Please join us in congratulating our own Dr. Michael Janssen! From AOSpine — Michael Janssen is the recipient of the first Germán Ochoa Traveling Fellowship Award

To honor Germán Ochoa, his unparalleled dedication to AOSpine, and his countless achievements, the Germán Ochoa Traveling Fellowship (GO Traveling Fellowship) offers a unique opportunity for a senior AOSpine faculty member to spend up to four weeks at a spine center of his/her choice. The main ethos of the fellowship is that the selected member will act as an “Ambassador”, promoting AOSpine as a global community and a leader in spinal education.

At the Global Spine Congress this past May, Michael Janssen became the first recipient of the Germán Ochoa Traveling Fellowship Award. While a high number of quality applications were received for the fellowship, only one could be chosen. Members of the AOSpine Education Commission scored each applicant according to specified criteria, in addition to faculty merit and their motivation letter, and it was Dr Janssen who accumulated the highest aggregate score.

Michael Janssen, one of the founding fathers of AOSpine, holds a high standing within the organization. He is Board-Certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American Board of Spine Surgeons. Dr Janssen received his medical education at the University of Health Sciences in Kansas City, Missouri, US. He completed his internship and residency at the Medical College of Georgia, as well as a pair of spine fellowship at Lakewood Orthopaedic Clinic and with Professor Magrel in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Dr Janssen has been practicing at the Center for Spinal Disorders in Denver Colorado for two decades, and he has mentored over 100 international spine surgery fellows over the past 25 years of his surgical career. Michael Janssen, is a professor of Rocky Vista University, and clinical associate professor at the University of Colorado. He was the recipient of the life-time achievement award from AOSpine in 2013. Dr Janssen has travelled the globe extensively, dedicating his life to education and transferring his knowledge in spine surgery, techniques and principles of spine care. He has been the lead investigator for many FDA spine technology products with publications. Dr Janssen has the wonderful support of a physician spouse (Sharon), and two children that are pursuing a career in global medicine. He is passionate about many sports including teaching scuba diving, skiing, and has won 4 world championships in offshore powerboat racing.

On receiving the fellowship award at the opening session of the Global Spine Congress in Argentina. Dr Janssen stated:

“I accepted this honour with mixed feelings: On one hand I am deeply honoured with the award, but sadden with the loss of German Ochoa. This is a crowning point of my AOSpine Career.”

“Why does receiving this German Ochoa traveling fellowship have such prestige? Simple, German was Mr AOSpine before we were AOSpine. German changed the lives of many during his life’s journey, and we were just one of the privileged groups that had the chance to be impacted by him”.

“We each have a duty to educate, share our knowledge, and transfer our talents, with our peers, especially to those that have less of a chance than ourselves in medicine. I plan to make a difference in people’s lives, and continue to pass on the spirit of AOSpine, while guiding remote surgeons to doing things different and doing different things”

“I feel proud, I feel humbled to be the first recipient of this prestigious international spine fellowship of AOSpine. Thank you “

This article originally posted on AOSpine.AOFoundation.org.