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barrow foundation uk Extending Barrow’s reach overseas
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arrow’s home is Phoenix, but its reputation for excellence is becoming truly international. Its first formal outreach is in London, England, where the Barrow Foundation UK is based. We hope to build on this presence to support Barrow’s efforts in neuroscience excellence. The Barrow Foundation UK is a non-profit organization that raises funds for education and research in the neurosciences. It was set up as a result of a gift from Marjorie Newsome. Newsome suffered from epilepsy and was referred to John Green, MD, Arizona’s first neurosurgeon and Barrow’s first director. After successful treatment at Barrow, she was able to practice psychotherapy in England, and she and Dr. Green remained friends throughout her life. When she died in 1996, she left her estate to Barrow to further the neurosciences; Barrow Foundation UK was set up to administer the gift. Our Board of Trustees has established and endowed three academic chairs at Barrow in Neuropsychology, Clinical Neuropsychology and Epilepsy. These chairs are held by world-class physician-scientists whose research is designed to improve patient outcomes and care. In addition to creating these endowed chairs, the Barrow Foundation UK established the Marjorie Newsome Travelling Fellowship in 2003 to enable the winner of one of the premier prizes in UK neurosurgery to come to Barrow for training and observation. This fosters the sharing of knowledge and techniques between the UK and the US, improving care standards and physician relationships.
by Judith Beresford
“I could not have anticipated the volume, breadth and quality of clinical work to which I was exposed. It was an excellent opportunity to learn not only due to the breadth of cases but the sheer scale of the institute. I cannot recommend the experience I had too highly,” said one of our UK-based trainees. Barrow Foundation UK also provides a grant to the Neuroscience Nurses Association. UK nurses selected for the Expert Exchange Program spend several weeks at Barrow observing and, upon their return, present research papers to share what they have learned to their colleagues. The more established Barrow becomes in the UK—and it is becoming easier and equally tax efficient even for US residents to donate overseas—the more chairs and exchange programs the Barrow Foundation UK can fund. So, what’s next? At the Barrow Foundation UK we believe we can do much more to expand the global reach of Barrow. First and foremost—in conjunction with the new Barrow Brain Tumor Research Center and Barrow Center for Neuromodulation—we are exploring ways to partner with top medical institutions in the UK and, potentially, with key centers of excellence around the world, such as in Israel. We are also working on ways to make London a pathway for international referrals to Barrow. We believe that in this way the generous spirit of Newsome’s gift and what it has achieved so far will be amplified many times over in the future, contributing to an international bridge that can only make Barrow stronger. ■
Barrow Foundation UK has funded three endowed chairs at Barrow (left to right): the Newsome Chair in Epileptology, held by David M. Treiman, MD; the Newsome Chair of Neuropsychology, held by George Prigatano, PhD; and the Newsome Chair in Neurosurgery Research, held by Mark Preul, MD.
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