June 2023 AANnews

ADVANCE REGISTRATION AND HOTEL DISCOUNTS END JUNE 29

Emergency and Hospital Neurology

Don’t miss your chance to take advantage of advance registration discounts and the opportunity to book your hotel room at the conference rate for the 2023 AAN Summer Conference: Emergency and Hospital Neurology. Set to take place July 28 and 29 at the Hyatt Regency in the Academy’s hometown of Minneapolis, MN—as well as live online—the conference will feature a lively two-day program dedicated to the most up-to-date information on the critically important topic of emergency and hospital neurology.

“In today's rapidly changing world of hospital neurology, the conference will provide a broad exposure to key topics relevant to practicing

Apply by September 14 for 2024 AAN Research Program Grant Opportunities

Applications are now open for the AAN’s 2024 Research Program grants. If you need research funding—or know someone who does—apply, or encourage them to apply, by the September 14 deadline.

Multiple awards are available in five categories: Career Development, Clinical Research Training Scholarship, Neuroscience Research Training Scholarship, Practice Research Training Scholarship, and Clinician Scientist Development Award. Applicants may apply in only one category and will be

Be Aware of COVID-19 Emergency Expiration

The AAN has closely followed the public health emergency (PHE) instituted by the federal government since the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Earlier this year, the Biden administration announced the PHE would expire on May 11, 2023.

Congress has extended many of the Medicare telehealth flexibilities such as audio-only and geographic and originating site flexibilities through December 31, 2024. However, many components of telehealth are determined by states and regulatory agencies. Therefore, some of the extensions established during the PHE, such as

The Mission of the AAN is to promote the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care and enhance member career satisfaction.

The Vision of the AAN is to be indispensable to our members.

Contact Information

American Academy of Neurology

201 Chicago Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55415

Phone: (800) 879-1960 (toll free) (612) 928-6000 (international)

Email: memberservices@ aan.com

Website: AAN.com

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Account/Relationship Manager

Wolters Kluwer

Phone: (978) 578-4514

Email: Michael.Obrien @ wolterskluwer.com

June Highlights

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Grant Helps Member Provide Stroke Education to Asian American Communities

Aileen Antonio, MD, the assistant program director for curriculum for the Neurology Residency Program at Trinity Health Saint Mary’s Hauenstein Neurosciences, has a passion for reaching out to poorly served people of color in her Grand Rapids, MI, region.

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MEET YOUR NEW BOARD MEMBER:

Jennifer Bickel, MD, FAAN

Bickel is the chief wellness officer for Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL, where she is charged with creating system change to improve professional well-being through an operational emphasis on meaningful, essential work; a culture that promotes wellbeing; and through tailored support programs.

21 Leadership Program Graduate ‘Carves the Path Forward’ to Numerous Successes

AAN Chief Executive Officer: Mary E. Post, MBA, CAE

Nicole Ullrich, MD, PhD, MMSci, participated in the AAN’s Women Leading in Neurology (WLN) program during a difficult time: “The ‘COVID year,’ which was all virtual,” the 2021 graduate recalled. As a result, Ullrich and her colleagues were unable to meet in person until after the program was completed.

Editor-in-Chief: Melissa W. Ko, MD, MBA, CPE, FAAN

Managing Editor: Angela M. Babb, MS, CAE, APR

Editor: Tim Streeter

Writers: Ryan Knoke and Sarah Parsons

Designer: Siu Lee

Email: aannews@ aan.com

AANnews® is published monthly by the American Academy of Neurology for its 40,000 members worldwide. Access this magazine and other AAN publications online at AAN.com.

The American Academy of Neurology ’s registered trademarks and service marks are registered in the United States and various other countries around the world.

“American Brain Foundation” is a registered service mark of the American Brain Foundation and is registered in the United States.

The inclusion of advertisements and/or promotions of Sponsors and other Internet sites or resources that offer content, goods, or services on the Website does not imply endorsement of the advertised/promoted products or services by AAN.

News Briefs

Register for Online Session on End of COVID-19 Public Health

Emergency Business administrator members of the AAN are encouraged to participate in a one-hour online session on June 14 at 12:00 p.m. CT to hear the latest information from AAN staff about the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency requirements. Participants then will be able to discuss with colleagues how the end of the PHE is affecting their practices and departments.

This session is available to AAN members only. Registration will close on June 12. Register at https://bit.ly/42vkLb4 or contact practice@aan.com for additional details. 

Missed This Annual Meeting? Don’t Miss The Next One!

Our Annual Meeting in Boston was an exhilarating event! More than 15,000 of your neurology colleagues were in attendance either in person or virtually. It was so nice, after what we’ve endured the last few years with COVID-19, to see the halls of the convention center filled with smiling, eager faces and catch snippets of animated conversations and hearty laughter. I wish we could bottle this energy and enthusiasm and send it out to all of you who could not be with us! I’m sure attendees will carry it home with them and draw on it in their work over the coming year.

One important facet of this annual get-together is the Business Meeting, which is reported in greater detail in this issue. The election of the new 2023–2025 Board of Directors by members at the meeting marked another milestone in the broadening diversity of the Academy’s leadership and I am so excited to work with our new President Elect Dr. Natalia Rost. My predecessor Dr. Orly Avitzur set the bar high, but I know I can rely on her counsel as immediate past president. We welcomed Dr. Nimish Mohile to the board as an ex officio member chairing our newly elevated Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. Members will learn more about him soon as AANnews kicks off a series of articles featuring our new Board members, starting this month with Dr. Jennifer Bickel.

I want to congratulate Dr. Avitzur on her compelling and moving Presidential Plenary speech, which framed the efforts of our late colleague and former AAN President Dr. Ralph Sacco to promote expansion of the Academy’s mission to advance brain health as a natural continuation of our organization’s wondrous 75-year history. Later, Dr. Avitzur, Dr. Rost, and David A. Evans, MBA, who chairs the AAN’s Committee on Public Engagement, joined with Professor.

Paul A.J.M. Boon, president of the European Academy of Neurology, and Dr. Wolfgang Grisold, president of the World Federation of Neurology, for an inspiring “Global

Brain Health Conversation” on how the worldwide neurology community can come together to enhance brain health for everyone, through every phase of life. The Academy’s Brain Health Initiative is leading this effort and you will hear more about it in the months ahead.

Science and education are the mainstays of our meeting, which offered more than 2,600 abstracts and 200 courses. Our Leadership University provided opportunities to learn how to manage and communicate more effectively, whether in an academic or clinical setting. In the Wellness Hub, presentations ranged from the psychology of burnout to learning the steps of the popular Bollywood style of dance from India’s lavish musicals. And if you wanted advice on how to write for medical journals, our publication editors were on hand to share their insights.

Continued on page 4 ›

Jackson

Missed This Annual Meeting? Don’t Miss The Next One! continued from

I marvel at the creativity of our members and AAN staff who bring these wonderful ideas to life. There were performances by students from the New England Conservatory of Music who enhanced a HeadTalk on the mechanisms of music perception by the brain. Another HeadTalk on the neuroscience of the circadian rhythm incorporated the history of Swiss watchmaking—complete with a demonstration by a Bostonian watchmaker! The Innovation Hub investigated how the brain handles complex tasks in the popular video game Call of Duty. Those with a competitive nature enjoyed playing Neurology Quiz LIVE for prizes. I had great fun playing in the final round of NeuroZone with the AAN’s CEO Mary E. Post, MBA, CAE, and the winner, Omar Danoun, MD.

Even A.B. Baker and his colleagues who planned the first Annual Meeting in 1949 knew that socializing and networking was important, but so was fun! While they enjoyed golf and bridge tournaments and the amenities of the French Lick Spa, the attendees of 2023 had an array of events—from the fabulous 75th Anniversary Celebration to daily wine and painting sessions.

If you were unable to join us in Boston, you can partake of the tremendous science and education programming

page 3

via our Annual Meeting On Demand, accessible at AAN.com/AMOD. The only drawback of this resource is that it can’t transport you physically back to the multidimensional experience of being on-site live. To enjoy that, to be fully embraced and uplifted by the energy of your wonderful neurology peers, you must be there at the time, in the moment—live and alive. I wholeheartedly encourage you, whether near or far, to come to Denver from April 13–18, 2024. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that compares to the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting! 

Carlayne E. Jackson, MD, FAAN President, AAN cjackson@aan.com @CarlayneJackson on Twitter

My daughter asked ChatGPT which courses to check out at #AANAM and it said @ASouthStrokeDoc ’s Hot Topic in AI is a can’t-miss! She’s continuing to build out her itinerary @AANmember

Jason Crowell @jasonlcrowell

AAN Journals Have Rich Legacy Informing on Latest Research, Treatments, and More

“The Academy felt that it should have its own journal and there was no journal devoted strictly to neurology,” said Russell N. DeJong, MD, FAAN, in a 1982 interview. “They felt that to have status as an organization, they should have their own official organ. And I think it was in about the second meeting, the meeting in Cincinnati, where they conceived the idea of having their own journal.” It was also at that 1950 meeting when DeJong, the new chair of the Department of Neurology at the University of Michigan Medical School, was asked by Board Trustee and future President Howard D. Fabing, MD, FAAN, to take on the responsibility of editor-in-chief.

The Academy needed a publisher. According to Joe R. Brown, MD, FAAN, “Lou Cohen and his brother Jacob published Modern Medicine and Lancet in Minneapolis. Both played poker regularly with Dr. A.B. Baker. Between poker hands, Dr. Baker would seek advice about publication of the anticipated AAN papers, and several publishers were contacted. Increasingly mixed into the poker game were the insistent requests by Dr. Baker for the Cohen brothers to publish a journal for the AAN. Finally, after months of increasing irritation, Jacob told his brother Lou, ‘Give Abe his goddamn magazine.’ So, the ‘magazine’ Neurology was born and published in Minneapolis due to the foresight and persistence of Dr. Baker.”

Francis M. Forster, MD, FAAN, who sat on the first editorial board, recounted in 1982 how the AAN’s flagship publication got its name in 1950: “The first name proposed was The American Journal of Neurology, the Official Organ of the American Academy of Neurology. We started crossing off [words]. You didn’t have to say American because obviously we were. And you didn’t need to say Journal because it was a journal. And Official Organ—it obviously was! So, we got down to where I finally suggested we call it Of. But instead we settled on Neurology.”

The first issue of Neurology® rolled off the presses in January 1951. Subscription was voluntary, as the board did not want to impose the subscription costs on top of the annual dues. Rates for the first year of the publication were $8.00 for domestic subscribers, $9.00 for international subscribers, and $5.00 for junior members. The first year’s volume contained 496 pages. As an editor and physician, DeJong believed in brevity. On writing a case history, he said: “Negative observations, redundant statements, and unnecessary material should be omitted. The author should use short, accepted, simple words. There is no place for medical slang or colloquialisms in any scientific article. Solecisms, vague and inaccurate terms and circumstances should be avoided. Abstract words should not be used as concrete ones, and nouns should not be used as verbs or adjectives. Trite and overworked phrases should be avoided, and simplicity of expression should be sought. If the patient died, one should say so, and not seek for euphemisms such as ‘came to exitus,’ ‘had fatal termination,’ or ‘his respirations ceased.’”

The relationship and handshake agreement between Baker and Cohen would complicate the management of the journal. The finances of those early years were murky and a continued point of polite contention between the Academy and the publisher. “He did not separate the costs of Neurology from the costs of his other magazines,” DeJong said of the publisher. “We did not know exactly how much the journal made, but it kept going. But if I wished to publish additional pages or enlarge the size of the journal, of course we had to get his permission to do that.”

“We had so many articles to publish”

The publication was conceived as bimonthly, but according to DeJong, “We had so many articles to publish that by the third year it became a monthly. We always had more than we needed. There was a large editorial board, and the articles were sent to the board members for review. There were neuropathologists and electroencephalographers and neurochemists and pediatric neurologists on the Editorial Board and they were very helpful to me. But everything went through my office.”

Cohen recommended that Neurology go monthly in 1953, and the AAN would receive 50 percent of the profits after expenses and “accrued losses.” When the 1953 fiscal year concluded, the AAN received its share of the $872.44 profits.

The proceeds increased in small increments throughout the 1950s. Looking to offset the expenses it incurred for editorial work, billing, and collection, the Academy sought a better understanding of the expense and revenue structure of the journal. Cohen proposed moving from the revenue sharing arrangement to an annual “grant” of $2.00 for every subscription. The Board accepted, but the income actually decreased the following two years! By 1966, further investigation revealed that the publisher—not the Academy—owned the journal and its name.

Even after Cohen sold his business and it changed hands twice more, he retained his position as publisher of Neurology. Baker, who had continued to play a prominent role in AAN activities, often intervened on behalf of his friend. Finally, the first actual written agreement between Cohen and the AAN was signed in November 1971—but no mention was made regarding revenue.

It wasn’t until 1976, when Harcourt Brace Jovanovich assumed ownership of Modern Medicine and Neurology and Cohen stepped down, that the AAN begin to see any substantial financial support from the journal.

1976 was also the year the founding editor stepped down after 26 years. DeJong was replaced by Lewis P. Rowland, MD, FAAN, effective January 1, 1977. Thereafter, 10-year terms would become the maximum for editors-in-chiefs: a six-year

DeJong

appointment with the chance for a four-year renewal.

In the December 1976 issue, both Rowland and Baker paid tribute to DeJong. Said Baker, “During his entire term as editor-in-chief, Dr. DeJong continued to emphasize the clinical orientation of the journal, but, as he has pointed out, the changes in the discipline itself led to changes in the editorial contents over the years. As research burgeoned under the influence of federal grants, and as neurology became more and more identified as a scientific discipline in its own right, so the editorial content of Neurology became more scientific and less obviously clinical. But Dr. DeJong always maintained the rule that every paper, even one dealing with basic research, still must have some interest to the clinician to justify publication in Neurology.”

“He had a big red pen”

Under Rowland’s watch, the journal continued to grow and evolve. Manuscript submissions soared from 460 manuscripts submitted in 1977 to 1,090 in 1986, an increase of 137 percent. The page count grew but was challenged to keep pace with submissions and acceptances. While the overall acceptance rate remained around 40 percent, the number of published articles went from 220 in 1976 to 445 in 1985, and the number of pages in each annual volume expanded from 1,090 pages to 1,634 pages.

The journal added new features, such as the calendar of meetings and editorials under Views and Reviews. Classified advertising grew more than four-fold over the decade to 53 pages annually. Finances stabilized and the contract with the new publisher began to generate larger revenues for the Academy, thanks in major part to Melvin Greer, MD, FAAN, who chaired the Publications Committee during this era before becoming AAN president in 1985. Rowland was legendary for his editorial acumen—and his red pen. “Yeah, he had a big red pen,” said his associate editor Steven P. Ringel, MD, FAAN. “That was what he was known for. When I started, my first paper submitted to Neurology, I got it back from Bud. We didn’t have track changes and computers, and Bud had redlined everything, but that was because he really was a journalist and understood, say it clearly, don’t use all these words, get rid of all this excess language. He was wonderful.”

In his departing editorial in December 1986, Rowland noted, “The pages of Neurology refute the dismal reputation of our specialty as one that lacks treatment for devastating diseases. In 1975, we published 26 papers on medical therapy; the number tripled in the decade. There were also twice as many papers on surgical therapy. More important, there were three times as many therapeutic papers that actually included controlled trials.”

Rowland also expressed his personal satisfaction with his unique position. “Being an editor must be one of the most effective continuing learning experiences ever offered to anyone. The editor is constantly forced to read papers about diverse clinical and scientific fields. The editor is constantly prodded when expert reviewers agree with each other, and challenged when the experts disagree, as they often do. Being an editor entailed tasks that I came to enjoy in ways that could not have been predicted. I learned to read manuscripts for more than scholarly content. As Neurology attracted more and more papers, I came to prize clear and succinct expression, to recognize effective and less effective words and phrases, and to identify unnecessary repetition. I hope I did learn how to help authors. At least, my active red pen seemed to offend few of them.”

“The journal has gotten progressively fatter”

In January 1987, the baton passed to Robert B. Daroff, MD, FAAN, chair of neurology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. The journal experienced continued growth, as submissions climbed from 1,064 in Daroff’s first year to 1,921 in 1995, an 81 percent increase. However, it was taking as long as nine months between a paper’s acceptance and its publication. The delays were affecting the quality of submissions to Neurology Authors seeking quicker publication were diverting their work to weeklies such as the New England Journal of Medicine and Science.

Neurology® Genetics premiered in 2015, and is also a peer-reviewed, open access publication published only online. The journal focuses on outstanding original contributions that elucidate the role of genetic and epigenetic variations in diseases and biological traits of the central and peripheral nervous systems.

The Editorial Board was between a rock and a hard place, because the AAN’s publishing contract had set a limit for annual page count. Consequently, publication delay could be increased, more papers would have to be rejected, or the Academy would have to pay for additional pages.

Since further delay was anathema, the board pushed to trim the time in limbo to “no more than seven months.” Articles merited as “important” would be “expedited” within two to three months.

“Bob Daroff was a brilliant editor,” said his successor, Robert C. (Berch) Griggs, MD, FAAN. “He was very insightful and very ethically superb. He understood the ethics of publishing and doing things right. I learned things from him. He also knew people and could evaluate whether somebody was doing a good job. He taught me how to evaluate reviewers and think about them, and Bob also had wonderful tricks of writing clearly and concisely. He wrote this paper in the journal and I used his advice, and it was excellent advice.”

Former Neurology editors-in-chief in 2006: John H. Noseworthy, MD, FAAN; Robert C. (Berch) Griggs, MD, FAAN; Robert B. Daroff, MD, FAAN; and Lewis P. (Bud) Rowland, MD, FAAN.

AAN Journals Have Rich Legacy Informing on Latest Research, Treatments, and More

continued from page 7

In his valedictory editorial in 1996, Daroff noted, “The reduced delay from nine to seven months put further pressure on me to decrease the acceptance rate but I was extremely uncomfortable with the prospect of rejecting ‘acceptable’ manuscripts solely because of space limitations. Fortunately, the Academy decided to purchase extra pages each year from the publisher, permitting us to maintain a reasonable publication delay and not reject papers based entirely on space. Thus, the journal has gotten progressively fatter and, I hope, more valuable to its readers.”

The editor-in-chief also reflected on the balancing act between clinical and basic science articles. “The majority of our readers (the members of the American Academy of Neurology) are clinicians and they are often critical of the large number of basic science papers in the journal. On the other hand, academic neurologists have criticized my obvious clinical bias. We do not solicit articles (except for an occasional Editorial or View and Review) but are captive to what we receive. The journal has the right of first refusal on all papers presented at the Annual Meeting of the Academy, and many of these involve basic science topics. To tilt the emphasis towards clinical science, I held basic science papers to a higher standard (higher priority score acceptance threshold) than clinical papers when accepting or rejecting papers. Mindful of the tendency of clinical journals to be repositories for basic papers rejected by basic science journals, I think we avoided that trap.”

Also in 1996, the AAN—finally—secured ownership of the journal and its title “Neurology,” as well as the growing revenue from industry advertising in its pages. This would become an increasingly important boost to the Academy’s financial health.

Internet Expands Access, Email Speeds Work

In 1997, the Neurology editorial office moved to the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, where the new Editor-in-Chief, Robert C. (Berch) Griggs, MD, FAAN, was professor and chair of neurology. Under Griggs’ leadership, the journal began to take full advantage of the power of the Internet. The journal went online in 1999 and Griggs launched and completed the major task of making all published content— from 1951 to the present—available with a few clicks of a mouse. Further efficiencies were introduced in 2003, as the journal used

In 2012, the Academy answered practicing neurologists’ needs with Neurology® Clinical Practice. This journal is devoted to topics of interest to clinicians, including health care delivery, approaches to the patient with a variety of neurologic conditions, case-based articles on ethical issues, updates on diseases and disorders, office-based issues and practice management tips, and health policy discussions. It is provided free to subscribers of Neurology.

web-based tools for manuscript submission and a peer-review tracking system.

Just as important, the journal successfully moved from a monthly to biweekly publication schedule. Griggs sought to broaden and diversify participation in the journal and brought international neurologists onto the Editorial Board for the first time, and enlisted more than 700 international reviewers to appraise manuscripts. An International Newsletter highlighted colleagues and important meetings throughout the world. Limited-circulation foreign language editions were published in Italian, Japanese, Polish, and Turkish.

New features were added, including the “Reflections” section that offered personal poetic or prosaic expression from neurologists, and the timely “Changes, People, and Comments” section edited by former AAN President Robert J. Joynt, MD, PhD, FAAN. Griggs also added CME, the Patient Page, Resident and Fellow Section, Expedited E-Pub, and NeuroImages, including Video NeuroImages. Griggs also harnessed past Editor-in-Chief Daroff as the new Scientific Integrity Advisor, in which role he helped Neurology maintain the highest ethical standards. Former AAN President Jack P. Whisnant, MD, FAAN, served as Ombudsman. “It wasn’t just me. I had wonderful associate editors. I had wonderful people helping me. There were good people at the Academy helping me, but I was proud, because I came and was appointed editor at just the right time. The things had not gone online, and our publisher at the time, Lippincott, didn’t want to go online, because they were making a lot of money from advertisements. So, they said, "We go online, we’ll lose all that revenue." I thought that was absolutely not true, and so…we put the journal online…. I thought that was terrific. Then we started doing electronic reviewing by email, and that was an absolutely wonderful breakthrough in the way you did things. Before that time, we were sending papers out by Federal Express, and this meant to send them overseas was very costly. Neurology had never had international reviewers, and we started sending

The newest addition to the AAN’s suite of journals, Neurology® Education is a peer-reviewed journal to inform the science of teaching, learning, and training. Neurology: Education provides educators, clinicians, and trainees with outstanding peer-reviewed research articles, reviews, and editorials that address medical and neurologic education, including evidence-based teaching methods and curriculum innovations. The journal is a forum for the academic community to enhance teaching and learning in neurology and related fields. Neurology: Education publishes articles on all stages of neurologic and neuroscience education including premedical, postgraduate, and continuing medical education in neurology and related professions. The journal is online-only with continuous publication.

things out electronically. By the time I finished, the majority of our reviewers were from other countries, much as the majority of our authors of the journal are from other countries.”

During this period, Academy leaders decided to shift ownership of Neurology from the AAN itself to the new for-profit subsidiary, American Academy of Neurology Enterprises, Inc. (AEI), and Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (now Wolters Kluwer) was chosen as the new publisher.

Of course, submissions continued to increase, reaching more than 4,000 per year when Griggs’ term ended in 2006. The editor-in-chief reportedly read and edited each and every accepted submission.

New Vision and Mission Statements

John H. Noseworthy, MD, FAAN, who had been on the Editorial Board since 1997, had a brief reign as editor-in-chief from 2007 until his appointment as president and CEO of the Mayo Clinic in 2009. Nonetheless, his imprint was felt in the move to weekly publication in 2007, along with a redesign and new Chinese, Spanish, and Korean editions. Neurology® Podcast, weekly halfhour audio podcasts were introduced in 2007, providing practical, relevant, and timely information for neurologists and all clinicians to practice the best possible medicine for our patients.

Noseworthy reiterated the journal’s commitment to speed up publication of accepted submissions, and instituted a new policy to publish online—before they see print—“up to 25 percent of accepted articles that we judge to have the highest immediate impact on the practice of neurology.”

Launched in 2014, Neurology® Neuroimmunology and Neuroinflammation was the AAN’s first online, peer-reviewed, open access publication and provides neurologists and translationally minded scientists with peer-reviewed articles, editorials, and reviews to enhance patient care, education, and clinical and translational research.

“Working as I do at an institution, Mayo Clinic, that uses its vision (‘what we want to be’) and mission (‘why we exist’) statements to guide strategic decisions, I have received AAN Board approval for the vision and mission statements, below, which will guide our future strategic decisions. The mission statement reminds us of the importance to our profession not only of practice and clinical research issues but also of education and professionalism. As such, we will publish special articles on these topics to meet the needs of our readers and AAN members.”

Neurology: The most widely read and highly cited peerreviewed neurology journal.

Vision: Neurology will be the premier peer-reviewed journal for clinical neurologists.

Mission: Neurology will provide neurologists with outstanding peer-reviewed articles, editorials, and reviews to enhance patient care, education, clinical research, and professionalism.

Spinning out Spoke Journals

Noseworthy was succeeded by Robert A. Gross, MD, PhD, FAAN, who, among other accomplishments, helped the publication capitalize on mobile communications by introducing an app for the iPad. The mobile website was optimized for smartphone access, and all articles began publishing electronically ahead of print.

Gross oversaw the development and launch of a series of “spokes journals,” beginning with Neurology ® Clinical Practice in 2012. In 2014, Neurology ® Neuroimmunology and Neuroinflammation became the AAN’s first online, peer-reviewed, open access publication, followed by Neurology® Genetics in 2015. Shortly thereafter, the flagship journal Neurology began publishing papers in shortform summaries for print, with the complete long-form versions posted online.

Two years of planning and development led to a total redesign of the AAN’s publications, which rolled out during 2018.

“The most influential clinical neurology journal in the world”

José G. Merino, MD, MPhil, FAHA, FAAN, selected to follow Gross in 2018, has continued to foster changes during his tenure. For example, the Neurology Minute® daily briefing went online in 2019, and Neurology® Education was added in 2022 as an open access peer-reviewed journal in neurologic and neuroscience training.

“By many metrics, Neurology is the most influential clinical neurology journal in the world,” Merino shared. “It has the most citations and the highest Eigenfactor score, a measure of the journal’s importance to the wider scientific community. We are the only major neurology journal that publishes an issue on most weeks of the year (48 issues). We also publish the Guidelines and Position Statements of the largest organization of neurologists in the world, the AAN, and as such we help shape not just the research agenda but also the way clinicians practice. Because of the number of subscribers, we can say that it is also the most widely read neurology journal. Neurology has pioneered editorial practices that foster transparency and service to readers. Its editorial staff is superb, and some are of international renown. Over the years, the growth of the journal and the increase in the number of submissions have led Neurology to develop its four spoke journals, each focused on growing areas of clinical practice, researcher areas, and medical education.”

By 2022, 38 percent of the AAN’s $68.4M revenue came from royalties and publications. This revenue helps the Academy produce the myriad resources, tools, and conferences members rely on without exorbitant increases in membership dues. Thus, the vision of the AAN’s founders 75 years ago to provide the premier neurologic journal in the world has also become an integral part in the financial health of the world’s premier neurologic association. 

Gross

Merino

Small Practice Networking Sessions Share Peer-to-peer Insights, Experiences

Since last year, the AAN has been hosting quarterly Small Practice Networking sessions to connect neurologists to discuss challenges and solutions. These sessions are continuing throughout 2023. Each session features a timely topic presented by an AAN physician member practicing in the small practice setting. After their brief presentation, the session is opened for all attendees to share their experiences and brainstorm solutions.

The first session of 2023, held in March, focused on intentionally Developing Practice Culture, facilitated by Louis Tramontozzi III, MD, partner at North Shore Neurology & EMG in Beverly, MA, and practice administrator Allison Gordon. The pair described how the practice has spent years developing their culture to serve as a barometer and compass for the practice. Starting with defining the practice’s mission, vision, and core values, the practice has successfully developed a culture that has helped it make business decisions, recruit and retain staff, and deliver excellent patient service.

North Shore Neurology’s success hasn’t been without hard work. Its culture development started at the very beginning with the employee recruitment

process by targeting job listings, standardizing interviews, performing market analysis for compensation plans, and developing a strong onboarding program. Building the team came next with connecting new employees with a mentor, hosting social events, and providing consistent communication, including regular all-team meetings. Practice partners and leaders are encouraged to lead by example, setting the standards for interactions, demonstrating support for staff, and making messaging consistent. These efforts have built trust between the team members at North Shore Neurology, resulting in increased retention, reduced burnout, and delivery of an excellent patient experience.

After the presentation, session attendees then shared their experiences. Some practices have had to reduce the number of social gatherings to help define boundaries between leaders and employees. Some practices remodeled their organization structure to divide day-to-day and disciplinary responsibilities, with all attendees

agreeing that performance issues should be addressed quickly, and that some situations require parting ways with employees that aren’t a good fit for the practice. Lastly, attendees identified the cultural benefits when employees in all departments have regular contact with practice leadership.

The AAN’s next Small Practice Networking session will be held on Tuesday, June 27, at 6:00 p.m. CT. The session will be facilitated by Rajani Ruth Caesar, MD, of Grace Neurology Clinic. Caesar will discuss what she’s learned so far during her transition from a multispecialty to a solo practice three years ago. Upcoming sessions will be held on September 19 and December 5.

Caesar

Join the conversation by registering for this and future sessions at AAN.com/ education/practice-education-webinars

Be Aware of COVID-19 Emergency Expiration continued from cover

increased reimbursement, types of services, and supervision requirements are slated to expire before the end of 2024.

To review a summary of the federal changes to telehealth flexibilities, visit AAN.com/telehealth

As always, the Academy will keep members informed on national developments, and recommends that members verify state-specific regulations with their institution, third-party payer, and malpractice carrier.

The AAN continues to advocate for telehealth access with lawmakers and regulatory agencies. Since the beginning of 2023, the AAN has:

ƒ Signed on to a stakeholder request that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services harmonizes deadlines impacting Medicare telehealth.

ƒ Delivered comments to CMS about additional services that should be included on Medicare’s permanent list of telehealth services.

ƒ Submitted comments in response to the Drug Enforcement Agency’s proposed rule regarding prescribing of controlled substances via telehealth.

ƒ Provided input for an updated CONNECT for Health Act. 

Tramontozzi Gordon

Axon Registry EHR Integration Expands

The Axon Registry® has been transitioning the practices participating in the registry to the technical vendor Verana Health, which will integrate the majority of EHRs that were integrated with the registry’s previous technical vendor. In April 2023, Verana Health released new registry dashboards for 50 participating practices. Practices will be contacted to begin the integration process once it becomes possible.

The following EHRs have successfully integrated with Verana Health and are sending data to the Axon Registry:

ƒ eClincialWorks

ƒ eMDs Solution Series

ƒ EPIC

ƒ GE Centricity

ƒ Greenway Integy

ƒ Greenway PrimeSuite

ƒ NextGen

EVENTS

In the second quarter of 2023, Verana Health is integrating the following EHRs:

ƒ Chart Maker Clinical

ƒ DrChrono

ƒ DRS Enterprise

ƒ gloStream

ƒ IMS

ƒ Medics DocAssistant

ƒ Office Ally

ƒ PrognoCIS

ƒ Team Chart Concept

Verana Health and the Axon Registry continue to work with EHR companies to ensure an efficient integration process for practices. Whether you are considering joining the registry or have already enrolled, it is a good idea to reach out to your EHR representative to discuss integration options. For questions or updates on your practice’s integration status, contact the Axon Registry at registry@aan.com. Learn more at AAN.com/axon 

Advance Registration and Hotel Discounts End June 29 continued from cover

neurohospitalists, neurointensivists, and vascular neurologists, and will be a valuable resource for any neurology care team member,” said S. Andrew Josephson, MD, FAAN, who is codirecting the conference along with Casey S.W. Albin, MD, and Mark Milstein, MD, FAAN.

Tailored to the needs of the consultant neurologists at both tertiary and community practices, the curriculum will highlight the latest in clinically relevant scientific advances and case-based updates in all important neurohospitalist and neurocritical care topics, as well as offer sessions that will optimize practice, teaching, and quality improvement. Programming includes:

ƒ Case-based updates in several areas including status epilepticus, intracerebral hemorrhage, arterial ischemic stroke, and more

ƒ Global talks on health disparities, inpatient neurology, neurology resident training, and wellness among physicians and trainees

ƒ Three case-based programming

tracks in neurocritical care; hospital neurology topics; and business, training, education, and wellness, as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion

ƒ Hands-on skill building sessions on brain death certification, burnout, neurosonology, device programming 101, and point-of-care EEG technology

ƒ Exhibit Hall with opportunities to network with organizations that are at the forefront of advancing patient care

“Whether you are looking to increase your knowledge base, add a new skill set, or hone your expertise in critical care and hospital neurology, this year’s conference will allow you to choose different education tracks to meet your personal goals,” said Milstein.

Added Albin, “I’m excited about the faculty—we’ve selected truly engaging

July 28–29, 2023

and dynamic speakers who are leaders in the field and outstanding educators. I know each session will be jam-packed with clinically relevant pearls to take to the bedside.”

June 29 is the last chance to take advantage of the savings and to secure your room at the Hyatt Regency, so visit AAN.com/Summer today! 

Milstein Josephson

Albin

Capitol Hill Report

Capitol Hill Report presents regular updates on legislative and regulatory actions and how the Academy ensures that the voice of neurology is heard on Capitol Hill. It is emailed to US members twice monthly and is posted at AAN.com/view/HillReport. Below are some recent highlights.

Latest Advocacy News

ƒ Nine million veterans are enrolled to receive care from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), including many who suffer from neurologic disease. Many of these veterans benefit from the unique care of neurologyrelated Centers of Excellence, which are fully integrated into a VA medical center. Following the release of the House Republican’s debt limit plan, funding for the Veterans Health Administration is not explicitly protected, although verbally ensured. Help protect funding for veterans. Visit AAN.quorum.us/campaign/46465/ and tell your representatives to fully fund the VA Neurology Centers of Excellence today!

ƒ Contact your legislators via AAN.com/advocacy/neurologyadvocacy-action-center and urge them to support legislation that would help stabilize Medicare physician payments! Reps. Raul Ruiz (D-CA), Larry Bucshon (R-IN), Ami Bera (D-CA), and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) introduced the Strengthening Medicare for Patients and Providers Act, H.R. 2474, legislation that would provide an inflationary update to Medicare physician payments. AAN advocacy was an instrumental part in this successful step forward. Introduction of legislation addressing an inflationary update was a priority ask at Neurology on the Hill.

ƒ The AAN is currently working to respond to a proposed rule from the Office of the National Coordinator with significant implications for EHR interoperability and functionality. Additionally, this proposed rule has substantial impacts on the use of artificial intelligence in clinical practice, the reduction of administrative burdens, and ongoing efforts to promote seamless access and exchange of health information.

Issue in Focus

May 11, 2023, marked the end of the federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) declaration and with it, many of the pandemic-era policies that modified how health care is delivered. Thankfully, Congress, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and other regulatory agencies have worked to mitigate an abrupt end to telehealth access upon May 11.

Most notably, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 (CAA 2023) passed in December extends many temporary Medicare policies such as audio-only and geographic and originating site requirements through December 31, 2024. This legislation effectively overrides the previous 151-day extension to telehealth flexibilities that was enacted earlier in 2022.

The CAA 2023 was silent on many federal telehealth flexibilities established during the PHE, such as payment parity, expanded services, and supervision requirements. Some of these provisions will end immediately on May 11 and others will expire at the end of the year. To help members navigate the post-PHE federal policy landscape, the AAN has produced a summary outlining key telehealth deadlines at AAN.com/practice/telehealth

Looking ahead, the AAN has included telehealth as a component of its 2023 Advocacy Priorities. Outside of the PHE, the AAN will continue its efforts to advocate for access to telehealth services and reimbursement with Congress, regulators at CMS, and private payers. 

Grant Helps Member Provide Stroke Education to Asian American Communities

Aileen Antonio, MD, the assistant program director for curriculum for the Neurology Residency Program at Trinity Health Saint Mary’s Hauenstein Neurosciences, has a passion for reaching out to poorly served people of color in her Grand Rapids, MI, region.

In 2019, Antonio, a native of the Philippines, was accepted to attend the Palatucci Advocacy Leadership Forum and learned the skills needed to create a successful action plan. In 2021, she created a new action plan, “Stroke Education for Asian American Minorities in West Michigan.” In December 2021, she applied for a 2022 Palatucci Advocacy Leadership Forum Action Plan Support Grant and was selected to receive $1,000 towards addressing the lack of awareness regarding modifiable risks and early prevention efforts associated with stroke in the Asian American marginal populations (Vietnamese, Nepali, Burmese, Chinese) in West Michigan.

The funds helped Antonio organize community events, with neurology resident and faculty involvement, for marginalized members of the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, enlisting the help of the Trinity Health Saint Mary’s patient navigators and translators. She created a single-page handout as a visual aid, translated into the various languages of her target audience.

Antonio coordinated events with organizations and community stakeholders, including Vietnamese-Catholic, VietnameseBuddhist, Chinese, Burmese, and Nepali communities, and is working to schedule meetings with Afghan, Bosnian, Laotian, Kinyarwanda, and Swahili communities.

“Obstacles included the challenges of arranging the stroke educational sessions around the schedules of patient navigators and community participants,” Antonio reported. “The Laotian community lost almost half of their population to COVID-19, and thus are wary of holding in-person meetings. Also, there are many cultural medical myths that need to be understood by the medical community, so that we can learn to work with these, while at the same time ensuring the health of these disparate people.”

Along with their outreach activities, Antonio and her team presented a scientific poster developed from their experiences entitled “Educating Asian American Subgroups about Stroke” at the Trinity Health Scholarly Activity Symposium in May 2022. The Journal of Graduate Medical Education published an article in December 2022 where Antonio and her team shared their insights and the neurology residents’ growth because of this project.

Two scientific posters were presented at the 2023 International Stroke Conference entitled “The Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Lessons Learned from Developing a Culturally Competent Community Stroke Education Program for Asian American Minorities in West Michigan” and “Developing A Culturally Competent Stroke Education Curriculum For Marginalized Asian Americans To Improve Health Disparities In West Michigan.” The latter was an invited presentation at the Health Equity and Actional Disparities in Stroke: Understanding and Problem-Solving (HEADS-UP) Preconference.

Her success has led to receiving multiple awards since beginning her project, including $3,540 in extra funding from the Trinity Health Saint Mary’s Foundation.

Antonio’s efforts were honored in January 2023 with a Physicians Making a Difference Award from the Trinity Health Michigan Executive Team. In their announcement to Antonio, they stated “As a champion for stroke care and education, you and your team are truly making a difference in the underserved Asian American community. As your motto states, and we couldn’t agree more, “Practicing medicine should go beyond the four walls of our exam rooms.” Thank you for faithfully living your mission and serving your community! We couldn’t be prouder or more humbled to have you on the Trinity Health Grand Rapids medical staff.”

The AAN has also taken pride in Antonio’s accomplishments, bestowing upon her the 2023 A.B. Baker Teacher Recognition Award and the Mentor Directorship Leadership Program Award. If you have a passion to take neurology beyond the confines of the exam room—and stretch your skills with the support of like-minded colleagues—learn more about the Palatucci Advocacy Leadership Forum at AAN.com/PALF 

Antonio

EDUCATION

July 31 Is Deadline to Apply for Subspecialty Fellowship Program Accreditation

The deadline to submit applications for subspecialty fellowship programs seeking United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties accreditation is July 31 for fall 2023 review. Applications received by this date will be notified of their accreditation determination no later than December 1.

The UCNS now accredits programs in 11 subspecialties. Accreditation is a measure of training program excellence and UCNS-accredited programs demonstrate that they meet the standards of graduate medical education excellence set by both the UCNS and the subspecialty experts of each of the UCNS-recognized subspecialties. The peer-reviewed accreditation process is overseen by the Accreditation Council, a standing committee reporting to the UCNS Board of Directors.

Visit UCNS.org/Accreditation to learn more and to apply by July 31. For questions about submitting a new application or accessing your existing account, contact Amanda Carpenter at acarpenter @ ucns.org 

UCNS Certifies New Neuroimaging Diplomates

The United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties has certified four new physician diplomates in the neurologic subspecialty of Neuroimaging. Demonstrating their expert knowledge in their subspecialty, these physicians now hold the distinction of being UCNS Diplomates after passing the 2023 UCNS Neuroimaging certification examination. There are currently 165 physicians who are UCNS-certified in Neuroimaging. The next UCNS Neuroimaging certification examination will take place in 2025. To see the list of new diplomates, visit “News” at UCNS.org 

Submit Journal Articles for 2024 UCNS C-cert Reading List by July 31

All UCNS-certified diplomates and the subspecialty sponsoring organization members are encouraged to submit journal articles or practice guidelines that meet the submission criteria for inclusion in the 2024 Continuous Certification (C-cert) subspecialty reading lists. All submissions will be reviewed and final article selections determined by the subspecialty’s examination committee, a committee of subject matter experts who are nominated by the subspecialty’s sponsoring organization(s). Article submissions are encouraged for the subspecialties of Autonomic Disorders, Behavioral Neurology & Neuropsychiatry, Clinical Neuromuscular Pathology, Headache Medicine, Interventional Neurology, Neurocritical Care, Neuroimaging, and Neuro-oncology.

Submissions must meet the following criteria to be considered:

ƒ Reflects recent advances within the past four years or current clinical knowledge in the subspecialty field

ƒ Clinically relevant articles

ƒ Drawn from peer-reviewed journals relevant to the subspecialty and/or the related primary specialty field

ƒ New or updated practice guidelines published in print or electronic form

ƒ Available to and easily accessible by UCNS diplomates Visit UCNS.org/ArticleSubmission for additional information on review and selection procedures and to submit by the July 31 deadline. For additional questions, contact Bryan Hagerla, Continuous Certification Manager, at bhagerla @ ucns.org or (612) 928-6326. 

Systemic Disease Explored in Continuum

The latest information on systemic disease is presented in the June issue of Continuum: Lifelong Learning in Neurology®

Guest Editor Leticia Tornes, MD, FAAN, said, “This is an issue you will want to keep close by, as it will be a go-to resource for the inpatient consult team. It covers the horses and zebras of systemic disease and the neurologic complications and manifestations of cardiac, pulmonary, rheumatologic, blood, renal, and endocrine systems and more.”

Topics in this Continuum issue include:

ƒ Neurologic Complications of Cardiac and Pulmonary Disease

Shraddha Mainali, MD

ƒ Neurologic Manifestations of Gastrointestinal and Nutritional Disorders

T. Scott Diesing, MD, FHM

ƒ Neurologic Manifestations of Rheumatologic Disease

Michel Toledano, MD

ƒ Obstetric and Gynecologic Disorders and the Nervous System

Erika Marulanda, MD

Leticia Tornes, MD, FAAN

ƒ Renal and Electrolyte Disorders and the Nervous System

Shivani Ghoshal, MD

ƒ Hematologic Disorders and the Nervous System

Michelle L. Mauermann, MD, FAAN

Andrew M. Southerland, MD, MSc, FAAN

ƒ Neurologic Complications of Critical Medical Illness

Nicholas A. Morris, MD

Aarti Sarwal, MD, FAAN, FCCM, FNCS, RPNI

ƒ Neurologic Complications of Endocrine Disorders

Haatem Reda, MD

ƒ Neurologic Complications of Cancer Treatment

Alyx B. Porter, MD, FAAN

ƒ Substance Use and the Nervous System

Derek Stitt, MD

ƒ Neurologic Complications of COVID-19

Christine Gill, MD

Tracey A. Cho, MD, FAAN

The issue includes a postreading self-assessment and test with the opportunity to earn up to 20 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ toward Self-assessment CME.

Subscribe or renew by June 30, 2023, to save 15 percent off the regular AAN member rate. Lock in this rate for up to three years!

Subscribe now by contacting Wolters Kluwer at (800) 361-0633 or (301) 223-2300 (international) or visit shop.lww.com/continuum. Make sure to select “Member” under “Price Type” and enter code WPQ213AA at checkout to receive the discount. AAN Junior members who are transitioning to neurologist memberships are eligible to receive a 60-percent discount on the already low member rate for the Continuum and Continuum Audio subscription. Subscription includes six print issues a year, access to the entire archives online at ContinuumJournal.com, Continuum® Audio interviews with the expert authors of Continuum, and Read Aloud, audiobook-style recordings of articles. 

Tornes

Apply by September 14 for 2024 AAN Research Program Grant Opportunities

continued from cover

considered for all applicable awards within that category. During the application process, applicants will have the opportunity to select their first and second award preferences within the single category.

Research funding is available in the areas of ALS and related disorders, Alzheimer’s, cognitive aging and age-related memory loss, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, mal de debarquement syndrome, frontotemporal degeneration, epilepsy, Lewy body diseases, neurodisparities, and peripheral neuropathy. For a full listing of awards within each category, detailed application requirements, and to apply, visit AAN.com/ResearchProgram

2024 grant categories include:

ƒ Career Development Award

This award category is designed for junior investigators interested in an academic career in clinical, basic, or translational neurologic research. Recipient must be a neurologist and an AAN member interested in an academic career in neurologic research who completed residency between five and 10 years prior to the start date of the Career Development Award (July 1, 2024).

ƒ Clinical Research Training Scholarship

This award category recognizes the importance of good clinical research and encourages young investigators in clinical studies. Recipient must be an AAN member interested in an academic career in neurologic research who has completed residency or a PhD no more than five years prior to the beginning of this award (July 1, 2024).

ƒ Neuroscience Research Training Scholarship

This award category aims to recognize the importance of and encourage young investigators in good laboratory or preclinical research. Recipient must be an AAN member interested in an academic career in neurologic research who has completed residency or a PhD no more than five years prior to the beginning of this award (July 1, 2024).

ƒ Practice Research Training Scholarship

This award category supports practice-based research, which is defined as “clinical research that evaluates translation of evidence into best clinical practice,” and encourages young investigators to use studies to improve health systems and services, quality of care, implementation of therapies, physician performance, or patient adherence. It is intended to create unique training opportunities previously difficult to access for neurologists.

Recipient must be an AAN member interested in an academic career in neurologic research who has completed residency or a PhD no more than five years prior to the beginning of this award (July 1, 2024).

ƒ Clinician Scientist Development Award

This award recognizes the importance of good clinical research and encourages young investigators in clinical studies in ALS. Recipient must be an AAN member interested in an academic career in neurological research who has completed residency or a PhD no more than seven years prior to the beginning of this award (July 1, 2024).

The AAN is committed to supporting researchers because we know that when you make a profound difference in the lives of researchers you ultimately make a profound difference in the lives of patients with brain disease.

The AAN Research Program grants are funded by the AAN and American Brain Foundation in partnership with other associations and exemplify this commitment to promoting neurology and neuroscience research training across a wide range of career levels and discovery stages. In addition, 91 percent of AAN Research Program recipients go on to receive further longer-term research funding. 

Apply for Education Grants

by June 30

The AAN is pleased to announce three $10,000 Education Research Grants for 2024. The application deadline is June 30, 2023. Learn more and apply at AAN.com/research/awards-scholarships#education 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Celebrated at Annual Meeting

Inclusion is the reason the AAN was founded. The AAN is firmly committed to embracing the diversity of our members, staff, and the communities they serve, and affirms the need for equity and inclusiveness in our organization, our profession, and the care we provide for our patients. In this column, we share the wide spectrum of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work being done across the AAN.

With 77 courses tagged under the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program Track, meeting attendees online and in Boston had ample opportunities to broaden their knowledge and understanding of timely topics affecting neurologists and their patients.

From convenient pronoun stickers people could affix to their name tags, to a large mosaic wall populated with selfie portraits uploaded on-site and virtually, attendees were invited to represent themselves and demonstrate our value of inclusion.

At the Business Meeting, AAN members voted to approve adding the chair of the new DEI Committee, Nimish A. Mohile, MD, FAAN, to be an ex-officio member of the AAN Board of Directors.

In

2023–2025 Officers and Board Members Approved at Business Meeting

AAN members elected the slate of officers and directors nominated for the 2023–2025 term at the AAN’s Business Meeting on Saturday, April 22, at the Annual Meeting. They began their terms on April 28.

Officers

ƒ Carlayne E. Jackson, MD, FAAN, President

ƒ Natalia S. Rost, MD, MPH, FAAN, FAHA, President Elect

ƒ Janis M. Miyasaki, MD, MEd, FRCPC, FAAN, Vice President

ƒ Sarah M. Benish, MD, FAAN, Secretary

ƒ Charles C. Flippen II, MD, FAAN, Treasurer

ƒ Orly Avitzur, MD, MBA, FAAN, Immediate Past President

Directors

ƒ Wayne E. Anderson, DO, FAAN

ƒ Jennifer Bickel, MD, FAAN*

ƒ Gregory J. Esper, MD, MBA, FAAN*

ƒ Larry B. Goldstein, MD, FAAN, FAHA

ƒ Lily Jung Henson, MD, MMM, FAAN

ƒ Shannon M. Kilgore, MD, FAAN

ƒ Jeffrey C. McClean II, MD, FAAN*

ƒ Bruce I. Ovbiagele, MD, MSc, MAS, MBA, MLS, FAAN

ƒ José H. Posas, MD, FAAN*

*New to the Board

The following additional directors will serve as ex officio directors:

ƒ Bruce H. Cohen, MD, FAAN, Chair, Advocacy Committee/ex officio

ƒ Brad C. Klein, MD, MBA, FAAN, Chair, Medical Economics and Practice Committee/ex officio

ƒ José G. Merino, MD, MPhil, FAHA, FAAN, Editor-in-Chief of Neurology ®/ex officio

ƒ Nimish A. Mohile, MD, FAAN, Chair, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee/ex officio*

ƒ Maisha T. Robinson, MD, MSHPM, FAAN, Chair, Member Engagement Committee/ex officio

ƒ Mary E. Post, MBA, CAE, Chief Executive Officer/ex officio, non-voting

The Academy is comprised of two legal entities, the AAN and the AAN Institute. Most of the elected members of the AAN Board of Directors also serve ex officio on the Board of Directors of the AAN Institute, which includes an independent secretarytreasurer and additional members who serve in ex officio capacities. The AAN Institute Board of Directors will include the following additional members:

ƒ Brett M. Kissela, MD, MS, FAHA, FAAN, Secretary-Treasurer

ƒ Paul M. George, MD, PhD, FAAN, Chair, Science Committee/ex officio

ƒ Lyell K. Jones, Jr., MD, FAAN, Chair, Quality Committee/ex officio

ƒ José G. Merino, MD, MPhil, FAHA, FAAN, Editor-in-Chief of Neurology ®/ex officio

ƒ Joseph I. Sirven, MD, FAAN, Chair, Education Committee/ex officio

ƒ Mary E. Post, MBA, CAE, Chief Executive Officer/ex officio, non-voting

These amendments to the AAN Bylaws were approved at the Business Meeting:

ƒ Adding the Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee to the AAN Board of Directors

ƒ Replacing all mentions of “Executive Director” with “CEO” throughout the Bylaws

ƒ Replacing “Chairman” with “Chair” in Article IV, Section 5

For more information, contact Karen Kasmirski, Senior Governance Coordinator, at kkasmirski @ aan.com 

Rost Jackson Benish Miyasaki Flippen Avitzur

MEET THE BOARD

MEET YOUR NEW BOARD MEMBER: Jennifer Bickel, MD, FAAN

Jennifer Bickel, MD, FAAN, is the chief wellness officer for Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL, where she is charged with creating system change to improve professional well-being through an operational emphasis on meaningful, essential work; a culture that promotes well-being; and through tailored support programs. She is also a professor of oncologic science at the University of South Florida. She serves as the chair of the American Academy of Neurology’s Wellness Subcommittee and as a member of the National Academy of Medicine’s Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-being and Resilience. She attended medical school at the University of MissouriKansas City and completed her neurology residency at the University of Kansas Medical Center. As a headache medicine specialist, Bickel served at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, MO, until 2021 as chief of the headache section and as the headache medicine fellowship director.

How did you initially get involved as a volunteer member for the AAN?

I remember the day in 2012, about six years out of training. I was in my headache clinic and frustrated at yet another no-show while getting bombarded with requests for overbooks due to the eight-month wait time. I decided to use the unexpected free time to search the AAN website for guidelines to include in a PCP headache education presentation when I saw an advertisement for the Palatucci Advocacy Leadership Forum. I immediately was drawn to the idea of learning how to improve my neurology advocacy skills so I could improve the system for my patients. I applied right then (instead of completing my presentation) and luckily was accepted. The Palatucci Advocacy Leadership Forum was where I learned that the AAN values and priorities aligned with my own and I’ve been an avid volunteer since.

Why did you wish to be on the Board of Directors?

First off, I love neurology, neurologists, and the patients we serve but when I started serving in the AAN I gave no thought to ever being on the Board of Directors. I just wanted to contribute my expertise and strengths to solving the problems affecting our field. However, over the past 10 years, I have had the opportunity to develop a larger more strategic understanding of the AAN through my roles in education,

leadership development, advocacy, and wellness. I wish to be on the Board of Directors so I can contribute what I have learned to further improve the neurology workforce and the patients we serve. Also, I have had the honor to work with many of the Board members in the past and they are the type of people we all dream to work with: dedicated, visionary, authentic, collaborative, and mission driven.

What experiences and viewpoints do you bring to this role?

Since becoming a neurologist, I haven’t followed the most conventional career path, which has given me a broad range of experience in neurology with a special focus on the areas of wellness, education, leadership development, and advocacy. Over the past five years, my career has pivoted from being a neurology clinician educator to a hospital leader dedicated to reducing burnout in health care. My viewpoint, supported by evidence, is that burnout is not caused by a deficiency of resilience but instead by systems with layers of dysfunction that interferes with our ability to find meaning in our work and to help the patients in front of us. I am bringing to the board the ability to see AAN initiatives through a “wellness lens.” From political advocacy to leadership development to practice management and beyond, about everything the AAN does has the potential to reduce the risk of burnout for our members. 

AANe-news. Because Your Time Is Valuable.

Sent to your email address the second and fourth Wednesday of each month, AANe-news™ delivers the latest top headlines and resources from the Academy so you can quickly scan and connect directly with the information you need to know.

Another members-only solution from your AAN.

Bickel

A Neurology ® study featured in a press release that found people who regularly use laxatives may have more than a 50-percent increased risk of developing dementia than people who do not use laxatives was covered by MSN, Fox News, and U.S. News & World Repor t. A study featured in a press release that found high blood pressure disorders during pregnancy are associated with an increased risk of thinking problems later

in life, was covered by Drugs.com, ETHealthworld, and Medical Xpress. Another study featured in a press release that suggests people with early cardiovascular disease may be more likely to have memory and thinking problems and worse brain health in middle age, was covered by Medical News Today, U.S. News & World Report, and Drugs.com 

Looking to Connect with Subspecialty Colleagues? Join Free AAN Sections and Synapse Member Communities!

Did you know that by joining one or more of the AAN’s 40+ sections you can lend your voice to timely discussions in neurology and exchange ideas and concerns with other AAN members from around the globe who share your same interests? Joining is a free benefit of your AAN membership, which includes

access to associated SynapseSM Member Communities and Synapse mobile app to make connecting with your neurology colleagues even easier. Visit AAN.com/Sections today to join or contact sections @ aan.com for questions. 

Leadership Program Graduate ‘Carves the Path Forward’ to Numerous Successes

Nicole Ullrich, MD, PhD, MMSci, participated in the AAN’s Women Leading in Neurology (WLN) program during a difficult time: “The ‘COVID year,’ which was all virtual,” the 2021 graduate recalled. As a result, Ullrich and her colleagues were unable to meet in person until after the program was completed. Nonetheless, “we created a strong, supportive network of peer mentors.”

Ullrich’s personal experiences and mentorship in the program were focused on "next steps" in her career and, as she put it, “how to carve the path forward.”

What a path she’s carved. “Since completing the WLN, I was promoted to full professor at Harvard Medical School and have taken on several leadership positions,” she said. “I was elected by faculty to the executive board of the Physician's Organization and to the Medical Staff Executive Committee. I also became a Fellow of the AAN.” Most recently, Ullrich assumed the positions of both associate director of the Office for Faculty Development and director of the new Office for Women's Careers at Harvard.

“The WLN helped me to hone some of my skills and to prepare me for these leadership positions, as I continue to evolve personally and professionally,” she said. “I was encouraged to dig deeply into my own leadership experience and vulnerabilities in order to adapt my leadership style, to determine next career steps, and, importantly, to negotiate for these next steps.”

While the timing of her involvement in the WLN at the height of the pandemic could easily have been perceived as a stumbling block, Ullrich sees things differently. “COVID, among other things, has reinforced the importance of flexibility, of careful consideration of life and work pressures, and of seeing self-care as a priority not a luxury,” she said.

“I continue to benefit from this enhanced community of mentors with fellow WLN participants and will use these skills to work to elevate those around me and use these new positions to develop initiatives to address gender-based challenges and disparities,” she added.

The AAN Women Leading in Neurology Program is an empowering and inspirational leadership program designed to help mid-career participants tackle gender disparities head-on, create a peer network with other women AAN members, and advance to the top levels of leadership in their fields and within the Academy. Learn more at AAN.com/Lead

The 2022–2023 Women Leading in Neurology program is supported in part by AbbVie; Alexion; Alnylam Pharmaceuticals; argenx; AstraZeneca Rare Disease; Bristol Myers Squibb; Eisai, Inc.; Harmony Biosciences; Impel Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Lundbeck, MERZ Therapeutics; Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.; and Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 

AAN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Ullrich

Placed

Neurologist—Kelsey-Seybold Clinic—Houston, Texas

Career Center Ads Ad—Half Page Horizontal> AN

Kelsey-Seybold Clinic is Houston’s premier multispecialty group practice, founded in 1949 by Dr. Mavis Kelsey in Houston’s renowned Texas Medical Center. More than 600 physicians and allied health professionals practice at 31 locations in the Greater Houston area. Kelsey-Seybold offers quality medical care in 65 medical specialties. The organization operates the largest freestanding Ambulatory Surgery Center in the state of Texas and offers state-of-the-art Varian TrueBeam and Varian Edge radiation therapy technology at a nationally accredited Cancer Center. An accredited Sleep Center, comprehensive laboratory services, advanced imaging and diagnostics, 16 on-site Kelsey Pharmacy locations, and MyKelseyOnline, a secure web portal, are part of its comprehensive offerings. Kelsey-Seybold partners with major insurers to offer value-based commercial health plans. KelseyCare Advantage, a Medicare Advantage plan offered to Houston-area beneficiaries and affiliated with Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, has achieved the coveted 5-out-of-5-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid for three consecutive years and is the only 5-out-of-5-star rated plan in Texas. Pathway to Partnership Unlike other organizations, KelseySeybold physicians have the opportunity for ownership in the Medical Group, as well as in The Kelsey-Seybold Management Company. The ownership path is clear and straightforward. A Kelsey-Seybold Physician is typically eligible for ownership after three years of employment, board certification, and demonstrated good citizenship. The result is an extraordinary, broad-based, and diverse physician-led organization. When

you join Kelsey-Seybold, you become part of an established, physician-owned, and led multispecialty group practice with a 70-year legacy of caring for patients. 72 physicians hold leadership positions, 56% of our physicians are shareholders, The average physician tenure is 11 years, Physician-led board of managers, A defined path to partnership. Due to phenomenal growth, multiple locations are available throughout Greater Houston with new clinics opening in late 2022 and in 2023! At Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, our Neurologists diagnose, treat, and manage patients with neurological disorders or the nervous system. They see patients in the office from 8am5pm Monday through Friday. One of the group neurologists takes call during weekday evenings and on weekends every six weeks on average. Kelsey Seybold Clinic has a 24-hour call center and after-hours registered triage nurse to assist inpatient care. Qualifications: Graduate of an approved training program in the United States. Board-certified or eligible. Licensed or willing to be licensed in the State of Texas. Benefits and Compensation: Our physicians practice medicine in a collaborative manner amongst many medical specialties and subspecialties embracing technology and teamwork to provide patient-centered care. Our compensation package is productivity-based and includes salary, paid time off, CME, and matching 401K. Affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine and the Texas Heart Institute. Multispecialty group practice setting, Regular weekday hours, Full nursing and clerical support, Paid malpractice and tail coverage, Electronic Medical Records. As the 4th largest city in the US, Houston, Texas is a leader in business, entertainment, the arts and more. From professional sports to outdoor fun to an out-of-this-world

space experience and incredible dining—it’s all here! Stroll the beaches of Galveston or challenge yourself on one of our many golf courses. Space City offers everything from breathtaking museum exhibits to vibrant downtown entertainment. Explore the wonder of space or spend the day shopping to your heart’s content. Houston is a city of infinite possibilities. Kelsey-Seybold Clinic is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, or protected veteran status. Kelsey-Seybold is a VEVRAA Federal Contractor and desires priority referrals of protected veterans. 

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The AAN offers a complete package of print, online, and in-person recruitment advertising opportunities. Visit Careers.AAN.com for all AAN options, rates, and deadlines. Ad copy for the August 2023 print edition of AANnews must be submitted by July 1, 2023. The same deadline applies to changes/cancellations.

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JUNE

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June 6

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