Congratulations to the five winners of the 2025 Luiz Vialle Awards

Young surgeons from Canada, Croatia, and the United States are the recipients of 2025 Luiz Vialle Awards, named for the founder of the AO Spine Knowledge Forums. The awards honor young practitioners for their contributions to spine research and knowledge dissemination to improve patient care and outcomes in spinal disorders.

AO Spine—the world’s leading academic community for education and research in spine care—congratulates this year’s winners: xyz (xyz), Sardar Zeeshan (USA), Lindsay Tetreault (USA), Charlotte Dandurand (Canada), and Stipe Ćorluka (Croatia). Now in its fourth year, the Luiz Vialle Award is based on past achievements and future expectations, so it’s worth keeping an eye on the winners’ future work.

Here, the five winners reflect on their time as associate members of their respective KFs.

KF Tumor: xyz, MD

Lorem ipsum

Lorem Ipsum

KF Deformity: Zeeshan Sardar, MD

Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

Dr. Zeeshan M. Sardar is an Associate Professor and the Co-Chief of Spinal Deformities at Columbia University, Department of Orthopedics, and the Medical Director of the Spine Unit at The Och Spine Hospital/Allen. His practice is devoted exclusively to the treatment of pediatric and adult spinal disorders. His practice focuses on the operative care of spinal deformities and degenerative conditions. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, master’s in computer science, and doctorate in medicine from McGill University in Canada, Dr. Sardar went on to complete his residency in orthopedic surgery at the McGill University Health Centre where he served as the chief resident. Following residency, Dr. Sardar completed a fellowship in Orthopedic and Neurological Spine Surgery at the Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, followed by a spine surgery fellowship focusing on Artificial Disc Replacement and Spinal Deformity at the Texas Back Institute, and a subsequent fellowship in Advanced Spinal Deformity at Columbia University and the Och Spine Hospital at NewYork-Presbyterian.

As an active member of the academic orthopedic and spine communities, Dr. Sardar is a member of the America Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, AO Spine, the North American Spine Society, the Scoliosis Research Society, and the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery. He serves on the Scoliosis Research Society’s committee for Spinal Deformity, the North American Spine Society’s committee for Spinal Deformity, AO Spine Deformity Knowledge Forum, as well as the America Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons’ Adult Spine Evaluation Committee. He has been appointed Co-Chair of the Data Operations Committee for the American Spine Registry. Dr. Sardar engages in research to advance the diagnosis and treatment of complex spine conditions. His research interests are focused on patient optimization prior to surgery and on improving clinical and surgical techniques to improve patient safety and ensure better surgical outcomes.

KF Spinal Cord Injury (SCI): Lindsay Tetreault, MD, PhD

NYU Langone Medical Center, NYUMC Department of Neurology, New York, United States

I consider it a great honor to be an associate member of the AO Spine KF SCI. Through this forum, I have had the opportunity to collaborate on a variety of research projects with some of the world’s leading experts in both traumatic and nontraumatic SCI. The leadership and other members of the KF have been instrumental in advancing my career as both a clinician and a researcher and have engaged me in several initiatives that will undoubtedly impact clinical practice. I find it particularly rewarding to gain the perspectives of health care professionals who practice in different health care systems, as their input increases the scope and depth of our research.

As a member of the KF SCI, I was appointed the leader of a guideline development group that aimed to develop recommendations on the timing of surgical decompression and hemodynamic management of acute SCI and the prevention, identification, and management of intraoperative SCI in patients undergoing surgery for spine-related pathology. This project afforded me the opportunity to improve my leadership skills as well as to meaningfully contribute to a set of clinical practice guidelines that will hopefully be translated into clinical practice. Additionally, I have had the privilege of leading the diagnostic criteria incubator as part of the AO Spine REsearch Objectives and COmmon Data Elements for Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy (RECODE-DCM) project. This group will attempt to establish a set of generalizable and reliable diagnostic criteria for DCM, in order to facilitate earlier diagnosis and treatment.

I recently completed my neurology residency at NYU Langone in Brooklyn and am currently a neuromuscular fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham & Women’s Hospital. Prior to pursuing my medical degree at University College Cork in Ireland, I completed my PhD and postdoctoral fellowship under the mentorship of Dr Michael Fehlings at the University of Toronto in Canada. My research interests include identifying important predictors of neurological outcomes in patients undergoing surgery for DCM, developing clinical practice guidelines, and improving the diagnosis of a variety of spinal conditions. I hope to continue contributing to the KF SCI as a neurologist and neuromuscular specialist.

KF Trauma: Charlotte Dandurand

Vancouver General Hospital, Vacouver, BC, Canada

I would like to express my gratitude for the invaluable support I have received from my KF Trauma and Infection colleagues. I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to join this incredibly collegial and motivated group that is composed of inspiring world leaders and mentors. It is an absolute privilege and honour to be able to work alongside such stimulating colleagues. The global diversity of our group allows us to be creative and tackle issues from all angles with different perspectives. All members of the KF Trauma and Infection strive towards producing scientific evidence that ultimately guides the delivery of healthcare around the world. The unique worldwide perspective of surgeon experts undoubtably enhances our collaborative efforts and potentiate the impact of our research.

My work within the group has been fueled by my desire to help patients who suffer from acute spinal trauma or infection and are faced with an acute loss of functioning which has an impact not only on patients, but also caregivers and society. This significant burden warrants tremendous efforts to better our treatment strategies. Notably, solving the ongoing debate on best management of thoracolumbar burst fractures has been a stimulating challenge. I am immensely proud to be part of a motivated group of surgeons who recognize this critical worldwide ongoing equipoise and commit their minds, energy and focus towards solving this issue. Many controversies remain in terms of best treatment for spinal fractures. My goal is to provide better guidance on treatment decisions.

I am particularly excited about the future avenues of the group in taking on the critical knowledge gap of what is the best treatment for spinal infections. This is a particularly vulnerable population where equipoise exist within the expert community. I look forward to our fantastic group taking on the challenge to advance knowledge and to come closer to international consensus on best treatment. I look forward to leading the world in generating the knowledge that improves patient care for patients suffering from spinal trauma and infection.

KF Degenerative: Stipe Ćorluka, MD

University Hospital Centre Sestre Milosrdnice, Zagreb, Croatia

I am extremely grateful and humbled to have been chosen as the recipient of the Luiz Vialle Award by AO Spine.

My journey started with the AOGO-ACDF project back in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and was a real escape from daily stress in the future situation as a young spinal surgeon. My commitment and effort to meet all project tasks was recognized very early and I have received an email with an invitation to become an Associate member of the AO Spine Knowledge Forum Degenerative, which opened a completely new chapter in my career.

Being part of an exceptional international network of spine professionals has been one of the greatest privileges of my career - to work and collaborate with some of the most innovative leaders in the field of spinal surgery.

Being involved in AO Spine KF Degenerative, especially in projects such as AOGO, Spondy-FuLa, LDH, Bone Classification and many others has been crucial in influencing my patient care approach and progressing spinal surgery not just in Croatia but also in our region. Despite being occupied with a demanding full-time job, my ability to advance the field of spinal surgery is largely due to the collaborative efforts of my colleagues at AO Spine KF Degenerative. Certainly, this recognition not only highlights my individual contributions, but also recognizes the dedication of the entire AO Knowledge Forum Degenerative Team.

Implementing new scientific knowledge into daily work having the opportunity to provide our patients with the most recent updates in the field of spinal surgery is a privilege and a duty, and I am very thankful to AO Spine for supporting knowledge sharing that allows me to deliver optimal care for my patients.

I thank all the individuals at AO Spine for establishing a special environment where every opinion is valued. Teamwork in this community is what makes working here so satisfying, and I want to express gratitude for the valuable support provided, which has been helpful in my journey to my current position.