Dear Reader,

 

In just a few days, from May 15–18, 2019, the worldwide spine surgeon community will come together in Toronto, Canada for the Global Spine Congress (GSC).

 

The GSC—the only truly international spine congress of its kind—is one of the biggest gatherings, drawing thousands of spine surgeons from all over the world. The congress provides an outstanding forum to exchange ideas, network with fellow spine professionals, and to learn about the latest research, techniques, and technologies in spine surgery.

 

In this issue of the newsletter, we will focus on this unique event, its program as well as the AOSpine activities it offers, such as the members-only sessions, the member representative election, or the “Women in Spine” event. At the GSC, AOSpine will also present awards to our esteemed faculty. We are proud to announce the winners of the international and regional educators of the year 2018 here.

 

The Global Spine Journal, AOSpine’s official scientific journal, will launch another Special Focus Issue just in time for the GSC: “AOSpine Knowledge Forums: Driving Research, Discovery, and Innovation in Spine”. If you happen to be at the GSC, please visit us at the AOSpine booth to pick up your free printed copy. For all of you who won’t be present at the GSC, the Global Spine Journal is open access journals.sagepub.com and if you have opted-in, you will receive every new issue via e-mail.

 

This edition of the newsletter also features an interview with my colleague Fengzheng Jian from China. In the interview he shares his motivations to become a neurosurgeon and tells what the biggest challenges are for spine surgeons in China.

 

Furthermore, we are proud to present the eleven winners of the AOSpine 2019 Discovery and Innovation Award and their winning study proposals in this issue of the newsletter. All winners have been invited as Associate Members to the AOSpine Knowledge Forum (KF) which relates to their study’s pathology and to get involved with AOSpine research.

 

But there are more opportunities to get involved with research. AOSpine Knowledge Forum Spinal Cord Injury is conducting an international, multi-disciplinary consensus process to improve the efficiency of research into degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) globally. We are recruiting as many people as possible who are involved in DCM to complete surveys and to disseminate the survey to other organizations, hospitals, and personal contacts for greater impact.

 

Additionally, I would like to introduce the new Surgery Reference module in this newsletter. The AOSpine Knowledge Forum Tumor treatment recommendations and classifications for metastatic spine tumor have been adopted and implemented into the AO Surgery Reference. The new module organizes concepts in a way that helps spine surgeons think systemically about their treatment indications and options. With this tool, clinical outcomes for spine tumor patients are expected to improve substantially.

 

Last but not least, learn more about the latest success stories in education in Latin America, as well as about our member Said Sadiqi.

 

We hope that you will find this issue of the newsletter interesting. Don’t miss the opportunity to join us at the GSC 2019, and we look forward to welcoming you to Toronto!

 

With best wishes,

 

 

Jeffrey C. Wang

Chairperson, Global Spine Congress

 

 

Women in Spine

International and Regional Educator Award winners

 

 

Blazing a trail

Discovery and Innovation Award winners

 

 

Meet Said Sadiqi

AO Surgery Reference for metastatic tumor

AOSpine defines research priorities and DCM

 Global Spine Journal Award Winners

 

Members-only Sessions

 

Global Spine Congress