Pittsburgh, August 19, 2026 — Neslihan Nisa Gecici, MD, postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurological Surgery, has received the 2026 Rosenblum-Mahaley Clinical Research Award from the Congress of Neurological Surgeons for her abstract, "The Genomic Blueprint of Recurrence: Determinants of Local and Distant Intracranial Progression After Brain Metastasis Surgery."
The study shows that specific genomic alterations in brain metastases are associated with distinct patterns of intracranial progression after surgery. It offers proof of concept that combining molecular features with clinical factors may identify patients at higher risk of recurrence and guide more personalized postoperative surveillance and treatment.
Gecici will present the abstract on Monday, November 2, during the Sunrise Science Session on Tumors at the 2026 CNS Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., held October 31 through November 4. The award recognizes one abstract selected from the meeting's clinical research submissions.
Coauthors on the study are Ahmed Habib, MD; Walaa Hamza, MD; Maged T. Ghoche, MD; Rivka R. Colen, MD; Kalil G. Abdullah, MD; and Pascal O. Zinn, MD, PhD, MBA, director of neurosurgical oncology and residency program director in the department.