Last Chance to Submit Research Recommendations for Collaborative Spine Research Foundation Research Agenda - Online Questionnaire Closes End of Day August 15

ROSEMONT, Ill., Aug. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Collaborative Spine Research Foundation (Collaborative Spine) Research Agenda Advisory Council today confirmed it will close submissions for research topic/question recommendations as scheduled—at 5:00 p.m. Central, Wednesday, August 15, 2012—closing the information-gathering phase of the process of setting a North American research agenda for spine care. All interested parties including care providers, patients and patient advocates are encouraged to review a backgrounder (http://www.aans.org/CSRFAdvisoryCouncilOverview.PDF) and submit one or more research recommendations at (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CSRF_Questionnaire). All submissions will be considered and will help Collaborative Spine identify and prioritize the most pressing clinical research questions. The Foundation will publish a formal research agenda in September 2012.

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"As of Monday morning August 14, Collaborative Spine has received more than 100 recommendations," said Board of Directors Member Paul McCormick, MD, MPH, FAANS. "As we hoped, our Research Agenda Advisory Council will have a rich mix of research topics to consider. We're very appreciative of all who have contributed to this important process."

The Advisory Council—comprised of representatives from clinical and academic medicine; clinical spine research; and industry, including medical technology, health services and insurance organizations—will make a consensus recommendation to the Foundation's board of directors as to which topics should be included on the Collaborative Spine research agenda and thereby receive 80% of available grant support. The remaining 20% of available support will be reserved for investigator-driven research. The board's nine directors will perform a second assessment and weigh the Advisory Council recommendation before finalizing the research agenda.

The Collaborative Spine Research Foundation was co-founded in December 2011 by the American Association of Neurosurgeons/Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation (NREF) and Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF). The Collaborative Spine board of directors consists of equal numbers of orthopaedic surgeons and neurosurgeons, as well as a physician from a third medical specialty, currently anesthesiology. The Foundation's application for 501(c) (3) status is pending. For more information about the co-founding organizations, please visit www.aans.org/en/NREF.aspx and www.oref.org.

SOURCE Collaborative Spine Research Foundation