neurologists, radiologists and neurosurgeons which I believe leads to better outcomes for patients. I think that it is important that SNIS continues to be a central society for our specialty welcoming all neurologic disciplines equally and working towards common goals.

I envision that SNIS will continue to lead in collaboration with related societies like SVIN and the CV Section to push our common agenda forward and make certain that patients around the country are cared for with the highest standards of care and training. I have and will continue to work on strengthening these collaborations between societies strategically reducing wasteful duplication of precious efforts. With my relationships across our diverse field, I believe that I will be in a position to advance many joint initiatives such as lobbying for equitable access for stroke care, advancing our field via research (advocating for funding, expanding our grants program), and increasing the value of our society to our trainee members. Throughout the years, SNIS has become a home for me. I hope to continue to work with this bright and diverse group dedicated to our specialty and the advancement of care for patients with neurovascular diseases for many years to come.

Michael T. Froehler, MD, PhD

I am honored to be nominated to serve as Vice President on the 2022-2023 SNIS board of directors. This is actually a four-year position, as the Vice President ascends to President-Elect, then President, then Past President. I am fortunate to I find myself at a stage in my career where I have the ability and desire to eagerly accept this commitment.

I have served on the SNIS board in two roles; previously as the Neurology Member-at-Large, and now as the Secretary. I also participate in the SNIS Mentorship Program as a mentor, served as the SNIS Annual Meeting Co-Chair in 2018 and have previously successfully lobbied for stroke-supportive legislation in Tennessee as part of the SNIS Get Ahead of Stroke Campaign.

Professionally, I am the director of the multi-specialty Cerebrovascular Program, director of the CAST-approved Neuro Endovascular Surgery Fellowship, and Associate Professor of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Radiology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

If elected, I will focus my efforts on further cultivating the harmony across the multiple specialties that comprise the membership of SNIS. I have partnered with many neuroradiologists and neurosurgeons throughout my career in neurointervention, and am very proud of our current, highly-collaborative Vanderbilt Cerebrovascular faculty that consists of myself and two endovascular neurosurgeons, as well as our extremely capable nurse practitioners, residents, fellows, nurses, and coordinators. I believe that multi-specialty integration is critical for our success within our individual healthcare institutions, and at the national and international society level.

I will also advocate for the continued development of individual certification in our field. CAST has provided an important step toward board-certification in neuro endovascular surgery, and I support further multi-disciplinary progress toward certification for all practitioners of neuro interventional surgery to ensure quality among physicians and promote widespread faith in our specialty.

Secretary

Reade A. De Leacy, MD

My name is Reade De Leacy and I ask for consideration for the position of secretary of the Society of Neurointerventional Surgery for 2022-2023. I am honored to be considered for this role.

I am a Neurointerventional Radiologist and Associate Professor in the departments of Neurosurgery and Radiology and The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. I am the co-director for the neuroendovascular fellowship program within the Sinai network, the director of cerebrovascular services at Mount Sinai Hospital, Queens and the director of the neurointerventional spine services throughout the network.

I have been privileged to serve on the SNIS Board of Directors as Member-at-Large for Neuroradiology and as the co-chair for two SNIS annual scientific meetings in both 2020 and 2021. I am a member of the multidisciplinary neurointerventional match task force and the SNIS standards and guidelines committee since 2019. I have been a member of the JNIS editorial board since 2016 as an assistant editor for the social media team and have run the journals monthly webinar series since 2020.

I am honored to be nominated to the SNIS executive committee for the position of secretary. Should I be elected, I will continue the collaborative and effective operations of the SNIS executive committee allowing our society to continue to grow and constructively represent our members who are in practice and in training from all three background specialties.

Sandra Narayanan, MD

Thank you for the SNIS Secretary nomination. It has been a great honor and privilege to work for our Society in various capacities. Along with grant reviewing/mentoring, and representing SNIS in Joint Scientific Sessions with the CV Section/ESMINT/Oriental Conference in Interventional Neuroradiology, my responsibilities have included

SNIS Member-At-Large (Interventional Neurology): 2021-22
Co-Chair, 17^th & 18^th SNIS Annual Meetings: 2020-21
Chair, SNIS Women in NeuroIntervention (WIN) Committee: 2020-Present
Chair, SNIS Foundation: 2016-2020
Member, SNIS Standards & Guidelines Committee: 2009-2015
Member, SNIS Annual Scientific Committee: 2013-16
Member, SNIS Pediatric Neurointervention Committee: 2019-Present
Member, SNIS Abstract Review Committees: 2014, 2017

My prior professional service to SVIN includes Membership Chair and serving a 3-year term on Board of Directors from 2017-2020. I am currently a member of the SVIN Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Committee. I also represent the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in the Focused Practice in Central Nervous System Endovascular Surgery (CNS-ES) Committee (CESAC).

Since completing neurointerventional fellowship in 2009, I have worked in multidisciplinary adult and pediatric environments throughout the metro Detroit area and most recently as Associate Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, staffing two Comprehensive Stroke Centers and robust telestroke and inpatient services. Working with local, state, and federal legislators in the Get Ahead of Stroke campaign to standardize EMS protocols and effect policy change is a particular interest.

Some of my passions include networking and developing professional leadership and WIN initiatives, including arranging guest speakers for annual WIN dinners and organizing the first WIN Leadership Workshop this month. The diversity of our membership, meeting attendance, and invited speakers continues to grow, and I am committed to supporting these trends. Having been on the SNIS Board in voting or Ex-Officio status for multiple years, I am familiar with SNIS Executive Committee governance roles and responsibilities and would welcome the opportunity to serve as SNIS secretary, if elected.

Member-at-Large (Interventional Neuroradiologist)

Matthew R. Amans, MD

Thank you for considering me for SNIS Member-at-Large for Interventional Neuroradiology. I am an Associate Professor at the University of California San Francisco where I serve as our Interventional Neuroradiology Fellowship Director, Director of NIR Resident Education, and Director of Interventional Neuroradiology Clinical Services.

I have been honored to serve SNIS in the following roles:

SNIS Program Chair for ASNR 2022 Annual Meeting
SNIS Program Chair for ASNR 2023 Annual Meeting
Founding Member, SNIS Education Committee
Founding Member, SNIS CSF Venous Disorders Committee
Chair, SNIS Scientific Abstract Awards Scoring Committee at ASNR 2022 Annual Meeting
Member, SNIS Exhibit Review Committee for ASNR 2021 Annual Meeting.
Reviewer for JNIS since 2015

If elected, I will work to increase resident exposure to our field by creating an SNIS-Approved Radiology Resident Rotation, and promote it within the Radiologic Society of North America and the American College of Radiology, a project I started last year. I will work to build bridges across the specialties within our society by working with the other Members at Large to create dedicated resident rotations for their specialty’s residents, a project that I undertook at UCSF where we have approved curriculum rotations for residents in the departments of Radiology, Neurosurgery, and Neurology.

I would be honored to represent Interventional Neuroradiologists within SNIS, and to represent all members of SNIS within other professional organizations.

Jeremy J. Heit, MD, PhD

It is my privilege to be nominated for the Member-at-Large (Interventional Neuroradiology) position with the SNIS Board of Directors. In support of my nomination, I would like to briefly describe my background, current position as an Assistant Professor of Radiology and, by courtesy, of Neurosurgery at Stanford, and the vision for SNIS that I would work to achieve as a member of the SNIS board.

I grew up in Colorado, and I attended the University of Colorado at Boulder (in between ski trips). I then completed my medical and graduate school training (MD and PhD) at Stanford University. After medical school, I moved to the Boston for an internal medicine internship at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital followed by a diagnostic radiology residency at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). During my time at MGH, I served as Chief Resident in Radiology, and I completed a year of sub-specialty diagnostic neuroradiology training. After completing my diagnostic radiology training, I returned to Stanford for a two-year neurointerventional surgery (NIS) fellowship. After completion of my NIS fellowship, I was recruited to join the faculty at Stanford, and I am currently an Assistant Professor of Radiology and, by courtesy, of Neurosurgery at Stanford and the Stanford NIS fellowship director.

My service to NIS, neuroradiology, and radiology extends beyond Stanford. I have been dedicated to SNIS, and in the past few years I have served on the membership committee, as co-chair of the annual SNIS fellows course (2020 and 2021), and I am currently the co-chair of the SNIS Annual Meeting (2022). I serve on several other national committees, which include the American Society of Neuroradiology Research committee (2012-present) and the Scientific Program Committee (Neuroradiology/Head and Neck Subcommittee) for the Radiological Society of North America (2018-present). I have also consistently served on the annual meeting program committees for SNIS, the International Stroke Conference, the American Roentgen Ray Society, and the American Society of Functional Neuroradiology over the past four years.

SNIS is a multidisciplinary field, and I would work to further promote the integration of neuroradiology, neurosurgery, and neurology. By working with other subspecialty societies, I would promote inviting speakers from different backgrounds to give talks the various national meetings (for example, a leading neurologist speaking at the AANS meeting about a NIS topic). Not only would these efforts further cement the common bond of the physicians and teams within SNIS, but it would also promote our collaborative ethos to other subspecialty societies. There are many other avenues to explore as we work to increase the prominence of NIS. It is important that we also consider other healthcare providers working in the NIS space, which include nurses, technologists, and many others. I would work to promote further education as to the mission of SNIS to these groups as a Member-at-Large.

In summary, I am honored to be nominated for the Member-at-Large position with the SNIS Board of Directors. Thank you for your consideration, and I look forward to working with all of our SNIS members to continue to promote our marvelous field.

Member-at-Large (Endovascular Neurosurgeon)

Jan-Karl Burkhardt, MD

I would be honored to serve as Member-at-Large (Endovascular Neurosurgery) on the 2022-2023 SNIS Board of Directors and I am grateful for the nomination. I am an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Medicine in Philadelphia and specialize in Cerebrovascular/Neuroendovascular Surgery. I have enjoyed the opportunity to contribute to SNIS before as part of the scientific planning committee for the SNIS annual meeting this year in Toronto and as Chair of the AANS/CNS CV Section Communication Committee organizing webinars in collaboration with the educational chair of the SNIS. I have also recently joined the SNIS Standard and Guideline Committee and I am looking forward to contribute in this Committee.

For me personally, the SNIS is the most important institution (besides the CV Section) to represent our specialty and I am a strong supporter of this interdisciplinary collaboration where radiologists, neurologists and neurosurgeons work hand in hand together at SNIS. I am embracing this interdisciplinary collaboration from the beginning of my training as fellow at NYU until now at Penn where our faculty and fellowship structure welcomes members from all three disciplines to work together in the neurointerventional space.

I have come to understand and embrace the unique ability of the SNIS to affect our specialty. As Member-at-Large (Endovascular Neurosurgery), I would work hard to fulfill the duties of the position and advance our society and the field of Cerebrovascular/Endovascular Surgery.

Justin R. Mascitelli, MD

I am thrilled and honored to be nominated for Member-at-Large on the SNIS Board of Directors representing the Neurosurgical specialty. Following Neurosurgical residency/Endovascular fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital and Cerebrovascular fellowship at the Barrow Neurological Institute, I have worked as an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Texas Health and Science Center San Antonio and was recently named the new Neurosurgery Residency Program Director. I also serve as the Comprehensive Stroke Director of St. Luke’s Baptist Hospital in San Antonio.

I have been fortunate to have opportunities to participate in both SNIS and AANS/CNS CV Section over the last 3 years. In 2019, I co-directed the SNIS/CV Section Fellows courses, working closely with colleagues from Neurology and Radiology sub-specialties. I have served on the AANS/CNS CV Section Website Committee since 2019 and have chaired the committee over the last year overseeing both the website and social media. I have served as a Member-At-Large for the CV Section since April 2020 to present, gaining experience with this role. I have served as an abstract reviewer for the SNIS annual meeting for a number of years. Over the last year, I have served as co-chair of Communications for the CV section with my good friend Jan-Karl Burkhardt, overseeing CV Section social media, website and new CV Section webinar/townhall series that we developed and continue to moderate. In addition, we have partnered with SNIS for joint webinars on recurrent aneurysm treatment and middle meningeal artery embolization for subdural hematoma.

I am very excited at the opportunity to serve as a Member-at-Large on the SNIS board. I look forward to working with colleagues from all three neuro-interventional subspecialities. I envision a term working on new educational efforts, SNIS meeting planning, continuing to grow the relationship between SNIS and CV Section, and any new challenges/opportunities that SNIS will have in the near future.

Member-at-Large (Interventional Neurologist)

Santiago Ortega, MD

Sunil A. Sheth, MD

It is an honor and privilege to be nominated for the Member-At-Large position. I have been involved with SNIS since I was a Resident and have been fortunate to have the support and companionship of the membership throughout the entirety of my career in Neurology. I consider myself indebted to the society, having had the good fortune to study under many members of SNIS leadership and benefiting as a recipient of the SNIS Foundation Pilot grant – an award that helped me tremendously when landing my first academic position.

To tell you briefly about myself, I did medical school at Harvard, residency in Neurology at UCSF, and Vascular Neurology and Interventional Neuroradiology at UCLA. I am now a Vascular and Interventional Neurologist at UT Houston.

If elected to this position, I would like to continue my efforts to broaden the appeal of the society throughout the Neurology community and with joint efforts between SNIS and SVIN, such as the creation of registries and procedural databases and standardizing the fellowship application process. Further, I would like to advance the academic mission of the society. I have had the chance to win funding from the NIH, NASA, American Heart Association, the American Academy of Neurology, the American Brain Foundation, and SVIN and SNIS. By highlighting and encouraging the accomplishments of its members, SNIS can continue to move the needle forward for our field.