Biographical Sketches of the 2023-2024 Candidates
Vice President
Guilherme Dabus, MD
Thank you for considering me for the Vice-President position on the 2023-2024 SNIS Board of Directors. I am deeply honored by this nomination and I am looking forward to the possibility of serving you.
For the last 15 years I have dedicated my career only and exclusively to NeuroInterventional Surgery/Interventional Neuroradiology, clinically, educationally, and scientifically. I have served and continue to serve on several national scientific and leadership committees, particularly the SNIS. I have served in the SNIS Board of Directors from 2017 to 2023, initially elected as Member-at-Large-Neuroradiology (2017-2018), then as Secretary (2018-2019), served as Chair of the Audit Committee (2019-2021), and I am currently finishing my term as Treasurer (2021-2023). I was also the Co-Chair of the 2018 SNIS Annual Meeting that took place in San Francisco.
During my training at Northwestern University, Washington University in Saint Louis and Massachusetts General Hospital, I had the opportunity to be trained by brilliant NeuroInterventional Surgeons/Neuroendovascular Surgeons from all three different backgrounds (Neuroradiology, Neurosurgery and Neurology). These interactions convinced me that the most important is not where we are coming from but where we are going to moving forward; this is something that I try to pass to our trainees and fellows as their program director. Despite great advances in our field, changes in the healthcare environment with increasing pressure from hospitals and payers, lack of training standards and certification, increasing competition and volume dilution contribute to generate uncertainty about our future as an independent discipline. I truly believe that we should continue to work to position SNIS as the leading NeuroInterventional/NeuroEndovascular organization, working collaboratively with other professional organizations to strengthen our position as a group to better face current and future challenges. All practitioners from the three different backgrounds must share a common vision establishing our identity as an independent subspecialty. The stronger SNIS is, the better we will be positioned to fight, adapt, and continue to grow.
James Milburn, MD
I am honored to receive a nomination for SNIS Vice President, a society of which I have been a proud member for 25 years. My career has been spent at the Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans where I am Director of Neurointerventional Services and residency program director. We have a collaborative team with all 3 core disciplines and a 56-hospital telestroke network.
My history of volunteer service to both SNIS and JNIS shows my devotion to our premier society. One highlight of this service was my experience as SNIS Education Chair during the pandemic from 2020 to 2022. The pandemic created difficult times and feelings of isolation, so we began producing weekly and biweekly SNIS Insights Webinars to bring our worldwide community together, fill the education gap for our trainees, and disseminate ideas throughout our community. Our 40 webinars reached a worldwide audience with over 10 thousand views. This was the subject of my JNIS Editor’s Commentary in 2022, “Our Webinar Connection.”
My current role as SNIS Mentorship Chair has been another rewarding experience. I helped elevate our previously small program to over 70 mentorship relationships, connecting many trainees and young career physicians with mentors who were targeted to meet their individual needs. Through the mentorship program, SNIS is strengthening bonds and forming new connections across the country that would not occur organically between training programs.
Serving as Associate Editor for JNIS has given me the opportunity to work with many exceptional people on the Editorial Board deciding which manuscripts will be published in our Journal. Reviewing scientific literature is a rewarding task, and I truly appreciate the time and effort given by our many reviewers. Prior to becoming an Associate Editor in 2020, I received distinction as a JNIS Reviewer of the Year for my service.
Other contributions related to SNIS include roles as a chair of the 2019 Annual Meeting in Miami, Member-at-Large in 2018-19, and fellows course chair for both the 2017 SNIS Annual Meeting and CNS Joint Section meeting. I am active in the SNIS Diversity Committee, Education Committee, and Fellowship Match Task Force. I have been liaison for SNIS programming in the ASNR Annual Meeting, and I am co-chair of the ASNR Neurointerventional Council.
I believe that my many experiences within SNIS have given me the needed understanding and perspective to serve the board well. I understand and appreciate the value of collaboration between our core specialties and multidisciplinary departments.
If elected, I assure you that I will work tirelessly to build upon the hard work done by so many who previously served in this position.
Treasurer
Reade A. De Leacy, MD
My name is Reade De Leacy and I ask for consideration for the position of Treasurer of the Society of Neurointerventional Surgery for 2023-2025. I am honored to be considered for this role.
By way of background, 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 Mount Sinai South Nassau and the director of the neurointerventional spine services throughout the network.
I have been privileged to serve on the SNIS Board of Directors as secretary, 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 associate editor since 2022 and prior to that as an assistant editor for the social media team where I coordinated and ran our journals monthly webinar series between 2020 and 2022.
I am honored to be nominated to the SNIS Board of Directors for the position of Treasurer. 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.
Justin F. Fraser, MD
It is an honor to be nominated to serve as Treasurer for the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery. It has been a privilege to serve most recently as Audit Committee Chair after serving as Member-At-Large (Neurosurgery) for the Society. As Audit Committee Chair, it was an honor to help steward the financial investments of the SNIS. One of the central financial themes of this past year was to increase access to SNIS membership to students, residents, and fellows. As a Member-At-Large, I had the opportunity to work on the formation of a Match process for Fellowship training in NeuroInterventional Radiology. This has provided an opportunity to collaborate with other Societies in our field, and to understand the policies that guide our passage of information to the next generation of neurointerventionalists.
Prior to that, I served as Chair of the SNIS Standards and Guidelines Committee. During my tenure, major shifts in the evaluation and treatment of cerebrovascular disorders required our team to continually gather and disseminate evidence-based information about contemporary techniques in our field.
With a background at the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, I discovered early a desire to collaborate on policy aimed at improving healthcare. After graduating medical school and residency/fellowship at Cornell, I took a leadership role as Director of Cerebrovascular Surgery at University of Kentucky. While here at UK, I have served on multiple hospital committees and taken leadership roles for strategic planning, patient safety, philanthropy, and building design. While these have been rewarding from an institutional viewpoint, my work outside the hospital has been the most stimulating. For the last five years, I have Chaired the Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services Cardiac and Stroke Subcommittee. A collaborative group of EMS providers, nurses, physicians, and administrators, it has set the policy for in-field triage of stroke, particularly ELVO, for our entire state. Through that process, I gained insight into the importance of multidisciplinary cross-talk and collaboration.
Since then, I have sought other similar experiences, serving on the American Heart Association (AHA) Stroke Task Force for the Great Rivers Affiliate, on the AHA Stroke Neurovascular Intervention Science Committee, and as SNIS liaison to the AHA Stroke Scientific Statement Oversight Committee. I was honored to be named as one of the AANS/CNS CV Section Liaison to the AHA International Stroke Conference Program Committee. I believe these types of cross-society interactions are a clear reflection of the responsibilities of an SNIS Board member. Beyond my involvement with the Board, I have also maintained involvement in the organization of the SNIS Annual Meeting. I have been a member of the planning committee for many of the Annual Meetings, and was honored to the be the Co-Chair for the 2022 Annual Meeting in Toronto. I have also been a co-Director of the SNIS Annual Fellows Course, assembling a curriculum that will interest and educate participants.
With these experiences, I would plan to carry forward that leadership to the SNIS Board, building bridges across our specialty with other societies throughout the world while advancing the mission to educate the rising experts in our field.
Secretary
Peter Kan, MD
I am deeply honored to be nominated to run for Secretary, a position I believe is of growing importance for the society. Given the increasing number and diversity of specialists who practice neurointerventions across the globe, I believe that the secretary can serve as an effective liaison between SNIS and other national and international societies to develop more collaborative programs in education and research, thus promoting the mission of SNIS globally.
I have served on the SNIS Board of Directors as both Member-at-Large for Neurosurgery and Education Chair, both of which have given me valuable experience with the society. As the Education Chair, I have worked closely with other national and international societies such as the CV section, ESMINT, ANZSNR, OCIN, and PAIRS to develop joint webinars and sessions with the goal of educating physicians and patients locally and globally. I also share a deep interest in the academic mission of SNIS: I serve as a grant reviewer for the SNIS Foundation and an assistant editor for the technical video section of JNIS. Outside of SNIS, nationally, I currently serve on the JNS editorial board, the ISC meeting committee, and the AANS Scientific Program Committee. Locally, I serve as the current president of the Texas Association of Neurological Surgeons. I believe these outside roles and experience have allowed me to gain important leadership skills that are important and applicable to a leadership position at SNIS.
In summary, I am passionate about the society, and it will be a great honor to serve you as Secretary. Thank you for the opportunity to serve and to support SNIS.
Stavropoula I. Tjoumakaris, MD
Stavropoula I. Tjoumakaris, MD is a Professor of Neurological Surgery and Radiology at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia PA. She also serves as the Chair of the University Faculty Affairs, Director of the Cerebrovascular and Endovascular Fellowship, and Director for the Neurosurgery Medical Clerkship. Dr. Tjoumakaris holds the distinction of being one of the first female dual trained cerebrovascular and endovascular neurosurgeon in The United States. She received her undergraduate degree in Biology, Physics and Chemistry from Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude and was honored as Class Salutatorian. Dr. Tjoumakaris attended medical school at Jefferson Medical College, where she graduated with distinction. She was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society and received numerous awards for academic excellence. Dr. Tjoumakaris subsequently completed her Neurosurgical Residency at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital where she also completed a fellowship in Endovascular and Cerebrovascular Neurosurgery.
She is an active member with leadership positions in organized Neurosurgery and serves as the Secretary of the Cerebrovascular Section of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons/American Association of Neurological Surgeons and awaiting voting decision for Chair-Elect for the CV Section. She has been appointed Vice-Chair for the CNS/AANS Joint Guidelines Committee. She has served as Scientific Program Chair for the Cerebrovascular Section for CNS, AANS, and Joint Cerebrovascular Section and has organized and lectured on cerebrovascular topics in national cerebrovascular meetings at a national and international levels. She currently serves on the Editorial Board for Journal of Neurosurgery and for the SVIN AHA/ASA Journal. She is a member of the Endovascular Fellowship CAST Committee, reviewing and advancing national endovascular fellowship program applications. She is an active member of international Endovascular & Cerebrovascular societies, such as WLNC, LINNC Paris/Americas, ESMINT and EANS. She is also an author for the American Heart/Stroke Association Guidelines Committee, and most recently co-authored the SAH Guidelines 2023 Update.
In SNIS, she has served as a Neurosurgery Member at Large, member of the scientific program committee, annual meeting abstract reviewer, JNIS reviewer, active member of the SNIS Guidelines Committee, has given multiple lectures in the annual conference, and has participated as Director and faculty for the annual Fellows Course. She was recently appointed as Scientific Program Co-Chair for the 2024 SNIS Annual Meeting. In addition, she has lectured at the monthly SNIS Journal Club Webinars and has facilitated and promoted discussions on the support and advancement of Women In Neuroendovascular Surgery (WINS). With her active leadership positions in national Endovascular and Neurosurgical Societies, her goal as SNIS Secretary is to facilitate growth with the SNIS and active collaboration in establishing guidelines in cerebrovascular patient management and advancing the field. She wishes to promote collaboration and equal participation of all major divisions in our field, Radiology, Neurology and Neurosurgery both in USA and internationally. Her additional passion is to promote Diversity Equity and Inclusion and serve as a mentor for future generations of neuro-endovascular surgeons.
Dr. Tjoumakaris has been the recipient of numerous academic, educational and clinical awards throughout her career including the “Dean’s Award In Excellence in Education,” “Excellence In Surgical Teaching Award” as well as being recognized for outstanding clinical and basic science research projects at the Pan-Philadelphia annual research meetings. Dr. Tjoumakaris has authored over 400 book chapters and peer-reviewed articles in the field of Cerebrovascular Neurosurgery. She has a particular interest in evolving techniques in the endovascular management of stroke, cerebral aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations and intra-arterial chemotherapy for retinoblastoma, robotic applications in Neurovascular Surgery and is currently involved in numerous clinical trials.
Education Chair
Jonathan A. Grossberg, MD
I am grateful and honored to be nominated for position of SNIS Education Chair. SNIS has meant a great deal to me both professionally and personally throughout my career, and I look forward to giving back through my service as Education Chair.
I am an Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at Emory, where I specialize in Cerebrovascular and Neuroendovascular Surgery. I serve as the Residency Program Director for Emory Neurosurgery, as well as the Associate Fellowship Director for the Emory INR Fellowship program.
During my career, I have enjoyed the opportunity to contribute to SNIS in various capacities, ranging from multiple years of service on the program committee for the annual meeting, the abstract review committee for SNIS and ISC, and two terms on the education committee. I am the current chair for the SNIS Annual Meeting in San Diego this year and look forward to seeing everyone in San Diego for our phenomenal program.
I am passionate about resident, fellow, and faculty education and believe that would make me successful in the position of education chair. I have served nationally on the SNIS education committee, as fellows course chair last year, and as organizer/faculty for a number of fellow courses and educational webinars. Accordingly, I feel strongly about the role SNIS plays in training, and I am excited to work with the SNIS Board of Directors to continue to improve training standards, enhance educational offerings, such as the current highly successful webinar series, and increase research funding for residents, fellows, and junior faculty. Finally, I believe we have the chance to leverage technology to improve our offerings through both live and recorded video case libraries, which will allow SNIS members of all experience levels to learn about new technology. As the field of Neurointerventional Surgery expands to procedures beyond aneurysm embolization and thrombectomy, these offerings have the potential to help disseminate emerging techniques and procedures to the SNIS membership.
Thank you for your consideration and support.
Jeremy J. Heit, MD, PhD
It is my privilege to be nominated for the Education Chair on the SNIS Board of Directors. In support of my nomination, I would like to briefly describe my background, current position as an Associate Professor of Radiology and, by courtesy, of Neurosurgery at Stanford, and service to SNIS.
I grew up in Colorado, and I attended the University of Colorado at Boulder 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 Associate Professor of Radiology and, by courtesy, of Neurosurgery at Stanford, the Chief of Neuroimaging and Neurointervention (Interim), 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), as the co-chair of the SNIS Annual Meeting (2022), and on the SNIS Board of Directors as the Member-at-Large (Neuroradiology). I serve on several other national committees with the American Board of Neurological Surgeons (CAST and RFP committees), the American Society of Neuroradiology, and the Radiological Society of North America among others. I have also consistently served on the annual meeting program committees for SNIS, the International Stroke Conference, the American Roentgen Ray Society, the American Society of Neuroradiology, the Radiological Society of North America, 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 educational mission of the society. As the Stanford NIS Fellowship program director, I am acutely aware of the importance of providing high quality education to our membership, which I firmly believe translates to better patient care in our field.
In summary, I am honored to be nominated for the Education Chair on 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 (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 Neuroendovascular Surgery Fellowship Director, Director of NES Resident Education, and Director of Interventional Neuroradiology Clinical Services.
I have been honored to serve SNIS in the following roles:
• Assistant Editor: Social Media for the Journal of Neurointerventional Surgery
• SNIS 2023 Annual Meeting Program Committee Member
• SNIS Program Chair for ASNR Annual Meetings in 2022and 2023
• Founding Member, SNIS Education Committee
• Founding Member, SNIS CSF Venous Disorders Committee
• Course Chair, SNIS CSF Venous Disorders Symposium 2023
• Chair, SNIS Scientific Abstract Awards Scoring Committee at ASNR 2022 and 2023 Annual Meetings
• Member, SNIS Exhibit Review Committee for ASNR 2021, 2022, and 2023 Annual Meetings
• Reviewer for JNIS since 2015
If elected, I will work to continue to increase collaborations among the various backgrounds of those in our field. As a Radiologist with appointments in the Departments of Radiology, Neurosurgery, and Anesthesia, I am currently practicing what I preach. I also have created several educational curricula for rotating residents and fellows from Diagnostic Neuroradiology, Interventional Radiology, Diagnostic Radiology, Neurology, Stroke Neurology, and Neurological Surgery training programs for my group. If approved by the Board of Directors, I’d like to help create SNIS-Approved Resident Rotations for the various fields that feed our specialty to promote a high-quality learning experience, and help drive interest in our field.
I would be honored to represent Interventional Neuroradiologists within SNIS, and to represent all members of SNIS within other professional organizations.
Anna Luisa Kuhn, MD, PhD
It is a great honor to be considered for the SNIS Member-at-Large position for Interventional Neuroradiology and I would be excited to serve our society in this capacity.
I am an Associate Professor of Radiology at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School (UMass) in Worcester, MA and serve as the Director for Clinical Affairs for the Image Processing and Analysis Core (iPAC). I am also the Associate Program Director for the Interventional Radiology residency and the Neurointerventional fellowship.
To briefly summarize my background: I grew up in Germany and completed my medical school training at Saarland University. After medical school, I moved to the US for a postdoctoral fellowship position at UMass and to continue my medical specialty training.
Following my radiology residency, I completed a diagnostic neuroradiology fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and returned to UMass for my neurointerventional training. After completion of the fellowship in 2020, I was recruited to join the faculty at UMass.
I have been a SNIS member since I was a resident in 2016 and am serving on the Women in Neurointervention (WIN) committee since its initiation in 2021. I had the pleasure to co-moderate SNIS webinars, serve as abstract reviewer for the SNIS annual meeting, and I regularly review for JNIS. In addition, I serve as abstract reviewer for the ASNR annual meeting since 2021 and I also regularly review for AJNR.
I am thrilled about the opportunity to serve as a Member-at-Large on the SNIS board and am looking forward to working with all members. I am excited to support SNIS with any upcoming opportunities and/or challenges. Personally, in the future, I would like to promote, support, and advance the sustainability efforts of our society through education, initiatives, and research. Energy conservation and waste reduction are two categories where, I feel, we can quickly make a meaningful impact.
Furthermore, I would like to increase our society’s visibility amongst medical students and residents by promoting our specialty through information sessions, clinical rotations, and hands-on workshops. Engaging trainees early offers a great opportunity for long-lasting mentorship, and the ability to create a safe environment for learning and growing.
Member-at-Large (Endovascular Neurosurgeon)
Jan-Karl Burkhardt, MD
I would be honored to serve as Member-at-Large (Endovascular Neurosurgery) on the 2023-2024 SNIS Board of Directors and I am grateful for the nomination.
I am the Division Head of Cerebrovascular and Neurointerventional Surgery and an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Medicine in Philadelphia and specialized in Cerebrovascular/ Neuroendovascular Surgery. I am also the Co-director of our Penn interdisciplinary CAST certified neurointerventional fellowship program leading the program together with my neurointerventional radiology partner Bryan Pukenas. 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. I am embracing this interdisciplinary collaboration from the beginning of my training as a fellow at UCSF and NYU until now at Penn where our faculty and fellowship structure welcomes members from all three disciplines to work together.
I have enjoyed the opportunity to contribute to SNIS before as part of the scientific planning committee for the SNIS annual meeting last year in Toronto and as Co-Chair of the AANS/CNS CV Section Communication Committee (together with Justin Mascitelli) by organizing webinars in collaboration with the educational chair Peter Kan of the SNIS. I am also a member of the SNIS Standards and Guidelines Committee and enjoy working in the sub-committees with other SNIS members on new guidelines and standards in our space. Besides my role in the AANS/CNS CV Section Communication Committee I currently serve as the AANS/CNS CV Section nominating committee member and I am part of the bimonthly AANS/CNS CV Section Executive Council meeting.
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. I would welcome the opportunity to get more involved with SNIS and learn from its leaders and I will draw on my past experiences within the organization to fulfill the expectations of the position.
Vitor Mendes Pereira, MD
Dr. Vitor Mendes Pereira is a Brazilian-Canadian neurosurgeon with a dedicated endovascular practice at St Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. He is a Surgery and Medical Imaging Professor at the University of Toronto and Director of Endovascular Research and Innovation at the Brain and Heart Centre. He holds the Schroeder Chair in Advanced Neurovascular Interventions.
He completed his neurosurgery residency at the State University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2005. He then moved to France for his clinical fellowships and Master’s in Surgical Sciences at the University of Paris XI and XII. He first worked at the Bicetre Hospital with Prof Pierre Lasjaunias on treating pediatric and spinal cord vascular malformations and the anatomical understanding of neurovascular diseases. In his second fellowship, he worked at the Rothschild Foundation Hospital under the supervision of Prof. Jacques Moret, together with Laurent Spelle, Charbel Mounayer and Michel Piotin. They pioneered intracranial stenting techniques and advanced curative treatments for dural fistulas and arteriovenous brain malformations with EVOH agents, including transvenous approaches.
After his fellowships, Dr. Pereira worked as the Head of the Interventional Neuroradiology division at the University Hospital of Geneva and Privat-Docent at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, from 2008-2014. He had the opportunity to consolidate his clinical practice in Europe and start his first research lab in basic science and biomechanics. In Geneva, Dr. Pereira was one of the early users of the Solitaire Stent for acute stroke. He led the STAR trial, the first prospective study evaluating stent retrievers for acute stroke. Following the successful results of the STAR trial, Dr. Pereira joined the executive committee of the SWIFT PRIME study, one of the 5 RCTs that contributed to the transformation in acute stroke treatment when published in 2015. He played an important role in diffusing these new approaches in mechanical thrombectomy and the training of many physicians across the globe. His brain aneurysm practice, at that time, used the first-generation flow diverter stents. He joined several flow diverter registries and trained and proctored many colleagues in Europe and North America. His research lab was among the first to use a patient-specific silicon model for training and device development. Most of the second-generation flow diverter devices subsequently used in clinical practice were partly tested in his lab in Geneva. After six years in Switzerland, it was time to move!
Dr. Pereira moved to Toronto to work at the University of Toronto in 2014. His passion and drive for innovation in clinical research continued ever since as he was involved in many study executive committees, including SWIFT DIRECT, DAWN and, more recently, SELECT 2 and ANGEL-ASPECTS. He is also a global PI of the EVOLVE study and a member of several committees. He worked at the Toronto Western Hospital and SickKids Hospital for six years before joining St Michael’s Hospital to become the Director and Chair of Endovascular Innovations.
He is the lead scientist of the RADIS lab, which focuses on studying new technologies and their potential applications to neurointervention, including computational fluid dynamics, dynamic diagnostic imaging, cone beam CT, optical flow imaging, low field MRI, genetics, artificial intelligence, and robotics. The lab focuses on leveraging these technologies to improve the outcomes of patients with neurovascular diseases. They perform many research and innovative translational projects, and, most recently, they completed the world’s first robotic neurovascular intervention, probe-based microscopic brain imaging (former neuro-dedicated OCT) and several innovative and disrupting devices.
He aims to promote innovation and translation to improve procedure safety and precision. His goal is to create integrated advanced research spaces in the clinical workflow. For example, at St Michael’s Hospital, besides every angiosuite, there is a RADIS Lab unit for translational research. In the future, his vision is to expand the endovascular practice to other conditions that benefit from an imaging-guided minimally invasive approach, including subdural hematomas, intracranial hemorrhage, hydrocephalus, venous congestion-related conditions, brain-machine interface, neurostimulation and remote robotic endovascular stroke treatments.
Dr. Pereira is engaged in education in neuroradiology, neurosurgery, biomedical engineering, and basic sciences. He organizes fellow courses and advanced training in new techniques and participates in workshops around the world, teaching cerebral and spinal vascular anatomy, imaging, and advanced endovascular treatments. He recently became a co-director of the LINNC conferences, one of the most comprehensive educational platforms in neurointervention, consisting of four annual meetings in North America, Europe (Paris), Asia, and China. He has contributed over 320 publications to our evolving and dynamic field.
The SNIS has become one of the most important neurointerventional surgery societies. Nowadays, its mission of advancing the specialty through research, standard-setting, education and advocacy to provide the highest quality patient care is even more relevant. As a field, we successfully changed acute stroke and brain aneurysm care. Our next challenges are expanding our scope to new indications and conditions through innovative approaches and novel regulatory and reimbursement strategies. The SNIS should continue playing a major role in driving the creation of early directions, guidelines, and disease codes. Additionally, our society should coordinate relevant research collaboration amongst its members and other societies, including SVIN, ESMINT, ASNR and WFITN. As a board member, I want to serve the SNIS and our members with passion and dedication in the support to achieve these goals.
Member-at-Large (Interventional Neurologist)
Aaron Grossman, MD
I am honored to be nominated for the Member-at-Large (Interventional Neurologist) position.
A bit about me: After attending St Olaf College in chilly Minnesota, I returned home to the cornfields to complete my MD / PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. My first exposure to neurointerventional surgery was watching an aneurysm coiling – I was hooked! My focus sharpened during residency in Neurology at UCSF, and I followed the footsteps of many greats toward the University of Cincinnati for vascular and neurointerventional fellowships. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have been trained by, and to have trained alongside outstanding neurosurgeons and neuroradiologists. In turn, we are proud to have built a robust and multidisciplinary cerebrovascular team at the University of Cincinnati.
As a member of SNIS since 2013, I have watched with pride as our society has grown in size and influence. SNIS members were quick to welcome me during fellowship and to make opportunities available for my early career growth. I have served on the SNIS Membership Committee since 2021 and have contributed scientifically as an abstract and publication reviewer in the society journal. I have been an active member of the American Heart Association (abstract reviewer for the International Stroke Conference) and SVIN (session moderator at annual meetings). Closer to home, I serve as the co-director of the University of Cincinnati Comprehensive Stroke Center, and for the past decade I have contributed to the advancement of stroke and endovascular care within our Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky region.
My prime vision for the growth of society is two-fold: 1) increase inclusion to broaden the society’s reach and 2) improve engagement among existing members. I believe strongly that a multidisciplinary group of neurointerventionalists within an institution serves our patients, our institutions, and our field better than siloed care. The same applies to our professional societies. Inclusion requires engagement – from membership and meeting attendance to education, advocacy, and board service. As a society, we should continue to prioritize engagement from members of all disciplines, at all levels of training. Perhaps offering shared benefits with other societies in the arenas of membership, journal access, and discounted meeting registration would further help to improve engagement between SNIS members and our colleagues in other disciplines, both domestically and internationally. I applaud the work that has been done to standardize curricula and certification, and hope to build upon it. I hope to earn your vote to serve our community in the capacity of Member-at-Large (Interventional Neurologist) on the 2023-2024 SNIS Board of Directors.
Edgar Samaniego, MD
I am thrilled to present my application to serve as a Member-at-Large (Interventional Neurologist) on the 2023-2024 SNIS Board of Directors. It is truly an honor to be considered for this esteemed position. I am an academic neurologist with board certifications in Neuorinterventional Surgery, Stroke and Neurocritical Care. Currently I am an Associate Professor of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Radiology at the University of Iowa. I also serve as Stroke Fellowship Director.
My involvement with SNIS and JNIS dates to my fellowship training, and I have actively contributed to these organizations ever since. I have served as an abstract reviewer for several annual meetings, demonstrating my commitment to promoting high-quality research within the field. Additionally, I have played integral roles in the organizing committees of various SNIS meetings. Within JNIS, I have contributed as a reviewer and now hold the position of associate editor. These experiences have deepened my understanding of the scholarly publishing process.
If elected to the SNIS Board of Directors, I will collaborate closely with fellow board members to advance SNIS initiatives and uphold the organization’s values of diversity and inclusiveness. I am passionate about supporting and empowering all members, including junior and senior practitioners from both private and academic settings, and across all specialties. I firmly believe in fostering collaborations with other societies to promote knowledge exchange and collaboration within the field. Throughout my career, I have consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to teamwork and the promotion of inclusiveness and diversity. I believe that embracing diverse perspectives and experiences strengthens our collective ability to address the challenges and opportunities in Neurointerventional Surgery. I am confident that my track record as a team player and advocate for inclusivity will serve me well in this role.
Thank you for considering my application. I am eager to contribute my skills and dedication to the SNIS Board of Directors and to support the organization in achieving its goals.
