During the festivities of BTI's 5 year anniversary we celebrated the kick-off of the Annemarie Tulleken Observership.

This international traveling observership program provides promising, young neurosurgeons the opportunity to visit the Departments of Neurosurgery at the following Institutions:

· University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands

· University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland

· University of Toronto, Canada

· Lenox Hill Hospital, NY, USA

This observership is dedicated to and named after the late wife of Prof. C.A.F. Tulleken, founding father of the ELANA technique. With this international observership program the Brain Technology Institute is carrying out Mrs. Annemarie Tulleken’s wish to continue with meaningful scientific work. It is also part of BTI's mission to drive education, since this program will help create a new generation of vascular neurosurgeons that have an interest and the skills to treat patients with life threatening diseases through state-of-the-art technologies. Through the Annemarie Tulleken Traveling Observership the Participant is allowed to visit four institutions during a period of 12 months.

The honor of the first neurosurgeon to obtain this Annemarie Tulleken Fellowship goes to Dr. Tristan van Doormaal, Phd, neurosurgeon at UMC Utrecht. Tristan did his PhD research on the Elana technique prior to joining the staff of the department of Neurosurgery in Utrecht. He has been an invaluable asset to the BTI research activities during the past years, therefore the BTI board unanimously decided the 1st fellowship should go to Tristan. The next rounds of the Annemarie Tulleken Fellowship, starting in 2019, will be eligible to any qualified neurosurgeon internationally. Submission criteria will be communicated in 2018.