Headline News

Dear Colleagues and Friends:

It’s with great enthusiasm that I write the 2017 President’s letter to our ASPNR members. There are many exciting upcoming events and new initiatives that are being planned in the upcoming year. Our ASPNR Committees are working to further expand our Society by not only facilitating inter-societal collaboration but also providing innovative pediatric neuroimaging programming for different sub-specialty meetings. We are now in the process of planning our FIRST stand-alone ASPNR Annual Meeting. As such, we are hoping to expand our membership base and increase the number of volunteers that can serve on our existing and new committees. This means that now, more than ever, we need our valuable members to be actively involved in the activities of the Society.

The ASPNR is excited to announce the advent of its inaugural 1st Annual Meeting to be held in 2019. As was stated in the November letter which accompanied your 2018 membership renewal invoice, we originally had planned to have the meeting at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, South Beach in Miami, Florida in September 2018. However, the Ritz-Carlton has closed for renovations due to hurricane damage and could not guarantee that the hotel would be open in time for our meeting. We are now in the process of securing a new date and venue, likely in the beginning of 2019, so please stay tuned!

The meeting will feature lectures from renowned experts in the field of pediatric neuroradiology nationally and internationally.

• Broad representation of the pediatric neuroradiology community
• Focus sessions on a wide variety of topics
• International session
• Advanced neuroimaging session
• Pediatric head and neck session
• Pediatric radiology perspectives on CNS disease evaluation
• Interesting case sessions
• Scientific paper sessions and posters
• Category 1 CME credits
• SAM sessions
• Lunch and learn sessions
• Welcome reception and Gala dinner

The target audience for this meeting are pediatric neuroradiologists, neuroradiologists, pediatric radiologists, radiology trainees, physicists, technologists and anyone interested in furthering their knowledge in pediatric neuroradiology. The ASPNR needs all of its members’ involvement and support to make this meeting a success! Please encourage your colleagues, residents, fellows, and medical students to join the ASPNR and participate in this important initiative. Questions regarding the meeting can be directed to the Program Chair, Dr. Susan Palasis, at susan.palasis@choa.org or susanpalasis@gmail.com, kkulpaka@asnr.org, or the meeting management company Educational Symposia (ESI) at ASPNR@edusymp.com. Stay tuned for details regarding meeting registration, call for abstracts and other important information by visiting our website at www.aspnr.org and following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Membership
Our current membership stands at 450 total members. We have recently formed an ad-hoc Membership Committee, headed by Drs. Arastoo Vossough and Timothy Booth to help with managing our growing membership. Please encourage your fellows, neuroradiology, and pediatric radiology colleagues to become members of the ASPNR! Your continued support and participation is vital.

Call for Committee Service
Please consider volunteering for 2018-2019 committee service, especially in preparation for the ASPNR 1st Annual Meeting. The composition and responsibilities for the committees are attached to this mailing. Please complete the information as instructed and e-mail to Kristine Kulpaka (kkulpaka@asnr.org). On the subject line of your e-mail indicate Volunteer for Service. The deadline to volunteer is January 22, 2018.

Outreach
One of the ways we are spreading the word about the ASPNR, and pediatric neuroradiology in general, is through social media. The ASPNR has a rapidly growing Facebook group where you can receive updates and view cases, so please consider joining! You can also follow us on Twitter at @TheASPNR for the latest and greatest in all things ASPNR. Spread the word to your tech-savvy fellows! Our outreach efforts are also being promoted abroad with the help of our International Outreach Committee. New and exciting collaborative initiatives are underway with the Asian-Oceanic, African, and Latin American societies.

Publications
Please consider reviewing pediatric neuroradiology-related manuscripts for AJNR!!! Neurographics, with the assistance of Editor-in-Chief Dr. Char Branstetter, is interested in publishing more pediatric neuroradiology educational material. Please consider submitting a paper! Submission details can be found at www.neurographics.org. For more details on these initiatives, please contact Publications Committee Chair, Dr. Ayelin Tekes, at atekes1@jhmi.edu.

ASPNR 2018-2019 Nominations
The Nominating Committee, chaired by Dr. Arastoo Vossough, is seeking nominations of ASPNR Members in good standing for the 2018-2019 election for the offices of Treasurer and Member-at-Large of the Executive Committee. Please submit your nominations via e-mail to Kristine Kulpaka (kkulpaka@asnr.org). On the subject line of your e-mail, indicate ASPNR Nomination. The deadline for nominations is January 22, 2018.

ASPNR Gold Medal Award
We are seeking nominations from our membership for the 2018 Gold Medal Award. Please review the important Gold Medal Award Criteria enclosed with this mailing. Please submit nominations along with a letter of support to Kristine Kulpaka (kkulpaka@asnr.org). On the subject line of your e-mail indicate ASPNR Gold Medal. The deadline is January 22, 2018.

ASPNR Fourteenth Annual Award in Pediatric Neuroradiology Research
The Foundation of the ASNR supports and encourages the ASPNR to donate within the Foundation for Education and Research which helps supports our academic mission. A Call for Submissions is included in this mailing. Young investigators are strongly encouraged to apply. The 2018 stipend is $25,000, with an additional $2,500 towards education, for a total of $27,500. Application materials are attached to this mailing. Eligible applicants are asked to submit a Letter of Intent via e-mail to Kristine Kulpaka (kkulpaka@asnr.org) by January 22, 2018. On the subject line of your e-mail indicate ASPNR Letter of Intent.

2017 Derek Harwood-Nash Award Recipient
The ASPNR is pleased to announce Dr. Jeffrey Berman, from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, as the winner of the 2017 Derek Harwood-Nash Award for his scientific abstract at the ASNR 55th Annual Meeting in Long Beach, California entitled, “Diffusion MR of the Auditory Pathway from Brainstem to Cortex and its’ Correlation with Conduction Velocity in Autism Spectrum Disorder.” Congratulations on an excellent presentation!

ASPNR Meeting Activities
The ASPNR continues to participate with helping to develop joint programming for the ASNR Annual Meeting (see below for details) , the subspecialty ASNR societies (ASFNR www.asfnr.org, ASSR www.theassr.org, etc.), the Society of Pediatric Radiology http://www.pedrad.org/ and the European Society of Neuroradiology www.esnr.org.

ASNR 56 The Annual Meeting & The Foundation of the ASNR Symposium 2018, Vancouver, British Colombia, CANADA
With the support of Dr. Pina Sanelli, ASNR 2018 Program Chair/President-Elect, the ASPNR will provide pediatric neuroradiology programming for ASNR 2018 consistent with the over-arching theme of “Adding Value and Improving Health Care”. Some of the sessions that have been confirmed will be:

Collaborative Session between the ASPNR and ESNR entitled: Safety and Toxicity to the Pediatric Brain which will include:

• Updates in Gadolinium Deposition and MR Safety-Emanuel Kanal, MD
• Updates in Toxic and Metabolic Disorders in the Pediatric Brain (ESNR)-Andrea Rossi, MD
• Rapid Imaging Protocol and Leveraging MR Fingerprinting Techniques in Pediatric Neuroradiology-Guilio Zuccoli, MD
• Speed Versus Information and Safety Issues in Fetal MRI (ESNR)-Andrea Righini, MD

We will also have sessions focused on (1) Application of Machine Learning to Health Care and Pediatric Neuroradiology; (2) Updates on Neonatal and Fetal Brain Imaging in Relation to Placental Dysfunction; (3) Our popular “Pediatric Neuroradiology Interesting Case” session will, for the first time, have a pediatric head and neck focus with cases presented by leading experts in pediatric head and neck imaging (including head and neck tumors, temporal bone, vascular anomalies, fetal and orbital imaging).

Sincerely,

Ashok Panigraphy, M.D.
ASPNR President and Executive Committee Chair