Building Traditions - Past Officers of OPUS 12

• President
• Sept 2006 to Present - S. P. Stawicki, MD

• Chairperson
• Sept 2006 to Sept 2007 - S. P. Stawicki, MD
• Sept 2007 to Present - S. P. Schrag, MD

• Vice-Chair
• Sept 2006 to Sept 2007 - S. P. Schrag, MD
• Sept 2007 to Present - M. J. Seamon, MD

• As early as 1995, the concept of a comprehensive medical research organization was born in Louisville, Kentucky. Dr S. P. Stawicki founded the precursor to the OPUS 12 Foundation while working as a Research Coordinator for a local group of neurosurgeons headed by Dr J. J. Guarnaschelli, a prominent area neurosurgeon.
• The precursor organization underwent several name changes over the years. Its structure has also been evolving gradually while its reach continued to widen and the number of publications generated from within its walls coninued to grow.
  

• Beginning in 2001, the precursor organization moved from Louisville, Kentucky to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA.
• The number of projects and publications attributed to the present and future OPUS 12 members continued to grow.
• By 2006, the first two Founding Members - Dr S. P. Stawicki and Dr S. P. Schrag - formed the Scientific Training and Research Foundation, which quickly expanded to encompass the 12 Founding Members of the Board of Directors.
• The Founding Board includes, alphabetically, Dr J. Chovanes, Dr A. Dippolito, Dr V. H. Gracias, Dr B. A. Hoey, Dr J. Jenoff, Dr G. Lombardo, Dr J. J. Lukaszczyk, Dr N. D. Martin, Dr M. L. Nance, Dr S. P. Schrag, Dr M. J. Seamon, and Dr S. P. Stawicki.
• The OPUS 12 organization continues to grow, with the planned transformation of the the organization into a National Research Society with membership open to highly dedicated scientists who are committed to high-output, high-quality scientific work and mutli-disciplinary scientific dialogue.  The Society Chapters will be based in the various cities where our members reside (i.e., Philadelphia, Nashville, Lehigh Valley, etc.)
• While not exclusive in any way, the OPUS 12 organization is highly selective and places high demands on new and aspiring members. Attainment of full Foundation Board membership requires significant commitment to the OPUS 12 cause, good standing within the OPUS 12 Society Regional Chapters, and the completion of an initiation process (see below).
• In order to ensure that only individuals who can contribute meaningfully to medical and science research are admitted to the organization, the OPUS 12 Foundation Board established the following initiation process criteria for all aspiring members:
• Completion of at least ten OPUS 12 sponsored scientific projects (could be a review article, a research study, or a book chapter).
• Good standing within the OPUS 12 Society, including the attendance (at least yearly) of Foundation/Society meetings and the timely payment of OPUS 12 Society dues.
• Finally, after the two initial conditions are met, each aspiring member will have to be approved as a Board Member by at least 75% of the existing Board.
• The OPUS 12 Foundation Board will also consider nominations for the highly prestigious Honorary Membership. The Honorary Board Membership is a distinction and an honor bestowed upon individuals whose contributions to medicine and science were deemed to be above and beyond the call of their scientific duty. Honorary Board Membership is by invitation only and is awarded to up to five scientists once every year in September.
• Starting in mid-2007, OPUS 12 Foundation inaugurated our Internet-based peer-reviewed journal, OPUS 12 Scientist. Starting out on a quarterly basis, the journal will transition to bi-monthly format in early 2008. Future plans include print version of OPUS 12 Scientist and gradual transition to monthly publication.
• The OPUS 12 Foundation is pleased to announce that it is now present internationally. As our membership continues to grow, so do our plans. During the semi-annual OPUS 12 Board of Directors meeting, preliminary plans were drawn to host our 1st Annual Scientific Congress, potentially as soon as the second part of 2008.
• We are pleased to announce the inauguration of OPUS 12 Foundation's WIKI Internet services. OPUS 12 WIKI websites are dedicated to the various topics within the Foundation's scope of scientific and research interest. All are welcome to contribute to the collective knowledge within the WIKIs and help develop them into real-time, topic-driven, encyclopedic repositories of medical and surgical knowledge!

• The OPUS 12 Foundation engages in active dialogue with multiple scientists, scientific organizations, and other foundations. We are open to creating scientific alliances that result in better, more streamlined and more sophisticated research.
• We also believe in the world of open ideas and we actively oppose the 'secretive scientist' attitude to research. Open-minded and honest research can only result in greater benefit to the society and the world. If you have an interesting research idea that you would like to study or implement, please do not hesitate to contact the OPUS 12 Foundation - Your ideas will always be fully credited to you.