Global Health Tuesday: UW–Madison Microneurosurgery Initiative to Improve Global Health

The Global Health Institute’s December Global Health Tuesday Webinar is scheduled for Tuesday, December 9, 2025, from 9-10am CST. Calyn Ostrowski, GHI Associate Director Strategic Partnerships & Development, moderates a timely conversation on UW–Madison’s Microneurosurgery Initiative to Improve Global Health.

Calyn will lead the discussion with panelists Dr. Abdullah Keles, Scientist, Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH); Dr. Mustafa Baskaya, Robert J. Dempsy Professor of Neurological Surgery, SMPH; and Dr. Yannick Canton Kessely, Department of Neurosurgery, Hôpital La Renaissance de N’Djamena, Chad.

Please register for the webinar with this link.

MEET THE MODERATOR:

Calyn Ostrowski builds high-impact partnerships through cross-sector and multi-disciplinary collaboration. As the Associate Director of Strategic Partnerships & Development at GHI, she leads a diverse portfolio of work mobilizing relationships with leaders in academia, government, industry, and community organizations to drive strategic initiatives that advance statewide and global health priorities.

Prior to joining UW, she led the Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions as Executive Director, overseeing operations, fiscal management, governance, grantmaking, fundraising, and program strategy. She later served as Managing Vice President of Business Development at Summit Credit Union, where she was the chief strategist for business development initiatives and financial education programs. Earlier in her career, she worked at the Woodrow Wilson Center, a nonpartisan foreign policy think tank in Washington, DC, where she convened global stakeholders on health policy issues and disseminated findings through reports, toolkits, public events, and digital platforms.

Calyn is an active member of the community, serving on multiple nonprofit boards. She has a master’s degree in nonprofit management from Case Western Reserve University and bachelor’s degree in political science and psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she was a member of the Women’s Swim and Dive team.

MEET THE PANELISTS:

Dr. Abdullah Keles is a physician-scientist with extensive expertise in microsurgery education and neurological surgery training. He earned his medical degree from Istanbul University, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, and has since contributed to advancing surgical education and research globally.

Dr. Keles specializes in the development of affordable and sustainable microsurgery training models, particularly tailored to resource-limited settings. His research focuses on advancing surgical education through innovative hands-on training programs and the development of simulation models to improve surgical precision and outcomes.

Dr. Keles has facilitated the distribution of 149 microsurgery training kits to 69 centers across 38 low- and middle-income countries spanning four continents. Additionally, he has organized numerous workshops worldwide to enhance microsurgical skills. His efforts focus on bridging gaps in surgical education and advancing healthcare equity globally, particularly in resource-limited settings.

Currently, Dr. Keles’ work is dedicated to enhancing microsurgical training methodologies and evaluating their impact on clinical outcomes. His long-term vision includes fostering global collaborations to expand access to advanced surgical training and contributing to the development of neurosurgical practices worldwide.

Dr. Mustafa Baskaya, MD, is a tenured Professor and the Robert J. Dempsey Professor of Neurological Surgery at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health. He is also the director of the Skull Base Surgery Program, the Lincoln Ramirez Neuroanatomy & Microsurgery Skills Laboratory, and the Fellowship Program in Cerebrovascular & Skull Base Surgery, all at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His clinical specialties include surgeries of skull base tumors (meningiomas, acoustic neuromas, chordomas, chondrosarcomas, pituitary tumors), cerebrovascular surgery (aneurysms, AVMs, cavernous angiomas, carotid stenosis, surgeries for stroke, moyamoya disease and cerebral bypass) and complex brain tumors involving deep and highly functional regions of the brain and spinal cord (gliomas and metastatic tumors). Some of his achievements include receiving the Professor Sugita Scholarship, two Resident Teaching Awards in Neurosurgery at the University of Wisconsin, and the University of Wisconsin Hospitals & Clinics Provider Champion Award. This last award is for patient and family experience in achieving the highest level of communication, compassion, and engagement.

His research focuses on characterizing variations of human brain anatomy and identifying less invasive and safer surgical approaches of the deep and eloquent brain regions. He has published over 270 scientific papers, over 50 book chapters, and he is a co-author of two books: Vestibular Schwannoma Surgery: A Video Guide, and Complex Surgeries of the Limbic System.

His national and international leadership roles include being appointed to the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies Cerebrovascular Surgery Committee, serving as Chair of the Subcommittee for the Cerebrovascular Research Award (of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS)/ Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) Joint Section), and past chair of the International Division of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.