EXPanding Access to Neurosurgery reSearch Education (EXPANSE)

About This Grant

Neuroscience research is critical to the advancement of treatment of neurosurgical disorders. However, the pipeline of future neurosurgeons and neurosurgeon clinician-scientists may be impacted before medical school, as factors such as the presence of a neurosurgery residency program and accessibility to research experiences play a significant role in the recruitment of individuals into neurosurgery. Nearly 1/3 of medical schools accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education do not have an affiliated neurosurgery residency program or neurosurgery departments, and the chances of becoming a neurosurgeon scientist are under 5% if one trains in this environment. Therefore, medical students experience barriers to becoming neurosurgeon scientists because they need exposure based on where they train for medical school. The exclusion of these students creates disparities in the diversity of neurosurgeon researchers. Thus, there is a critical need to diversify the exposure to neurosurgery research for medical students learning in programs without home neurosurgery programs. This gap in neurosurgical exposure exacerbates existing disparities in the field. Our long-term goal is to create a program to improve exposure to and recruitment into neurosurgery and research among medical schools without a home neurosurgery residency program. Aim 1 allows medical students at schools without a home neurosurgery program to participate in a 9-12 week neuroscience research methods-based curriculum during the summer between their first and second years of medical school. Aim 2 includes the implementation of a year-long grant, abstract, and scientific paper writing curriculum to provide participants with mentorship, exposure, and expanded neurosurgical knowledge. Aim three will monitor the research productivity of participants, both short and long-term. Through this, we intend to evaluate the success of this program in attracting students into neurosurgery and the pursuit of neurosurgical research and assess barriers faced by this cohort to pursuing research experiences.