Neurosurgery Senior Resident Bhuvic Patel, MD, has been awarded the prestigious William P. Van Wagenen Fellowship, given each year to one senior neurosurgery resident in North America to study overseas.
At Washington University School of Medicine, Dr. Patel’s basic science research focus is on the molecular and genetic analysis of brain tumors. His clinical research focus is on the treatment and outcomes of brain tumors.
The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) fellowship will support Dr. Patel as he heads to Germany’s Heidelberg University Hospital in July 2022 to advance his research in the epigenomic analysis of meningiomas, the most common primary brain tumor in adults.
“I am honored and excited to have been awarded the Van Wagenen Fellowship, which will give me the opportunity to work with brilliant scientists overseas and help lay the foundation for my career as a neurosurgeon-scientist,” said Dr. Patel.
Heidelberg University Hospital is one of the largest medical centers in Europe, made up of 12 hospitals, and treating about 700,0000 patients per year. It is renowned for cancer treatment and is home to the National Center of Tumor Diseases (NCT), an interdisciplinary oncological center of excellence established to optimize cancer patient care. The Heidelberg University Hospital cares for patients from across Germany and internationally, and as a result is able to build large databases of clinical information and tumor specimens for cancer research.
Dr. Patel will work with molecular pathologist Felix Sahm, MD, and pediatric neuro-oncologist Stefan Pfister, MD, experts in the study of tumor methylome analysis.
“’This fellowship is a tremendous honor, and I can’t think of anyone as deserving as Bhuvic,” said Gregory J. Zipfel, MD, Chair and Ralph G. Dacey Distinguished Professor of Neurosurgery. “He is clearly on a fast track towards becoming a leader in academic neurosurgery.”
Awarded by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons [AANS], the highly competitive Van Wagenen Fellowship is designed to support foreign travel for scientific enrichment for neurosurgery residents whose intent is to pursue an academic career in neurological surgery.