A Tradition Grows Deep Roots

The Mario and Edith Campagna Scholarship is less than a decade old, but is already growing deep roots and tradition within the soil of U.S. neurosurgical education. This week, the Campagna Scholarship Committee of the OHSU Department of Neurological Surgery met to choose the 8^th Campagna Scholar. As Chair of the Committee, I can attest that we had some hard work choosing amongst many highly qualified and deserving candidates from around the country.

The new Campagna Scholar is Stephen J. Lehnert, a first year medical student at the Indiana University School of Medicine. As a Purdue undergraduate, Stephen earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, and was a Pi Tau Sigma engineering honors student. Stephen has broad scientific interests, having worked on predictive modeling strategies in health care and served as a research engineering intern at Ingersoll Rand, Rockwell, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The skills Stephen has garnered from this work will be well utilized in clinical research during his Scholarship, under the guidance of OHSU Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery, and functional neurosurgery expert, Dr. Ahmed Raslan.

Of course, most important to the Campagna vision and legacy, Stephen is an engaging, enthusiastic and hard working future physician and surgeon, passionate about all his undertakings. He enjoys sports and the outdoors, including basketball and running, and will really benefit from the chance to get to know Oregon while he is here as a Scholar.

Former Campagna Scholar, Susan Wozniak, Campagna Professor Dr. Nathan Selden, with Dr. and Mrs. Campagna on a Scholar trip to Medford

One of the highlights of the summer (for the Scholar and for myself!) is a trip to southern Oregon to visit with Dr. Campagna. Like the Scholarship, itself, this tradition of mentorship and stewardship of future leaders in neurosurgery has grown deep roots.