2026 Scholarship Recipients
EDUCATION RESEARCH GRANT
Funded by the American Academy of Neurology.
Galina Gheihman, MD Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Karishma A. Popli, MD, MBE Johns Hopkins University
Elizabeth T. Troy, MD University of Colorado
ENHANCED RESIDENT LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
Supported in part by Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., argenx, and LivaNova USA, Inc.
Hussein Antar, MD, MPH University of Massachusetts
Shervin Badihian, MD Cleveland Clinic
Andrew Chapman, MD University of Virginia
Kaitlyn Druyor, DO Geisinger Medical Center
Sebastian Green, MB ChB, MSc University of California, Los Angeles
Vanessa Ha, MD, PhD University of Calgary
Bailyn Hogue, MD
New York University
Jin Kyung Kim, MD Stanford Health Care
Daniel Lee, MD USA Health
Isobel MacKenzie, MD
Washington University in St. Louis
Peyton Murin, MD
Saint Louis University
Arth Pahwa, MD, MBA University of Alberta
Karishma A. Popli, MD, MBE Johns Hopkins University
Maral Sakayan, MD, MS University of California, Irvine
Didem Taskin, MD Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville
FUTURES IN NEUROLOGIC RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIP TO THE ANNUAL MEETING
Sponsored by the American Academy of Neurology.
Jan Aurelio University of Hawaii
Nana Boakye Agyeman BaduPrempeh, MD
Medical University of South Carolina
Maria I. Bonilla
Johns Hopkins University
Vivian Chioma, MD, PhD
University of Pennsylvania
Hector David Meza Comparan, MD University of Florida
Michelle Corkrum, MD, PhD Columbia University
John Dempsey, BA
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Anshruta Dhanashekar
Orlando College of Osteopathic Medicine
Parker Dhillon
Medical University of South Carolina
Sahita Gandra
St. Louis University
Dafna Erana Hernandez University of California, San Francisco
Aaron Gallagher, MD
University of Washington
Claudia Gambrah-Lyles, MD
Washington University in St. Louis
Michael Granovetter, MD, PhD
New York University
Gregory Hubbard
Eastern Virginia Medical School
Keiko Ihara, MD Mayo Clinic, Rochester
Karnig Kazazian, PhD
Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry
Robert Kim, MD, PhD
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Patrick Liu, PhD University of Pennsylvania
Hannah Ma University of California, Davis
Riya Manchanda
Boston University
Marcos Vinicius Oliveira Marques, MD
St. Louis University Hospital
Asmaa Mhanna, MD University of Iowa
Daniel Newman
Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine
Bradley Ong, MD Cleveland Clinic
Michele Persico, MD
Emory University
Relfa Proano, MD
Larkin Community Hospital
Aaron Rodriguez-Calienes, MD University of Iowa
Jonadab Dos Santos Silva, MD
Yale University
Milo Taylor University of Maryland
Johnnie Turner
University of Minnesota
Md Mostafizur Rahman, MBBS, MS
St. John’s University
Kiran Sankarappan, BS
Texas A&M University
Russell Wells
Oregon Health and Science University
Manouchehr Amanat Yazdi, MD, MPH
Mayo Clinic, Rochester
GLOBAL SCHOLARS AND FUTURE AMBASSADORS
SCHOLARSHIP TO THE ANNUAL MEETING
Sponsored by the American Academy of Neurology and the AAN Global Community Subcommittee.
Bagath Srinivasan Balaji, MBBS
Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, India
Beyza Canik, MD
Kocaeli University, Türkiye
Salvatore Citro, MD
University of Chieti-Pescara, Italy
Beata Filipek, MD, PhD
Medical University of Lodz, Poland
Carl Apea-Kubi Hasford
Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Ghana
Agostina Linda Kañevsky, MD
FLENI - Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia, Argentina
Jeroen Kerstens, MD
Erasmus University, Belgium
Lakshmi Priya Lalitha, MD
M S Ramaiah Medical College, India
Chengqian Li, MD, PhD
Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, China
Ke Li, MD
University of Oxford, UK
Carlos Javier Moreno Bernardino, MD
Hospital Civil de Guadalajara “Fray
Antonio Alcalde,” Mexico
Adebimpe Funmilola Ogunmodede, MBBS
Federal Medical Centre Owo Ondo State, Nigeria
Juan Diego Oyola, MD
North Subnetwork of Health Services, Colombia
Claudia Papi, MD
Fundació de Recerca Clínic BarcelonaInstitut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques
August Pi i Sunyer, Spain
Kateryna Potapova, MD
Bogomolets National Medical University, Ukraine
Shameer Rafee, MBBS
Beaumont Hospital, Ireland
Sara Samadzadeh, MD, PhD
Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany
Ana Paula Sieben Samek, MD
Hospital General J.M. Ramos Mejía, Argentina
Zeynep Büşra Soysal, MD
Kocaeli University, Türkiye
Annie Zhu, MD
University of Toronto, Canada
MEDICAL STUDENT DIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP
Maria F. Bonilla
Ponce Health Sciences University
Michelle R. Cherian University of Toledo
Kiyanie Fedrick
Morehouse School of Medicine
Hilena G. Gebre
Augusta University
Kailyn Hayes
Meharry Medical College
Sania Khan University of New England
Karina Morales University of California, Davis
Devika Naphade
Medical University of South Carolina
Amanda S. Morales Rivera Universidad Central del Caribe
Ashley N. Semier University of Houston
MEDICAL STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP TO THE ANNUAL MEETING
Mahsan Sadegh Aghdam
Emory University
Zeeba Ali
Michigan State University
Aiman Zehra Altaf
Boston University
Mari Ascano-Ravelo
Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine
Hannah Barnes, MPH University of Missouri-Columbia
Cristofer Barry
Howard University
Nithyashri Baskaran
Columbia University
Daniel Bastian
Pennsylvania State University
Dina Bayachou
Wayne State University
Maithili Bhagat
Ohio University
Sanaea Bhagwagar, MS
State University of New York
Somil Bhushan, MPH
Michigan State University
Tyler L. Borko
Midwestern University
Deanna Brown
Thomas Jefferson University
James Garrett Brown
Liberty University
Emma Cardwell University of North Carolina
Tiffany Ying Wen Chen, BS
University of California, Los Angeles
Alexander Junxiang Chen, AB University of California, San Francisco
Madeline Cheshire
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Elma A. Chowdhury
Hackensack Meridian
Shahajahan J. Chowdhury, BE
San Juan Bautista School of Medicine
Paola Casanova Crespo, MS
Ponce Health Science University
Patricia M. Curtin
New York Medical College
Ankeen Dajadian, MBS
California University
Liliana D’Alesio
Saint Louis University
Kelliann Donovan, BS University of Alabama
Karen Emefa Dordor
Emory University
Mary O’Dell Duplechin
Louisiana State University
Rolake Feyisetan
University of Houston
Courtni Sadé Foster, BSc
Georgetown University
James Carrson French
Oklahoma State University
Nishita Gaba
University of North Dakota
Andrea Medina Garcia, BS
University of South Florida
Melanie Gonzalez, BS University of Florida
Rithvik Vijayram Gundlapalli
University of Virginia
Muxin Anna Han
George Washington University
Isabelle Harber
Central Michigan University
Anne Hart
University of Tennessee
Louise T. Hicks, BS University of Pittsburgh
Benjamin Hopper
Lincoln Memorial University
Thomas Hosseini, BS Medical College of Wisconsin
Teresa Howard
University of New England
Joshua A. Jolton, BS
University of Nebraska
Aneesh Kamath New York University
Julia Kaufmann
Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine
Timothy J. Khalil
Burrell College
Casey Kozak
Rutgers University
Vera Kulikov
Stony Brook University
Amisha Kumar, MPH
Western University of Health Sciences
Taewon Lee
University of Texas at San Antonio
David Lee, BAS
Johns Hopkins University
Justin Liao
University of California, Irvine
Juwon Lim
California Northstate University
Nora Maerean
Baylor College of Medicine
Juliet O. Manu, MS
New York Medical College
Andrew Margolis
University of California, Los Angeles
Olivia Ann Martin
University of Kentucky
Marcus Milani
University of Minnesota
Nadin Mohamed, MS
University of Toledo
Lily Morache
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
Kassidy Morton
East Tennessee State University
S. Ilyas Munzir
University of Illinois
Rohan Nagabhirava
Baylor College of Medicine
Ella Adeline Nettnin, BS
Stanford University
Jaylan Patel
Western University of Health Sciences
Samiksha Patil
Des Moines University
Anil Pournouri
Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine
Lana Prieur
University of North Carolina
Sulaiman Qanni
A.T. Still University of Health Sciences
Vikas Rana, BS
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Anirudh Rayanki
Texas A&M University
Navpreet Reehal
Temple University
Gwyneth Robins
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
Emily Rudmann, BS
New York Medical College
2026 scholarship recipients continued from page 19
Jacob Wesley Sanders
Louisiana State University
Zoe Scheier, OMS-IV
New York Institute of Technology
Kayla Seck
Saint Louis University
Rajit J. Shah
University of Houston
SungJin Shin University of New England
Nabeela Siddeeque Tulane University
Sidra Siddiqui, MS Tulane University
Shade F. Smith University of Mississippi
Isabella Sutherland University of Vermont
Anna Marie Szombathy University at Buffalo
Omid Tabatabaee
Hackensack Meridian
Lily Travis
University of Arizona
Kellyn Amber Trowse Liberty University
David Tzorfas
Albany Medical College
Briana Valli
Nova Southeastern University
Joshua M. Venegas
Medical University of South Carolina
Geetika Verma, BS
Wake Forest University
Conrad Wahl University of Rochester
Jennifer Yu Wang University of Illinois
Emma E. Wiklund, MPH, MS Tufts University
Sarah Wilson University of Alabama at Birmingham
Seongjoon Won University of Minnesota
Jessica Woon, BS University of Colorado
Isabella Xu
Washington University in St. Louis
Joy Youn
California Northstate University
Bethany Zachariah, MS, OMS-III
Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine
RESIDENT RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIP
Sponsored by the American Academy of Neurology.
Arenn Faye Carlos, MD University of Nebraska
Alexander Gerhardstein, MD University of Rochester
Thiri W. Lin, MD, PhD University of North Carolina
Bradley G. Ong, MD
Cleveland Clinic
Hiroya Ono, MD, PhD University of California, Los Angeles
RESIDENT SCHOLARSHIP TO THE ANNUAL MEETING
Clara Abouelsaad, DO Geisinger Medical Center
Umair Ahmed, MD Northwell Health
Bryce Aidukaitis, MD University of Rochester
Mohamed M. Ali, MD Louisiana State University Shreveport
Rooqash Ali, MD
Harbor-University of California Los Angeles Medical Center
Monika Ambrus, MD Larkin Community Hospital
Saman Arfaie, MD, CM McGill University
Muhammad Roshan Asghar, MBBS Creighton University
Eric Aube, MD
Cleveland Clinic
Aashish Baniya, MBBS
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Al Waleed Battashi, MD Queen’s University
Timothy C. Bauer, MD Northwell Health
Anjan Bhattarai, MBBS
Mercy Health - St. Vincent Medical Center
Muhammad Bhatti, MD University of Mississippi
Nicholas Briski, MD JFK Medical Center
Serina R. Bsales, MD Columbia University
Benjamin M. Burke, MD Brown University
Arenn Faye Carlos, MD University of Nebraska
Jessica Chaiton, MD University of Manitoba
Seulgi Choi, MD
Texas Tech University
Alexis B. Coalson, DO
Penn State Health
Mariana M. Coelho, MD
Cleveland Clinic
Osman Corbali, MD Emory University
Lesya A. Cravens, MD, MPH Tower Health, Reading Hospital
Rebecca M. Dann, MD
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Arlinda Deng, MD, MHS University of Virginia Medical Systems
Kathryn E. Dent, MD
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Katie Detmer, MD University of Missouri
Luisa A. Diaz-Arias, MD Johns Hopkins Hospital
Melanie Duran, MD
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Rana Elounais, MD University of Missouri, Kansas City
David Fear, MD Duke University
Liliana Filipowska, MD University of Washington
Vinutha Ganapathy, MD, MS University of Texas Health, San Antonio
Olivia Gellerson, MD
Barrow Neurological Institute
Nirbha Ghurye, MBBS Northwell Health
Maria Gonzalez, MD Baylor College of Medicine
Pablo Harker Franco, MD University of Cincinnati
Sara K. Heide, MD
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Sophia I. Hernandez Rodriguez, MD University of Puerto Rico
Kasey Hill, MD
Mayo Clinic, Rochester
Gazala Hitawala, MD University of Maryland
Audrey Hunt, DO Wake Forest University
Staci P. Hunter, DO, MBA, MS Wake Forest University
Taylor Hyde, DO West Virginia University
Aisa Iyawe-Parsons, MD, MPH
Loma Linda University
Mara M. Kaufman, MD Rush University
Manmeet P. Kaur, MD University of Texas Medical Branch Hospitals
John L. Kearfott, MD, MS
Wright State University
Hesham Kelani, MD
One Brooklyn Health
Pavel Krupenin, MD, PhD University of Kentucky
Amira Kupty, MD University of Iowa
Sammie S. Lai, MD
Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville
Joyce Lee, MD
Boston University
Melanie Li, MD New York University
Zhuo Luan, MD, PhD
Texas Tech El Paso
Gular Mammadli, MD
Columbia University Irving
Racheed M. Mani, MD
Stony Brook Medicine
Amit Avaragollapuravarga Mathada, MBBS
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Victoria Mazo, MD
Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital
Jade McLain, DO
Rutgers New Jersey
Ajay Menon, MD
Lehigh Valley Health Network
Moustafa M. Mesha, MBBS University of Buffalo
Keelin Moehl, MD University of Utah Hospital
Sumayya Mohammed, MD Arrowhead Regional Medical Center
Dominique H. Montecino, MD Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville
Adam Morehead, MD University of Vermont Medical Center
Varsha Nandwana, MD Carilion Clinic
Evan M. Nelson, DO Ochsner Health
Dillan Newbold, MD, PhD
New York University
Ashley Nguyen, MD University of South Alabama
Oluwadamilola Obawede, MD, MBS University of Arizona, Tucson
Lina A. Okar, MD
Saint Louis University
Emma J. Orozco, MD University of New Mexico
Mallory J. Owen, MD
Rady Children’s Hospital
Sandeep Padda, MD
Vanderbilt University
McKethan Parker, MD Cleveland Clinic, Florida
Lawrence Pierce III, DO Memorial Healthcare System
Neha Pirwani, MD, MBA University of Florida
Jamir Pitton Rissardo, MD
Cooper University Hospital
Matthew D. Postolowski, DO
Baylor College of Medicine
Paige Prologo-Richardson, MD University of Toledo
Gabriela Figueiredo Pucci, MD University of Pittsburgh
Alexandra Rabin, MD
Columbia University
Elaine Ramirez, MD, MBA University of California, Los Angeles
Maya M. Ramy, MD, MPH, MS University of Pennsylvania
Saisree Ravi, MD
Methodist Hospital, Houston
Abdur Rehman, MD
Geisinger Medical Center
Jenny L. Rotblat, MD
New York Presbyterian Hospital
Maen Saleh, MD Garden City Hospital
Tara Samiee, DO University of Kansas
Shayak Sen, MD
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Naman D. Shah, MD University of California, Irvine
Hassan A. Shakeel, MBBS
Allegheny General Hospital
Sara Shakin, MD
Kennedy Krieger Institute
Lana Sharba, MD
University of Michigan
Shelly Sharma, DO
George Washington University Hospital
Mohammed JM Shqirat, MD, PhD
Upstate Medical University
Alana Skovhus, MD University of California, San Francisco
Marcelo E. Bedoya Sommerkamp, MD University of Texas Health Houston
Lauren Smith, DO New York University
Taqua Tabassum, MD University of North Dakota
Ryan Tan, DO OSF HealthCare System
Muhammad Tar, DO, MS
Riverside University Health System
Corey Treeshin, MD Albany Medical Center
Wendy Tsai, MD
University of Toronto
Ari Vandersluis, DO
Loyola University
Thomas C. Varkey, MD, MBA, MEd Banner University
Vanessa Dias Veloso, MD
Yale New Haven Hospital
Alexander Vorobyev, MD
Medical University of South Carolina
Anson Wang, MD
Massachusetts General Hospital
Nimmi N. Wickramasuriya, MD
Tulane University
Jayant K. Yadav, MD
Tufts Medical Center
Narayana K. Yelleswarapu, DO, PhD
Michigan State University
Andrew Yoo, MD
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Hira Zafar, MBBS
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Minaal Zahid, DO
Baylor College of Medicine
Maria Daniela Orellana Zambrano, MD University of Tennessee
2025
RALPH L.
SACCO SCHOLARSHIPS IN BRAIN HEALTH
Jointly funded by the American Academy of Neurology and the American Heart Association.
Katy Sheer, PhD
Massachusetts General Hospital
Hortense Triniac, PhD
Versiti Wisconsin, Inc.
2026 RALPH L. SACCO SCHOLARSHIPS
IN BRAIN HEALTH
Jointly funded by the American Academy of Neurology and the American Heart Association.
Sarah Kettlety, PhD
Johns Hopkins University
Cali McEntee, PhD University of Michigan
