Congratulations to the second round of Bassett Fellows in 2024. The awardees are Ahmad Reshad Payenda, Ruzan Nazinyan and Tokhir Akhmediev.
As the 2024 Bassett Fellowship awardees, they will receive funds to cover traveling and living expenses for a three-month period to be spent observing the activities of a neurosurgical service that has an established relationship with FIENS. It is the intention of FIENS that these scholars will one day act as future sites of service for FIENS.
From Afghanistan to the United States (Madison, Wisconsin)
Ahmad Reshad Payenda is a neurosurgery resident at Northwest General Hospital and Research Center in Peshawar, Pakistan. He is set to travel to the United States to complete a fellowship under Professor Baskaya at the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Ahmad Reshad’s primary goals for this fellowship are to gain specialized training in complex cranial and spinal procedures and to acquire in-depth exposure to the latest neurosurgical technologies, research, and best practices. His intention is to bring this advanced knowledge back to Afghanistan, where such neurosurgical interventions are currently lacking.
In expressing his motivation for pursuing this fellowship, Ahmad Reshad states, “I am determined to make a lasting, positive impact on the health and wellbeing of the Afghan people by providing access to advanced neurosurgical interventions that are currently lacking in my country. This fellowship represents a critical step in realizing my ambitious goal of transforming the landscape of neurosurgical care in Afghanistan and, in doing so, empowering my fellow citizens to lead healthier, more fulfilling lives.” This fellowship not only represents a significant opportunity for Ahmad Reshad but also holds the potential to transform neurosurgical care in Afghanistan.
From Armenia to Japan
Ruzan Nazinyan recently completed her residency program in Armenia and will travel to the Department of Neurosurgery, Fujita Health University Banbuntane Hotokukai Hospital in Nagoya, Japant to complete her traveling fellowship. Ruzan’s fellowship will be hosted by Professor Yoko Kato. Her fellowship goals include developing her knowledge and experience in vascular and hybrid neurosurgery so that she may further develop those specialities in Armenia.
From Uzbekistan to the United States (Orlando, Florida)
Tokhir Akhmediev is a pediatric neurosurgeon at the Republican Center of Neurosurgery and Tashkent Medical Academy in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. His interests are pediatric neurooncology, neuroendoscopy, congenital anomalies of the brain and spinal cord, functional neurosurgery. The purpose of his fellowship is to get acquainted with the working process organized at the Leon Pediatric Neuroscience Center of Excellence Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, Orlando, Florida, USA. Professor Samer Elbabaa, who will be his fellowship host, visited the department where he worked earlier in 2024. He was inspired by his knowledge and passion for neurosurgery and is looking forward to visiting him at his home hospital in 2025.
We look forward to sharing updates on the progress of these ambitious neurosurgeons who will change the lives of many in Afghanistan, Armenia and Uzbekistan and inspire other practitioners to pursue neurosurgical education pathways. The scholars will be our future FIENS sites of service.
