The first inaugural FIENS Fellows Alumni Seminar featured presentations from four neurosurgeons who shared their experiences and outcomes from fellowship programs supported by the Foundation for International Education in Neurological Surgery. Dr. Tokhir Akhmediev discussed his observership at Orlando Health’s Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, focusing on fetal surgery techniques. Dr. Peh Low presented on a pediatric neurosurgery collaboration in Malaysia, highlighting efforts to establish specialized services in East Malaysia through partnerships with high-income countries. Dr. Yunus Kuntawi Aji described his fellowship in Japan and its impact on developing spine surgery capabilities in Indonesia, while Dr. Joel Fernando Sanabria Duarte shared how his Bassett Fellowship at Toronto Western Hospital enabled him to bring advanced functional neurosurgery techniques back to Paraguay. The speakers demonstrated how FIENS fellowships have helped transform neurosurgical practices in their home countries despite infrastructure challenges, with all presentations emphasizing the importance of international collaboration in global neurosurgery. The panel was hosted by Dr. Ignatius Esene.
