The North American Spine Society awarded research grants and traveling fellowships for 2016.
This year, the society awarded $136,479 based on scientific merit, project significance, approach and feasibility. The research grant winners are:
1. Clinical grant ($47,748): Richard Skolasky, ScD, "Comparative Effectiveness of Multi-Modal Pain Management versus Standard Postoperative Analgesia: Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial to Reduce Postoperative Pain and Opioid Among Patients Undergoing Lumbar Spine Surgery."
2. Clinical grant ($25,000 partial funding): Tomoko Tanakia, MD, "The Severity of Preoperative A1c and Predicting Postoperative Complications in Spine Surgery."
3. Young Investigator — Basic Great ($25,000 partial funding for year one of a two-year project): Aaron J. Fields, PhD, "Does Cartilage Endplate Permeability Impact Nucleus Pulposus Cell Function?"
4. Young Investigator — Clinical ($27,931): Shari Cui, MD, "Effects of Telemedicine Triage on Efficiency and Cost-Effective in Spinal Care."
The traveling fellowships were awarded to:
• Pallav Bhatia, MBBS, MS: 2016 Clinical Traveling Fellowship (Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York; Rush University in Chicago; NY Presbyterian Hospital) — $5,800
• Nicholas Van Halm Lutterodt, MD: 2016 Research Traveling Fellowship (Keck Medical Center of USC) — $5,000
NASS awarded $136,000 in research grants and traveling fellowships all together.