Building a Global Online Neuroradiology Community: The Cortex Club Experience
Dhairya A Lakhani1, Vidhi Dhaduk2, Andrew Klein2
1Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, Morgantown, WV; Department of Radiology (A.K., D.O., M.A.), Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI; Department of Radiology (A.S.), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; Neuroradiology Department (L.P.), Pediatric Neuroradiology Section, Spedali Civili, Brescia, Italy and Department of Radiology (R.V.), University Hospitals of Leicester, Leicester, UK. dhairyalakhani@gmail.com.
The Cortex Club, a global online neuroradiology community, enhances education and collaboration through case discussions and webinars. This community complements traditional learning by providing access to diverse expertise and research opportunities worldwide.
Area of Science:
- Neuroradiology education and global scholarly collaboration.
Background:
- The Cortex Club is a global online community connecting neuroradiology trainees, faculty, and educators via a website and WhatsApp.
- It facilitates case-based discussions, teaching pearls, journal discussions, webinars, and research collaborations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe how a distributed online community can supplement traditional neuroradiology education and scholarship.
- To outline the structure, activities, lessons, governance, and limitations of The Cortex Club.
Main Methods:
- A descriptive, experience-based report by core members of The Cortex Club.
- Analysis of community activities and participation records.
Main Results:
- As of June 11, 2026, the community comprised 461 members from 27 countries and 15 time zones.
- Accumulated data includes 290 shared cases, 55 teaching pearls, 92 discussed papers, and 120 educational sessions.
- Counts reflect participation, not formal outcome measures.
Conclusions:
- A responsibly governed online community can expand access to cases, expertise, peer learning, and multinational collaboration.
- Online communities complement, rather than replace, institutional education and clinical consultation.
- Clear privacy, moderation, and future evaluation of educational impact are crucial.
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