Happening Now

Barrow’s First Fulbright Scholar Continues Novel Research with Barrow Neurological Foundation Funding

March 28, 2023

A hallmark of Barrow Neurological Institute’s mission is training future generations of leading neuroscience experts. Through the generosity of Barrow Neurological Foundation donors, the Institute has been able to build one of the most sought-after international visiting scholar and clinical observership programs in the country. In academic year 2021–2022, Barrow welcomed its first Fulbright Scholar, Sahin Hanalioglu, MD, PhD. The Fulbright Scholar Program is one of the most prestigious scholarship programs in the world, in which awardees coordinate to study for one year with a prominent mentor at an institution in another country.

“It is an incredible tribute to Dr. Sahin Hanalioglu and Dr. Mark Preul, director of neurosurgery research at Barrow, to be matched for the Fulbright Scholar Program, which requires both awardees and mentors to be of the highest caliber to effect the best research outcomes,” says Michael T. Lawton, MD, President and CEO of Barrow Neurological Institute.

Pushing Boundaries in Research
Dr. Hanalioglu comes from Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey. At Barrow, he joined the Loyal and Edith Davis Neurosurgical Research Laboratory as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar and a Robert F. Spetzler Barrow Neurological Foundation Neurosurgery Research Fellow under the direction of Mark Preul, MD.

“As a young neurosurgeon, my career goal is to bring innovation into neurosurgical training, research, and practice by developing and refining novel technologies,” Dr. Hanalioglu says. “I selected Barrow as my host institution because it is a center of gravity for neurosurgeons worldwide and the best place for me to perform cutting-edge neurosurgical research.”

Dr. Hanalioglu’s main project for the Fulbright Scholar Program focused on the microsurgical anatomy of various surgical approaches to the mediobasal temporal region (MBTR) of the brain—one of the most complex and surgically challenging brain regions—with a special emphasis on white matter tracts. He explains, “Deeper research into this area will not only help surgeon-scientists better understand brain structure and function, but it also will help them master new neurosurgical techniques to improve the survival rate and quality of life for patients.”

Among other projects, Dr. Hanalioglu also developed an integrative approach to studying human brain anatomy utilizing advanced neuroimaging, photogrammetry, 3D modeling, and machine learning. This approach enables surgeon-scientists to create high-quality, immersive models and simulations.


“The imaging work and projects that Dr. Hanalioglu completed are truly state of the art and have the potential to transform neurosurgical training, research, and practice in the near future.”

Mark Preul, MD

The Barrow Experience
In addition to conducting innovative research, Dr. Hanalioglu had the opportunity to observe complex surgeries performed by Dr. Lawton and other Barrow neurosurgeons, attend Barrow Neurosurgery Grand Rounds, discuss challenging cases, and practice microneurosurgical skills in the laboratory.

“I believe that all of the knowledge, skills, and experience that I acquired during my time at Barrow will guide me in achieving my career goals and conducting interdisciplinary projects to transform neurosurgical training and practice,” says Dr. Hanalioglu. “I am grateful to Dr. Preul, Dr. Lawton, and everyone else at Barrow who made this experience the most fruitful and memorable of my career.”

Continued Collaboration Made Possible by Philanthropy
Although Dr. Hanalioglu has returned to Turkey, he was awarded funding through Barrow Neurological
Foundation’s competitive grant process for a collaborative project that aims to bring together various
visualization, rendering, and neuro-navigation tools to create life-like 3D models of cadaveric tissue.
Through this project, Dr. Hanalioglu and Dr. Preul created a novel methodology to identify white matter
fiber tracts using conventional cadaveric brain specimens. This allows surgeon-scientists to combine
surgical anatomy studies, which utilize cadaveric brain specimens, with fiber tract identification imaging,
which has never been done before, to better study white matter tracts for improved surgical approach development and patient outcomes.

“This methodology is groundbreaking for diffusion imaging and tractography research because standard cadaveric tissue specimens obtained from donor organizations can now be used reliably in studies,” says Dr. Hanalioglu. The next phase of the study will be a collaboration with neurosurgeons at Hacettepe University in Turkey.

“It speaks quite highly to the caliber of research at Barrow that our first Fulbright Scholar has continued collaborating with us so closely,” says Dr. Preul. “Moreover, this has formed a great international link between the United States and the excellent neurosurgery centers in Ankara and Istanbul— exactly the type of continuity between institutions and nations that the Fulbright Scholar Program seeks.”

Opportunities for ongoing research collaborations between Barrow scientists and scholars at international institutions are made possible through donations to Barrow Neurological Foundation.