Previous Winners
Annual Takanori Fukushima Excellence in Microsurgery Award
Fund Purpose: To support a lecturer (neurosurgeon) from the United States or abroad with significant contributions in skull base surgery, cerebrovascular microsurgery, or microsurgical anatomy/technical innovations for an annual lecture at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons Meeting.
2025: Allan Friedman, MD (inaugural recipient)
Takanori Fukushima Excellence in Microsurgery
Ralph G. Dacey, Jr. Medal for Outstanding Cerebrovascular Research
The purpose of this award is to highlight the importance of cerebrovascular research to our specialty, foster scientific investigation in the areas of stroke and cerebrovascular disease, and recognize neurological surgeons who have made novel, outstanding, and continuous contributions to the basic, translational, and/or clinical understanding of cerebrovascular disease. The award recipient will receive an engraved brass medal and a $1000 cash prize.
2024: Gregory J. Zipfel, MD
2021: Marc Simard
2019: E. Sander Connolly
2018: Ralph G. Dacey
Joint Cerebrovascular Section Traveling Fellowship 
The fellowship is a funded travel experience designed to allow mid-career trained cerebrovascular/endovascular specialists to match with a host institution for 5 days to gain targeted experience in an area of significant interest to them. Fellowship winners receive $5,000 plus up to $2,500 for travel and lodging.
Congratulations to the 2025 Awardees:
Jonathan A. Grossberg, MD, FAANS
Host Institution: Alfried Krupp Krankenhaus
Mentor: Rene Chapot, MD
Clemens M. Schirmer, MD, PhD, MBA, FAANS, FACS, FAHA
Host Institution: Semmes-Murphey Clinic
Mentor: Adam S. Arthur, MD, MPH, FAANS
Congratulations to the 2024 Awardees:
Brian M. Howard, MD, FAANS
Host Institution: Mount Sinai Health System
Mentor: J Mocco, MD, FAANS
Nickalus R. Khan, MD, FAANS
Host Institution: Sapporo Teishinkai Hospital
Mentor: Dr. Rokuya Tanikawa
Congratulations to the 2023 Awardees:
Bradley N. Bohnstedt, MD, FAANS
Host Institution: Alfried Krupp Hospital
Mentor: Rene Chapot, MD, PhD
J Mocco, MD, FAANS
Host Institution: UCSF Health
Mentor: Adib Abla, MD, FAANS
Brain Aneurysm Foundation 
The Brain Aneurysm Foundation invites applications for basic scientific research directed at early detection, improved treatment modalities, and technological advances that will ultimately improve outcomes for patients with brain aneurysms, as well as projects that are translational, clinical/outcome, early detection, imaging, and SAH/SAH complications focused. Any project with the potential to advance basic scientific, translational, and clinical brain aneurysm research will be considered.
Grant Amount – $10.000 to $50,000. Salaries, including graduate student or postdoctoral fellows, may be requested at the principal investigator’s discretion.
The Bee Foundation
The Bee Foundation is dedicated to raising awareness of brain aneurysms and increase funding for innovative research involving brain aneurysms. Annual research awards totaling $25,000-50,000 are distributed at the annual Honey Bash Gala (applicants may request up to $50,000; awards not limited to a single applicant). Read about recent winners: Hazem Shoirah, MD, Kerstyn Perlman, BA, Tanyeri Barak, MD, Rosalind Lai, MD, and Andrew Hale, MD.
Robert J. Dempsey, MD, Cerebrovascular Research Award
This award was established to honor Dr. Dempsey for his mentoring of young physicians. Two trainees (resident or fellow) per year from North American training programs will be awarded $15,000 to support the study of cerebrovascular disease. Stay tuned– the awardees will be announced soon!
William P. Van Wagenen Fellowship 
The Van Wagenen Fellowship was designed to give freedom in scientific development without the restrictive limitations usually imposed by many research grants and fellowships.
Read about previous William P. Van Wagenen fellows here!
NREF Medical Student Summer Research Fellowships (MSSRF)
The NREF has offered the Medical Student Summer Research Fellowship (MSSRF) program annually since 2008. Fellowships in the amount of $2,500 are awarded to medical students in the United States, Canada or Mexico who have completed one or more years of medical school and wish to spend a summer mentored by a neurosurgical investigator sponsor who is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS).