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Yang W, Rincon-Torroella J, Feghali J, Khalafallah AM, Ishida W, Perdomo-Pantoja A, Quiñones-Hinojosa A, Lim M, Gallia GL, Riggins GJ, Anderson WS, Lo SFL, Rigamonti D, Tamargo RJ, Witham TF, Bydon A, Cohen AR, Jallo GI, Latremoliere A, Luciano MG, Mukherjee D, Olivi A, Qu L, Gokaslan ZL, Sciubba DM, Tyler B, Brem H, Huang J. Impact of international research fellows in neurosurgery: results from a single academic center. J Neurosurg 2022; 136:295-305. [PMID: 34298505 PMCID: PMC9999112 DOI: 10.3171/2021.1.jns203824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2020] [Accepted: 01/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE International research fellows have been historically involved in academic neurosurgery in the United States (US). To date, the contribution of international research fellows has been underreported. Herein, the authors aimed to quantify the academic output of international research fellows in the Department of Neurosurgery at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. METHODS Research fellows with Doctor of Medicine (MD), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), or MD/PhD degrees from a non-US institution who worked in the Hopkins Department of Neurosurgery for at least 6 months over the past decade (2010-2020) were included in this study. Publications produced during fellowship, number of citations, and journal impact factors (IFs) were analyzed using ANOVA. A survey was sent to collect information on personal background, demographics, and academic activities. RESULTS Sixty-four international research fellows were included, with 42 (65.6%) having MD degrees, 17 (26.6%) having PhD degrees, and 5 (7.8%) having MD/PhD degrees. During an average 27.9 months of fellowship, 460 publications were produced in 136 unique journals, with 8628 citations and a cumulative journal IF of 1665.73. There was no significant difference in total number of publications, first-author publications, and total citations per person among the different degree holders. Persons holding MD/PhDs had a higher number of citations per publication per person (p = 0.027), whereas those with MDs had higher total IFs per person (p = 0.048). Among the 43 (67.2%) survey responders, 34 (79.1%) had nonimmigrant visas at the start of the fellowship, 16 (37.2%) were self-paid or funded by their country of origin, and 35 (81.4%) had mentored at least one US medical student, nonmedical graduate student, or undergraduate student. CONCLUSIONS International research fellows at the authors' institution have contributed significantly to academic neurosurgery. Although they have faced major challenges like maintaining nonimmigrant visas, negotiating cultural/language differences, and managing self-sustainability, their scientific productivity has been substantial. Additionally, the majority of fellows have provided reciprocal mentorship to US students.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wuyang Yang
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Jordina Rincon-Torroella
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - James Feghali
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Adham M. Khalafallah
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Wataru Ishida
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | | | | | - Michael Lim
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Gary L. Gallia
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Gregory J. Riggins
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - William S. Anderson
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Sheng-Fu Larry Lo
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Daniele Rigamonti
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Rafael J. Tamargo
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Timothy F. Witham
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Ali Bydon
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Alan R. Cohen
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - George I. Jallo
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Alban Latremoliere
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Mark G. Luciano
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Debraj Mukherjee
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Alessandro Olivi
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Lintao Qu
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Ziya L. Gokaslan
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Daniel M. Sciubba
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Betty Tyler
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Henry Brem
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Judy Huang
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
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