The American Association of Neurological Surgeons presented several major awards during the 2022 AANS Annual Scientific Meeting in Philadelphia. These awards honor the lifetime contribution of members for their surgical, scientific and humanitarian accomplishments.
AANS Humanitarian Award Recipient, Roger Härtl, MD, FAANS
Since January 1987, the AANS has conferred its Humanitarian Award to members who have given their time and talents to a charitable or public activity and whose actions have brought honor to the neurosurgical specialty.
Roger Härtl, MD, FAANS was awarded the 2022 AANS Humanitarian Award. is the Hansen-MacDonald professor of neurological surgery and director of spinal surgery at the Weill Cornell Brain and Spine Center in New York. In addition, he is the founder and director of the Weill Cornell Medicine Center for Comprehensive Spine Care, as well as the Weill Cornell Tanzania Neurosurgery Mission. He also serves as the official neurosurgeon for the New York Giants football team.
AANS Cushing Award for Technical Excellence and Innovation in Neurosurgery Recipient, Christopher I. Shaffrey, MD, FAANS
The Cushing Award for Technical Excellence and Innovation in Neurosurgery was established in 2013 to honor an AANS member for technical prowess and skill and/or innovation in the development of new procedures, which have become part of the arsenal neurosurgeons use to treat disease or trauma.
Christopher I. Shaffrey, MD, FAANS was awarded the 2022 AANS Cushing Award for Excellence and Innovation in Neurosurgery. Shaffrey is the chief of the Duke Spine Division for the departments of orthopaedic surgery and neurological surgery and is a tenured professor of orthopaedic and neurological surgery.
AANS Distinguished Service Award Recipient, James Rutka, MD, FAANS
The Distinguished Service Award is one of the highest honors given by the AANS, recognizing exemplary service to the AANS and the field of neurosurgery. The award pays tribute to the contributions of remarkable people within their profession.
James Rutka, MD, FAANS was awarded the 2022 AANS Distinguished Service Award. Rutka has been the chair of the division of neurosurgery, the department of surgery at the University of Toronto since 1990. He is a pediatric neurosurgeon whose clinical practice has been at the Hospital for Sick Children. Rutka’s primary research and clinical interests relate to the science and surgery of human brain tumors and epilepsy. He has more than 600 peer reviewed publications.
AANS Cushing Medal Recipient, William T. Couldwell, MD, PhD, FAANS
The Harvey Cushing Medal, the highest honor the AANS can bestow on a member, was established in 1976. Given annually, this award recognizes AANS members for distinguished service and accomplishments in the field of neurosurgery. The Board of Directors selects the recipient upon the recommendation of the Awards and Honors Committee in recognition of his or her extraordinary efforts to advance the field of neurosurgery.
William T. Couldwell, MD, PhD, FAANS was awarded the 2022 AANS Cushing Medal. Couldwell serves as professor and chair of the department of neurosurgery at the University of Utah and has served as director of the American Board of Neurological Surgery. He was president of the AANS, and the American Academy of Neurological Surgery. Couldwell has more than 450 peer-reviewed publications and has been the recipient of several federal and other research grants.
AANS International Lifetime Recognition Award Recipient, Asdrubal Falavigna, MD, PhD, IFAANS
The International Lifetime Service Award recognizes an international neurosurgeon or other international dignitary for his or her lifetime of contributions to advancing the field of neurosurgery in a country outside the United States and Canada.
Asdrubal Falavigna, MD, PhD, IFAANS was awarded the 2022 AANS International Lifetime Recognition Award. Falavigna has served as a professor of neurosurgery at the University of Caxias do Sul since 1997. He is currently the vice-president at the University of Caxias do Sul and has been the president of the school’s publishing house since 2020. Falavigna has also been the international liaison of the AANS and Congress of Neurological Surgeons Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves since 2016.
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 sbone@aans.org
About the 2022 AANS Annual Scientific Meeting:
April 29-May 2 in Philadelphia, neurosurgeons, neurosurgical residents, medical students, neuroscience nurses, clinical specialists, physician assistants, allied health professionals and other medical professionals joined together for the 2022 AANS Annual Scientific Meeting. The annual meeting is the largest gathering of neurosurgeons in the nation, with an emphasis on the field’s latest research and technological advances. This was the first in-person annual meeting since 2019. The scientific presentations during the 2022 event represented cutting-edge examples of the incredible developments taking place within the field of neurosurgery.
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.
