Home / About Barrow Neurological Institute / News & Articles / In the News / Awards & Recognitions – March 2026

Awards & Recognitions – March 2026

In the News

AANN Awards

virginia prendergast
abbi heater

At the the 2026 annual meeting of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses, two advanced practice nurses from Barrow were presented with national awards. Virginia Prendergast, PhD, NP-C, FAAN, director of advanced practice nursing, received the Mary Decker Mentorship Award in recognition of her excellence in mentoring other neuroscience nurses. Abbi Heater, AGACNP-BC, MSN, RN, SCRN, a stroke nurse practitioner, accepted the Excellence in Advanced Practice Nursing Award—a testament to her dedication to both nursing care and the advancement of the neuroscience nursing specialty.

JNIS Associate Editor

Portrait of Dr. Andrew Ducruet

Andrew F. Ducruet, MD, an endovascular neurosurgeon at Barrow Neurological Institute, has been selected to serve as an associate editor for the Journal of NeuroInternventional Surgery (JNIS). With this role, Dr. Ducruet joins the core editorial leadership for the official, peer-reviewed journal of the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery (SNIS). Working alongside the editor-in-chief, Dr. Ducruet will help guide the growth of the journal and strengthen engagement with prospective authors by encouraging submissions that support the strategic priorities of both JNIS and SNIS.

Published by BMJ, JNIS emerged in 2009 in response to the rising interest in minimally invasive techniques for treating neurological and vascular conditions, including stroke, aneurysms, brain tumors, and spinal disorders.

“I am grateful for having been selected to serve as an associate editor for JNIS, the preeminent journal in our field which promotes clinical science and best practices in neurointerventional surgery,” Dr. Ducruet said.

JNS: Spine Cover

Side-by-side illustrations depicting cage migration after spinal surgery

The Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine selected a medical illustration from Barrow Neurological Institute for the cover of its March 2026 issue. Ann Mai of the Barrow Neuroscience Publications department created the illustration, which depicts cage migration after multilevel LLIF with posterior fixation (left) and stand-alone multilevel LLIF (right). The figure accompanies a paper from Barrow titled: “Cage migration in multilevel stand-alone lateral lumbar interbody fusion: incidence and clinical correlations.”

Authors: Jonathan J. Lee, MD; Juan P. Giraldo, MD; Nafis B. Eghrari, BS; Katriel E. Lee, MD; Joseph M. Abbatematteo, MD, PharmD; Gabriella P. Williams, MD; Jay D. Turner, MD, PhD; Juan S. Uribe, MD.

GAP Citizen Scientist Award

Portrait of Jim Render with info about his award

The Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation (GAP) selected a research participant from Barrow Neurological Institute for its 2025 Citizen Scientist Champion Award. James (Jim) Render, is the first Barrow research participant to receive this award, which recognizes a clinical trial participant who fights for the cause and serves as an advocate for trial participation in the community.

A former scientist himself, Jim has participated in at least five clinical trials since receiving his diagnosis of Lewy body dementia (LBD). He also served as a panel speaker for the Lewy Body Dementia Association and is involved in LBD support groups. Jim was nominated by Barrow and honored at the recent GAP-Net Site Optimization Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Match Day 2026: Incoming Neurology, Neurosurgery Residents

Headshots of the nine incoming neurology residents and the four incoming neurosurgery residents on a desert backdrop.

On Friday, March 20, soon-to-be medical school graduates around the country learned where they will undergo residency training. The following students will join Barrow Neurological Institute this summer, at the start of the 2026-27 academic year:

Neurology

  • Benjamin Braunecker, Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine
  • Gabrielle Feher, Drexel University College of Medicine
  • Anne Hart, University of Tennessee College of Medicine
  • Tejas Kandharkar, Indiana University School of Medicine
  • Victor Lara, Baylor University College of Medicine
  • Ricardo Lopez Soto, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon Facultad de Medicina
  • Kathleen Moore, Creighton University School of Medicine
  • Aed Qas Yonan, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine
  • Jacob Sanders, Louisiana State University School of Medicine

Neurosurgery

  • Michael Covell, Georgetown University School of Medicine
  • Candace Grisham, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
  • Noah Nawabi, Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine
  • Nicole Perez, Harvard Medical School

200th MR-Guided Focused Ultrasound

Dr. Ponce and his team hold balloons that spell out 200 while standing in front of a sign that says, "In Our 200 Era: Celebrating 200 MR-Guided Focused Ultrasound Treatments"

The DBS and Focused Ultrasound Program at Barrow celebrated its 200th MR-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy. This noninvasive, outpatient procedure uses precisely targeted sound waves to safely and therapeutically destroy a tiny area in the brain that is responsible for tremor in patients with essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease. Neurosurgeon Francisco A. Ponce, MD, who directs the Program, performed Arizona’s first MR-guided focused ultrasound procedure for a patient with essential tremor in October 2022.