On April 23rd, the Departments of Neurosurgery, Neurology and Psychiatry hosted a Virtual High School Neuroscience Forum. We received submissions from students from around the world, including England, Canada, Ukraine, Mexico, India and thirteen different states! Eleven student presenters shared their research pertaining to neuroscience. There were two keynote presentations from Dr. Paul Nuyujukian and Dr. Emmanual During. Following the Forum, 20 additional students shared their neuroscience projects and received feedback from Stanford neuroscientists, Dr. Maheen Adamson and Dr. Sherry Beaudreau.

The Stanford/VA Summer of Neurosciences Summer Student Program is a platform to expose students (High school, college and grad) students to the fields of neuroscience and medicine. For summer 2021, over 50 students participated - from four different countries, nine states, seven universities and thirty-seven high schools, being the highest number of students participating to date.

The program consisted of three components. The firstwas the Investigation (Journal Club), where students were able to present, analyze and discuss emerging and foundational topics in the field of neuroscience. The program also consisted of the Insights (Neuroscience Faculty and Clinician Career Panel), where students had the opportunity to interact with leading professionals in their fields of interests once a week. Lastly, the program included the Illuminations component, which granted students access to the Grand Rounds Program in the Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery.

We are currently accepting applications for Summer 2022 with a virtual format to continue to expose a wide reach of students from all around the world! We will keep the same elements that made 2021 a huge success while continuing to find ways to improve programming for students.

Dr. Harris, Dr. Cage and Dr. Prolo were invited to help establish the Neurosurgery Pathways Program in the Bay Area for middle and high school students. This will include participating in their annual meeting and committing to a year of mentorship to the students. They will keep the students engaged by giving them opportunities for mentorship, research, shadowing, and possibly college scholarships.

During the first week of May, Dr. Michael Lindsey, Dean of Silver Social Work at NYU visited Stanford University. He is a noted scholar in the field of child and adolescent mental health. This three-part visit included a series of events. On Wednesday night, Dr. Lindsey delivered a community presentation at Sacred Heart Prep High School on The Rise of Suicide Attempts Among Black Youth: Are We Missing the Signs? On Thursday, Dr. Lindsey met with Pediatrics during a Lunch & Learn to discuss issues surrounding Youth and Mental Health. On Friday, Dr. Lindsey presented during Neurosurgery Grand Rounds.

Dr. Tene Cage was featured in the Medstaff spotlight in January. In 2021, with the support of Dr. Lim, Dr. Harris, and Dr. Desai, Dr. Cage was named Director of Equity Research in the Department of Neurosurgery and helped start a program called the Neurosurgery Diversity Seed Grants. This program supports faculty and trainees interested in pursuing research questions focused on addressing equity in outcomes for neurosurgical patients.

February 2022, in recognition of Black History Month, the Departments of Surgery, Cardiothoracic Surgery, and Neurosurgery planned a virtual group photo. All surgery department Faculty, Staff, Instructors, Fellows, Residents, and Postdoctoral Scholars were welcomed. This was open to anyone who identifies as Black. 

Neurosurgery is a key participant in attending program called An Overview of Change Management and its Application to the SNAP Program. Dr. Odette Harris is the founder of the SNAP program

During the 2022 SUMMA Conference there was a panel of Women in Medicine whose advice and stories help inspire the next generation of medical students at Stanford. Neurosurgery residents, Dr. Jennifer Quon and Dr. Silvia Vaca were in attendance.

There was a panel discussion held on February 2022. Black physicians and alumni of Stanford Medicine discussed their experiences in the medical profession. The online event was Moderated by Terrance Mayes, PhD, Associate Dean for equity and strategic initiatives, and medical student Arokoruba Cheetham-West

Dr. Odette Harris was featured as 1 of 13 women who are considered history makers within our Stanford community that have changed the world for the better. It tells the story of each featured woman and how they have fought for hard-won accomplishments. 

Stanford Medcast celebrated Women’s History Month with a Women in Medicine series hosted by Ruth Adewuya, MD, CHCP, MEHO Fellow. In the hot topics mini-series, two surgical specialty women were featured, Dr. Odette Harris and Dr. Leah Backhus. 

The Women Leaders at the VA video was shared by the VHA Chief of Staff on March 2022. The video consists of interviews with women leaders at the Palo Alto VA. Neurosurgery’s Dr. Odette Harris was featured in this video.

The Department of Neurosurgery co-sponsored the Stanford Medicine Alliance for Disability Inclusion and Equity (SMADIE)’s 3rd Annual Conference on Disability in Healthcare and Medicine. This event took place on April 23rd, 2022. This important conference is a profound learning opportunity for healthcare students, residents and fellows, healthcare providers, hospital administrators, staff, and allies. Our sponsorship will help in supporting students and healthcare providers with disabilities, training healthcare providers to better care for patients with disabilities and provide research into the intersection of providers and patients with disabilities.

In November 2020, Dr. Corinna Zygourakis, in partnership with Dr. Parastou Fatemi, researched and evaluated the status of women in academic neurosurgery publications, with their findings written in: “Does double-blind peer review impact gender authorship trends? An evaluation of two leading neurosurgical journals from 2010-2019.” This was the first report of female authorship in neurosurgical literature.

January/ February 2022, Neurosurgery was featured on the magazine Diversity in Action. You’ll find her story in the chapter titled On the Brain by Amy Meadows, where top neurosurgeons shared their experiences as preeminent Black practitioners.

The Department of Neurosurgery is participating in a School of Medicine initiative that pairs students from Historically Black Medical Schools with clinical and research opportunities at Stanford. Additionally, these visiting scholars will have specified mentorship based on their interests, along with access to Stanford resources such as panels and lectures. Department and faculty will also be participating in the HBCU Bi-directional Faculty Fellows program led by Dr. Hannah Valantine. Ongoing meetings.

AANS Diversity Task Force led by Dr. Aviva Abosch was transitioned to a formal AANS committee. This is a clear reflection of the AANS Board’s staunch belief of on-going work, and its strategic alignment with the mission of the AANS. February 2022, a Diversity webpage was created to highlight the faces of US neurosurgery that are working to ensure diverse profession with equal opportunities for all trainees and neurosurgeons. Stanford Neurosurgery is key to this initiative.

March 2022, Stanford Neurosurgery faculty participated in a woman in leadership panel for Wharton. This organization is dedicated to promoting equity and diversity within the pre-professional communities at the University of Pennsylvania.

The Neurosurgery Diversity Cabinet held last meeting on May 13th.

• May 4th 2022 - The Department of Neurosurgery is partnering with Sacred Heart Schools to host Dr. Michael Lindsay to deliver a community presentation.
• Ongoing mentoring