14th International Glasgow Neuro Conference
THE CONFERENCE
One day with the people shaping neurosurgery and neurology.
For its fourteenth edition, the Glasgow Neuro International Conference brings speakers from UCSF, Mayo Clinic, Harvard, Hospital del Mar in Barcelona and the University of Edinburgh to the University of Glasgow.
Morning talks cover neurointerventional radiology, skull base surgery and neuromodulation. After lunch, delegates move into hands-on workshops, from burr holes and pedicle screws to nerve conduction studies and a neurointerventional simulator.
Posters and sponsor stands run through every break, and the day closes with prizes.
At a glance
21 NOVEMBER 2026
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For medical students, trainees and anyone with a neuro interest.
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Where James McCune Smith Learning Hub, University of Glasgow.
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Published conference proceedings in Surgical Neurology International.
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Certificate of attendance once you complete the evaluation form.
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Evening post-conference dinner, details to be confirmed.
SPEAKERS
Five confirmed speakers from three countries.
Clinicians and researchers from leading centres in the United States, Spain and the UK.
Read the speakers' full bios.
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Dr Steven Hetts
Neurointerventional Radiologist, UCSF
Dr Steven W. Hetts is a neurointerventional radiologist at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals, where he serves as Co-director of the HHT Center of Excellence. He specialises in the minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment of vascular disorders of the brain and spine, including aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, arteriovenous fistulas, atherosclerosis and tumours. He also serves as Chief of Neuroradiology at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center. His research focuses on paediatric brain aneurysms and vascular malformations, spinal vascular malformations and interventional MRI. He is a board-certified diagnostic radiologist and neuroradiologist through the American Board of Radiology. He earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School and completed his residency in diagnostic radiology and fellowship in neurointerventional radiology at UCSF.
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Dr Michael J. Link
Professor of Neurosurgery and Otorhinolaryngology, Mayo Clinic
Dr Michael J. Link is the Charles B. and Ann L. Johnson Professor of Neurosurgery at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, with a joint appointment in Otorhinolaryngology. He has been on faculty at Mayo Clinic Rochester since 1999, following two years at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville. His clinical practice is dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of benign and malignant skull base disorders, combining a busy microsurgical and radiosurgical caseload.
Dr Link is Past President of the North American Skull Base Society (2014-2015), Associate Editor of the Skull Base section of Operative Neurosurgery, and co-Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Neurological Surgery, Part B: Skull Base. He directs Mayo's Skull Base Oncology fellowship, whose graduates now practise at academic institutions across the US and internationally, including Egypt, Kenya, Israel, Japan and the UAE.
His research focuses on quality-of-life outcomes in skull base disorders, the natural history of skull base tumours and the biology of vestibular schwannomas. He has received the Teacher of the Year award in Neurologic Surgery three times and the 2023 Distinguished Clinician Award from Mayo Clinic Rochester.
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Dr Gloria Villalba Martínez
Functional neurosurgeon, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona
Dr Villalba is a functional neurosurgeon with a special interest in neuromodulation. She has worked as a senior consultant at Hospital del Mar for the past 20 years. She is a member of the Systems Neurology and Neurotherapeutics Research Group at the Hospital del Mar Research Institute and an Associate Professor of Medicine at Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona.
Her doctoral thesis, completed in 2020, focused on deep brain stimulation for the treatment of patients with severe and refractory anorexia nervosa.
A significant part of her clinical practice is now devoted to neuromodulation for the treatment of neuropathic pain. She is also initiating a clinical trial investigating neuromodulation in patients with cocaine use disorder.
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Prof Rustam Al-Shahi Salman
Professor of Clinical Neurology, University of Edinburgh
Professor Rustam Al-Shahi Salman, MA MB BChir PhD FRCPEdin FESO FRSE FMedSci, has held a personal chair in clinical neurology at the University of Edinburgh since 2013. Since 2020 he has also led the cerebrovascular research group and served as clinical director of the Edinburgh Clinical Trials Unit. As an honorary consultant neurologist in NHS Lothian since 2006, he treats patients with acute TIA, stroke and other neurological conditions in the emergency department and at the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic.
He trained in medicine at the University of Cambridge and joined the Edinburgh stroke research group in 1998 as an MRC clinical training fellow, progressing through MRC clinician scientist and senior clinical fellowships.
He leads the Research to Understand Stroke due to Haemorrhage (RUSH) programme, which aims to improve outcomes for adults with diseases causing intracranial haemorrhage. His research centres on rigorous randomised controlled trials to prevent and treat stroke due to intracranial haemorrhage, and his work has received over 63,000 citations.
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Dr Nirav J. Patel
Neurosurgeon, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston
Dr Nirav J. Patel, MD MS, is an attending neurosurgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School. He directs the Brain AVM programme, treating patients from around the world.
He graduated from Georgetown University Medical School and completed his neurosurgical residency at the University of Wisconsin. He then trained in open cerebrovascular and skull base surgery at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, and in endovascular neurosurgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Dr Patel specialises in brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) and moyamoya disease. He also operates on aneurysms, stroke, carotid disease, brain tumours and skull base tumours, and performs brain bypass surgery. Colleagues at Beth Israel Deaconess, UMass Medical Center and UConn Health consult him on difficult cases.
A committed teacher, he built a 3D skills laboratory to train residents and fellows in the microsurgical techniques needed for cerebrovascular bypass and repair, and directs an animal laboratory at the Brigham for microsurgical training.
Hands-On Workshops
Interactive sessions where you can practise real techniques in a safe and supportive setting.
Craniotomy & burr hole
HOSTED BY KLS MARTIN GROUP
A hands-on session combining theory and practice in craniotomy, burr hole technique and bone flap fixation, guided by experts in the field.
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Spine pedicle screws
SPINAL INSTRUMENTATION
Explore the nuances of pedicle screw placement through interactive, hands-on training led by experienced spinal surgeons.
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Nerve conduction studies
CLINICAL NEUROPHYSIOLOGY
A live demonstration of routine sensory and motor nerve conduction studies of the upper limb, showing how they assess nerve function and support diagnosis.
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Interventional neuroradiology
MENTICE SIMULATOR
Try catheter navigation on a simulator and see how stroke, aneurysms and other brain vessel conditions are treated. No prior experience needed.
CV clinic & Q&A
CV WORKSHOP TICKET HOLDERS
One-to-one CV feedback from nationally selected ST1/ST2 doctors, plus a Q&A panel. Included with the CV workshop conference ticket.
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Want the CV clinic?
The one-to-one CV workshop comes with its own conference ticket. Choose the CV workshop ticket when you book.
Poster Presentations
PUBLISHED PROCEEDINGS
Surgical Neurology International
Conference proceedings will be published in Surgical Neurology International (SNI), an open access journal covering neurosurgery and the related clinical and basic neurosciences.
SNI is free to read for neuroscientists and the public alike, so anyone can download your work.
Our thanks to Professor James Ausman (Founder and Emeritus Editor-in-Chief), Professor Nancy Epstein (Editor-in-Chief) and Mr Jim Cook (Managing Editor).
Posters from students and trainees are on display through every break and over lunch, alongside the sponsors' exhibition. Walk round, talk to the presenters and see the research coming out of neuroscience departments across the country.
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On show during breaks and lunch.
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Poster prizes announced at the closing remarks.
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Published in the conference proceedings in Surgical Neurology International.