Fifth-year neurosurgical resident Thomas Link, M.D., has been named the winner of the 2018 Michael L. J. Apuzzo Resident Literature Award for Creativity and Innovation for “Middle Meningeal Artery Embolization for Chronic Subdural Hematoma: A Series of 60 Cases". The Apuzzo Award, established in 2017, recognizes outstanding work by a Weill Cornell Medicine neurosurgery resident that most exemplifies original thinking and creativity.
Dr. Link’s paper explores an innovative procedure for the treatment of chronic subdural hematomas, pioneered at Weill Cornell Medicine by Dr. Jared Knopman, the senior author on the paper. Middle Meningeal Arterial (MMA) embolization allows a neurosurgeon to replace open surgery with a minimally invasive procedure to treat a pool of blood that forms between the brain and its protective covering (the dura).
“Unique ideas drive progress,” says Dr. Apuzzo, for whom the award is named. “This work represents a novel concept that challenges a centuries-old notion. It truly epitomizes the spirit of this award!”
Thomas Link was awarded his M.D. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. Link, who also holds a biomedical engineering master’s degree from Johns Hopkins, assisted in the development of microcapsules to improve MRI and other imaging modalities.
In addition to Dr. Knopman, co-authors on Link's paper include Srikanth Boddu, M.D., Stephanie Paine, nurse practitioner, and Hooman Kamel, M.D.