Jared Platt

When Dr. Sengua Koipapi's mother lost consciousness during the birth of her fourth child, she was transported about 20 miles to the nearest health facility—by wheelbarrow. Seeing her recovery as a young boy inspired Dr. Koipapi to pursue a career in medicine, and he later enrolled in the medical school where his mother was treated. Having grown up in a rural village in East Africa, Dr. Koipapi hadn't been exposed to life outside of the Maasai tribe. He found integrating into the culture of medical school to be a challenge—just one of many the #aspiringneurosurgeon has tackled with courage. "You always have to look at what you want to achieve and see the kind of impact you want to bring into the world, and that should help you enough to persevere, even during difficulties," said Dr. Koipapi, who was our first neurosurgery observer funded by the Franke Global #Neuroscience Education Center at #BarrowNeurologicalInstitute. "So your personal determination, put in all the hard work that is necessary, and inspire yourself by seeing the difference that you are going to bring." Hear more about courage from Dr. Koipapi, Barrow faculty and trainees, and guest #neurosurgeons Drs. Kevin T. Foley and @TedSchwartz13 by watching our latest episode of #BarrowNeurosurgeryBaseCamp: BarrowNeuro.org/BaseCamp.

Alex Conley, who has a spinal cord injury, was the 2nd patient to undergo neurosurgery at Barrow to receive @Neuralink's N1 Implant as part of the PRIME Study. Now, also enrolled in CONVOY, Alex is the 1st to use the brain-computer interface (BCI) device to control a robotic arm.