We invite chairs and program directors to nominate residents entering their 3rd, 4th, or 5th year of training to participate in the K12 Pipeline Accelerator Meeting (KPAC). This NIH-sponsored, two-day event is designed to inspire and support the development of the next generation of neurosurgeon-scientists. The program aims to broaden participation in neurosurgical research across all subspecialties, including trauma, spine, pediatrics, and pain.

Residents accepted into KPAC will meet with afocused group of faculty in small sessions and focused discussions on Thursday, October 22, 2026, and join the K12 Neurosurgeon Research Career Development Program (NRCDP) Retreat on Friday, October 23rd. The entire event will be held at the Eaglewood Resort outside of Chicago in Itasca, Illinois. Residents will be asked to arrive on the evening of October 21st and will depart on the evening of October 23rd. Resident travel, hotel, and meals during the event will be covered.

We will be limiting the number of residents accepted into KPAC to ensure that we will be able to offer close faculty mentoring - please nominate as many candidates per institution as you feel qualify, and ensure that you and your nominees can commit to their attendance at the full KPAC program. If there are potential candidates in your program, please send the following information to lizwilson@wustl.edu by May 15th, 2026.

Application:

• Resident Name
• Resident Email
• Resident PGY level as of July 1, 2026
• Resident Subspecialty Interest
• Residency Program
• Brief statement from the Chair or Program Director about why the resident would benefit from this program and why they support the nomination.
  

And

• A 200 word statement from the resident about their academic vision, background, research interests and why they would benefit from this program. Specific details encouraged but not required.
  
  

Sepideh Amin-Hanjani, MD – K12 Co-PI; Professor and Vice-Chair of Neurosurgery, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center

Emad Eskandar, MD – K12 Co-PI; Professor and Chair of Neurosurgery, Montefiore

Langston Holly, MD – K12 Co-PI; Professor and Vice-Chair of Clinical Affairs for Neurosurgery, UCLA

Greg Zipfel, MD – K12 Co-PI; Professor and Chair of Neurosurgery, Washington University in St.Louis