American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) Names Ann R. Stroink, MD, FAANS, as the Organization’s President

Ann R. Stroink, MD, FAANS, has been named president of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS).

Stroink is a board-certified neurosurgeon and manages a full neurosurgery practice for Carle Health. She trained in general neurosurgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., under the supervision of Thoralf M. Sundt, MD, and fellowed in pediatric neurosurgery at the Hospital for Sick Children at the University of Toronto.

Stroink is a passionate educator, researcher and philanthropist. In cooperation with local professionals, she co-founded the Central Illinois Neuroscience Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to enhancing neurologic health care through education and research. As director of continuing medical education for the foundation, Stroink championed life-long learning in the neurosciences among physicians, nurses and allied health professionals. Building on the success of this program, Stroink and her colleagues, in collaboration with local hospitals, also established a neurosurgical residency program.

Stroink currently serves as system medical director, neurosciences quality and educational program development for Advocate/Aurora Healthcare, and also directs strategic planning for neurosurgery services across the multi-hospital system, placing quality and value at the forefront.

Stroink serves as system medical director in neurosciences quality, peer review and educational program development for Advocate/Aurora Healthcare, and also directs strategic planning for neurosurgery services across the multi-hospital system, placing quality and value at the forefront.

She is an active clinical researcher interested in the applications of biomedical materials and spinal instrumentation specific to the cervical spine. She has been instrumental in designing and implementing several research protocols in her field, including the use of the CyberKnife®, a non-invasive radiation system for treating certain brain and spinal conditions. Her contributions to the body of evidence-based medicine have been published in some of the most rigorous and widely respected peer-reviewed journals.

Within organized neurosurgery, Stroink has a longstanding history of dedicated service at local, state and national levels. For the past two decades, she has brought her enthusiasm, substantive knowledge of the issues and skills as a collaborator, to several key leadership positions, including chair of the Council of State Neurosurgical Societies; service on the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Council on Legislation; chair of neurosurgery’s AMA delegation; and chair of the Washington Committee for Neurological Surgery, which oversees organized neurosurgery’s health policy, legislative and regulatory activities.

“I am humbled and truly honored to serve as the president of the AANS for the next 12 months noting that we are a prestigious inclusive organization that represents and speaks for all of neurosurgery,” says Stroink. “Our mission is to advance the specialty of neurological surgery through education, research, advocacy and outcomes science to promote the highest quality of patient care. The AANS will remain a preferred source of data and resources that enables patients and their healthcare providers to make informed decisions about neurosurgical care.”

The 2022-23 AANS Executive Committee members are President Ann R. Stroink, MD, FAANS; Past-President Regis W. Haid Jr., MD, FAANS; President-elect Anthony L. Asher, MD, FAANS; Vice President E. Sander Connolly, Jr., MD, FAANS; Secretary E. Antonio Chiocca, MD, PhD, FAANS and Treasurer Sepideh Amin-Hanjani, MD, FAANS.

Media Representatives:

If you have interest in a topic related to neurosurgery or would like to interview a neurosurgeon, please contact Spencer Bone, AANS communications, via email at [email protected].

About the 2022 AANS Annual Scientific Meeting:

April 29-May 2 in Philadelphia, Penn., neurosurgeons, neurosurgical residents, medical students, neuroscience nurses, clinical specialists, physician assistants, allied health professionals and other medical professionals will join together for the 2022 AANS Annual Scientific Meeting. This meeting is the largest gathering of neurosurgeons in the nation, with an emphasis on the field’s latest research and technological advances. This is the first in-person annual meeting since 2019. The scientific presentations accepted for the 2022 event will represent cutting-edge examples of the incredible developments taking place within the field of neurosurgery. Find additional information about the 2022 AANS Annual Scientific Meeting, themed “The Culture of Neurosurgery,” and the meeting program at www.aans.org/meeting.

About the AANS:

Founded in 1931 as the Harvey Cushing Society, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) is a scientific and educational association with more than 13,000 members worldwide. The AANS promotes the highest quality of patient care and advances the specialty of neurological surgery. Fellows of the AANS are board-certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada or the Mexican Council of Neurological Surgery, A.C. Neurosurgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of disorders that affect the spinal column, spinal cord, brain, nervous system and peripheral nerves.

For more information, visit www.AANS.org.