Annual Meeting
October 10, 2026
Location
Banner Neurological Institue | Sontag Pavilion
Time
Registration https://ans.joynportal.com#meetings/11003
The comprehensive agenda features a dynamic lineup of presentations spanning cutting-edge research, clinical innovations, and resident-led initiatives, culminating in expert faculty talks that underscore the latest advancements in neurosurgery and patient care.
8:45 Pedicle Inlet Navigation with Robotic-Assisted Cortical Fixation (PINNACLE): A Technical Note and Case Series Wyatt Comin8:50 A Case of Midbrain Deafness Following Blunt Traumatic Head Injury Jack Platacz8:55 Machine Learning-Based Evaluation of Tremor Severity and Treatment Response Using Wearables Following Focused Ultrasound Harrison Cole
9:00 Early Pain Relief Without Activity Recovery Is Associated with Worse Disability Following Full-Endoscopic Decompression for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Matthew Scarsbrook9:05 Subdural Evacuating Port System for the Management of Acute-on-Chronic Subdural Hemorrhage Rose Zach9:10 FDA-Authorized Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Medical Devices for Neurosurgical Practice: A Landscape Analysis and Clinical Evidence Audit Kashif Qureshi9:15 Aberrant CDK5/p25 Activity Drives Phosphorylation of Novel Chromatin-Associated Substrates in Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma: A Candidate Therapeutic Axis Andres Diaz9:20 Development and Validation of a Synthetic Cranial Model for EVD Placement Cameron Nikjou9:25 The Natural History of an Adult Patient with Primary Diffuse Leptomeningeal Glioblastoma Multiforme and Review of the Literature Keshav Nandakumar9:30 Intracranial Hemorrhage During Systemic Anti-Neoplastic Therapy: A Review of Incidence, Fatality, and Risk Julio Camacho9:35 The Effects of Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Outcomes in Patients with Stroke Matthias Glass9:40 Current Global Trajectories in Surgical and Device-Based Interventions for Epilepsy: A Comparative Analysis of International Clinical Neuromodulation Trials Azeez Abdul9:45 A Replicable Framework for Developing Student-Led Neurosurgery Groups and Educational Initiatives Manlin Shao
9:50 – 10:05 AM Break
10:05 – 10:45 AM Additional Resident & Fellow Presentations
10:05 Comparing Failure Rates for Minimally Invasive Versus Open Posterior Approaches for the Treatment of Multilevel Degenerative Lumbar Spine Conditions Nicholas Rabah, MD10:17 Cooler the Second Time Around? The Role of Skull Density Ratio in Staged Bilateral MRgFUS Thalamotomy Alex Greven, MD10:29 Assessment of Deep Brain Stimulation Candidacy for Idiopathic Parkinson’s Disease James Kelbert, MD10:45 – 11:30 AM Resident Finalists — Barrow Neurological Institute10:45 Unbiased CSF Proteomics Identifies Distinct Targetable Pathways of Early Brain Injury, Vasospasm, and Delayed Cerebral Ischemia After Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Sirin Gandhi, MD11:00 Favorable or Unfavorable? An Evaluation of State-Specific Factors Affecting Projected Neurosurgical Workforce Inadequacy Sarah Sternbach, MD11:15 Toward Saving Lives Through Improved Communications: Implementation of a Structured Neurosurgical ICU Rounding Checklist Cyrus Elahi, MD11:30 – 11:45 AM Resident Finalist — Banner University Medical Center, Phoenix11:30 Indirect Versus Atlas-Guided Targeting of the VIM for Deep Brain Stimulation in Essential Tremor Kristin Nosova, MD11:45 AM – 12:30 PM Resident Finalists — University of Arizona, Tucson11:45 Effect of Prone Positioning on Intracranial Anatomy: Quantitative Comparison of Supine and Prone MRI for Stereotactic Planning Ryan Palsma, MD12:00 Research Currency in Neurosurgery: An Analysis of Authorship Expansion, Collaboration, and Funding Efficiency from 1995–2025 Dara Farhadi, MD12:15 Comparison of Subdural Drains and Subdural Evacuating Port Systems in Bedside Decompression of Chronic Subdural Hematomas: A Single Tertiary Trauma Center Experience Kareem El
12:30 – 1:15 PM Lunch (Residents & Medical Students until 1:30 PM)1:15 – 1:30 PM Business Meeting
FACULTY PRESENTATIONS1:30 PM Vascular Surgery Michael Lawton, MD | Barrow Neurological Institute1:45 PM Robotic Spine Surgery Nicholas Theodore, MD | Banner University of Arizona – Phoenix2:00 PM Deep Brain Stimulation Francisco Ponce, MD | Barrow Neurological Institute2:15 PM Spine Surgery: The Latest in Diagnostics Dean Karahalios, MD | Mayo Clinic – Scottsdale 2:30 – 3:00 PM Break 3:00 PM Targeting Multiple Phagocytosis Checkpoints to Potentiate Immunotherapy in Glioblastoma Kristin Huntoon, DO | UA – Tucson3:15 PM Lateral Spine Surgery Nikolay Martirosyan, MD | UA – Phoenix3:30 PM Functional Neurosurgery in a Growing Population Robert Bina, MD | Banner University – Phoenix3:45 PM Peripheral Nerve Surgery Ken Porche, MD, MA | Mayo Clinic4:00 PM Epilepsy Surgery in Tucson Marty Weinand, MD | UA – Tucson4:15 PM Thoracic Disc Herniations Laura Snyder, MD | Barrow Neurological Institute4:30 PM Adjourn
10:05 Comparing Failure Rates for Minimally Invasive Versus Open Posterior Approaches for the Treatment of Multilevel Degenerative Lumbar Spine Conditions Nicholas Rabah, MD10:17 Cooler the Second Time Around? The Role of Skull Density Ratio in Staged Bilateral MRgFUS Thalamotomy Alex Greven, MD10:29 Assessment of Deep Brain Stimulation Candidacy for Idiopathic Parkinson’s Disease James Kelbert, MD10:45 – 11:30 AM Resident Finalists — Barrow Neurological Institute10:45 Unbiased CSF Proteomics Identifies Distinct Targetable Pathways of Early Brain Injury, Vasospasm, and Delayed Cerebral Ischemia After Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Sirin Gandhi, MD11:00 Favorable or Unfavorable? An Evaluation of State-Specific Factors Affecting Projected Neurosurgical Workforce Inadequacy Sarah Sternbach, MD11:15 Toward Saving Lives Through Improved Communications: Implementation of a Structured Neurosurgical ICU Rounding Checklist Cyrus Elahi, MD11:30 – 11:45 AM Resident Finalist — Banner University Medical Center, Phoenix11:30 Indirect Versus Atlas-Guided Targeting of the VIM for Deep Brain Stimulation in Essential Tremor Kristin Nosova, MD11:45 AM – 12:30 PM Resident Finalists — University of Arizona, Tucson11:45 Effect of Prone Positioning on Intracranial Anatomy: Quantitative Comparison of Supine and Prone MRI for Stereotactic Planning Ryan Palsma, MD12:00 Research Currency in Neurosurgery: An Analysis of Authorship Expansion, Collaboration, and Funding Efficiency from 1995–2025 Dara Farhadi, MD12:15 Comparison of Subdural Drains and Subdural Evacuating Port Systems in Bedside Decompression of Chronic Subdural Hematomas: A Single Tertiary Trauma Center Experience Kareem El
12:30 – 1:15 PM Lunch (Residents & Medical Students until 1:30 PM)1:15 – 1:30 PM Business Meeting
FACULTY PRESENTATIONS1:30 PM Vascular Surgery Michael Lawton, MD | Barrow Neurological Institute1:45 PM Robotic Spine Surgery Nicholas Theodore, MD | Banner University of Arizona – Phoenix2:00 PM Deep Brain Stimulation Francisco Ponce, MD | Barrow Neurological Institute2:15 PM Spine Surgery: The Latest in Diagnostics Dean Karahalios, MD | Mayo Clinic – Scottsdale 2:30 – 3:00 PM Break 3:00 PM Targeting Multiple Phagocytosis Checkpoints to Potentiate Immunotherapy in Glioblastoma Kristin Huntoon, DO | UA – Tucson3:15 PM Lateral Spine Surgery Nikolay Martirosyan, MD | UA – Phoenix3:30 PM Functional Neurosurgery in a Growing Population Robert Bina, MD | Banner University – Phoenix3:45 PM Peripheral Nerve Surgery Ken Porche, MD, MA | Mayo Clinic4:00 PM Epilepsy Surgery in Tucson Marty Weinand, MD | UA – Tucson4:15 PM Thoracic Disc Herniations Laura Snyder, MD | Barrow Neurological Institute4:30 PM Adjourn
Faculty Presenters
Ken Porche, MD
Robert Bina, MD
Laura Snyder, MD
.jpg "image title")
Francisco Ponce, MD
.jpg "image title")
Michael Lawton, MD
Nicholas Theodore, MD
Dean Karahalios, MD
Kristin Huntoon, DO
Nikolay Martirosyan, MD
Martin Weinand, MD
Resident Presenters
Sirin Gandhi, MD
Sarah Sternbach, MD
Cyrus Elahi, MD
Alex Greven, MD
Nicholas Rabah, MD
Kristin Nosova, MD
Ryan Palsma, MD
Dara Farhadi, MD
Kareem El Naamani, MD
James Kelbert, MD
Medical Student Presenters
Jude Kolodisner, MS2
Wyatt Comin, MS3
Jack Platacz, MS2
Harrison Cole
Matthew Scarsbrook
MS2
Rose Zach, MS3
Kashif Qureshi, MS3
Andres Diaz, MD/PhD G4
Cameron Nikjou, MS2
Keshav Nandakumar
MS3
Julio Camacho, MS3
Matthias Glass, MS2
Azeez Abdul, MS3
