Keeping the community connected through news, research, and education.
AO Spine Latin America
Newsletter
August 2020 — Issue 18
Regional Courses 2021
Regional Courses Bogota 2021
The fifth edition of the AO Spine Latin America Regional Courses will be held in Bogota, June 10-12, 2021. This course brings together an extraordinary scientific program. It is a unique opportunity for participants to expand their knowledge of the latest advances in spine surgery. The event will have master modules with the presence of international faculty, such as Carlo Bellabarba (US), Claudius Thomé (AU), Frank Schwab (US), JinSung Kim (KO), Pedro Berjano (IT), Ralf Wagner (DE), who will join the regional and local faculty to deliver the ultimate expertise about degenerative & post traumatic deformities, and MISS & endoscopy. The event will also have a seminar about research and a fellows & ex-fellows meeting with abstract presentation. As a closure, we will have a Plenary Session on the latest trends on spine surgery. This course is always a comprehensive, innovative, and interactive event. More information ›
New country council members
AO Spine Argentina and Ecuador elect new council members
New country council members in Argentina and Ecuador will begin their three-year terms on September 1, 2020, following recent elections in those countries. Based on votes cast by the countries’ electorates of active members, the newly elected members were approved by the AO Spine Nomination Committee (NomCom) of each country.
Read more ›
Global Spine Congress 2021
Global Spine Congress 2021 abstract submission is open
The Global Spine Congress (GSC) is taking medical education to the next level with the introduction of a new hybrid meeting format. GSC 2021, taking place on May 5–8 in Paris, France, will provide the same congress experience, whether participants choose to join in-person or virtually. With the addition of our online component, we will be offering a full range of activities to an even wider audience. Both options will provide participants with exclusive networking opportunities and access to all our educational offerings that are traditionally provided at our events. Read more ›
Falavigna and Morales
AO Spine recognizes excellence in education
Educational excellence is at the heart of AO Spine, and our organization is proud to be the leader in faculty development for our teachers. No other international surgical community provides teaching programs for such a wide range of different roles within education. Read more ›
AO Spine Curriculum
Rolling out the new AO Spine Curriculum
This enormous undertaking is part of AO Spine’s mission to promote excellence in patient care through optimal training of surgeons. The existing curriculum has been in use for more than 10 years. For the last two years, the AO Spine Curriculum Task Force and the AO Education Institute have worked on an entirely new curriculum to match changes occurring across the entire field of training and education. The AO Spine’s Education Commission Chairperson Bryan Ashman is leading the project. Here, he explains why a new curriculum was needed and how it will be implemented. Read more ›
CEP in Research
Continuing Education Program in Research
The 2020 edition of the Continuing Education Program in Research started last June. Like in the previous edition, all vacancies were quickly sold, and we have participants from 14 countries and various AO clinical divisions. The content is available in Portuguese, Spanish, and English.

The program is accredited by UCS (Universidade de Caxias do Sul) as an extension course and it is conducted over 13 weeks divided into three modules: Search in a database, Interpreting the evidence, and Writing a manuscript.

As stated by Marcelo Valacco (AR), AO Spine Latin America Research Officer, this program was designed to provide education in research within the AO community. "Participants have the opportunity to acquire further expertise in scientific publication research, statistical analysis and scientific article writing. This online program is highly valuable during this time of pandemic. Our main goal is to spread our passion for scientific research and find those who wish to join us on this journey".

The program will conclude in early September. According to Sofía Frank (AR), a participant in the course, “It is a very complete program. The reading material is in accordance with the weekly activities and the teachers are always ready to assist you. I am grateful for the opportunity to attend.”

According to José Jiménez (MX), the program was developed to help participants to turn ideas into publications. “For me, it has been a great experience to participate as a tutor in the Continuing Education Program in Research, which was built to strengthen the skills learned in the process of scientific methodology. The idea was to bring the content to the participants in a friendly way, providing concepts that enrich science and that can be easily understood,” he said.
The program is accredited by UCS as a university extension course and it is conducted in 13 weeks divided into three modules: Search in database; Interpreting the evidence; Writing a manuscript. The content and the synchronous meetings are available in Portuguese, Spanish and English. The course completion will be in early September.
Global Spine Journal
Global Spine Journal receives official 2019 impact factor
We are pleased to announce Global Spine Journal’s official 2019 ranking and indexing in Clarivate’s Journal Citations Report (JCR). GSJ is ranked in both the Orthopaedic Index and the Clinical Neurology Index with a score of 2.683. This is a huge milestone for the journal and is a culmination of years of hard work. We would like to thank the GSJ editors, authors, reviewers, and readers. Read more ›
AO calls for innovation proposals
AO calls for innovation proposals: Bring your concept to life
The AO Innovation Translation Center’s new calls for proposals opened July 1, 2020 through October 31, 2020, offering a unique opportunity to apply for the funding and know-how essential to bringing innovative concepts to life. The strategy fund supports ideas for clinical tools and technology for any element of the patient journey in musculoskeletal disorders, while the development incubator supports inventors with funding and know-how in securing intellectual property rights, developing a proof of concept (POC), and planning POC valorization. Apply now ›
Event Calendar
August 15 — November 15, 2020
August 18
Online
August 22
Buenos Aires
August 22
Bogota
September 5
Ciudad de Guatemala
September 12
Bogota
September12
Online
September 26
Buenos Aires
October 9
Montevideo
October 13
Online
October 22
Online
October 23
Cordoba
October24
Bogota
November 7
Cochabamba
November 7
Montevideo
November 14
Online
Regional Courses Bogota 2021
Facebook Twitter Instagram
© 2020 AO Spine Latin America. All rights reserved. E&OE.
AO Spine Latin America, Av. Silva Jardim 2042 Cj 1505, 80250-200 Curitiba, Brasil