At this year’s LINNC Paris (1–3 June, Paris, France), neurointerventional pioneer Jacques Moret (Bicêtre University Hospital, Paris, France) stepped down from his role as course director, having ideated and founded the meeting more than 25 years earlier at a time when the interventional neuroradiology (INR) field was still in its infancy.
A celebration of Moret’s career, legacy and innumerable contributions to this space was led by Laurent Spelle (Bicêtre University Hospital, Paris, France) and Vitor Mendes Pereira (St Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Canada)—both of whom will continue as LINNC course directors in his stead—as well as longstanding faculty member Michel Mawad (Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon).
Having worked alongside Moret for 35 years, Spelle highlighted his mentor’s unique clinical capabilities, inspirational leadership, ambition, and seemingly innate, effortless understanding of concepts far beyond many of his peers. Among the countless ways in which Moret has indelibly impacted the INR space, Spelle pointed to the invention of neurovascular balloon-assisted coiling, the training of hundreds of physicians across five continents, and the educational value of the live case demonstrations and expert debates that take place at LINNC each year.
Following this, a visibly moved Pereira saluted the man who shaped his career. He recalled first seeing Moret challenge a celebrated surgical presentation at a conference in Brazil—an intervention that revealed not only his audacity but also his unwavering commitment to what he believed was best for patients. Years later, after joining Moret’s fellowship, Pereira came to appreciate the qualities that made him such a transformative figure: technical mastery, honesty, creativity, and a refusal to lay down when faced with widely accepted limitations. Recognising the responsibility of helping to lead LINNC into its next chapter, Pereira described himself as one of the many beneficiaries of Moret’s extraordinary generosity as a teacher and mentor.
Moret himself took to the podium next, asserting that this was not a eulogy, but the acknowledgement of “a necessary emancipation that the founder of LINNC, like all parents, has a duty to encourage”. Moret went on to deliver a typically bold talk in which he proclaimed throughout that “modesty is my priority” before also stating, “I know I am a star”, and quoting Napoleon Bonaparte while explaining his decision to step away from the educational dynasty he created back in 1997. He also spoke of the many doubters and critics he faced while trying to establish the INR field, contrasting this with the increasing number of neurosurgical procedures—including brain aneurysm, arteriovenous malformation (AVM) and subdural haematoma (SDH) treatments—that are performed endovascularly today.
Additionally, Moret paid tribute to Jacqueline Vignaud and Alain Rey—the two people without whom his accomplishments in INR would not have been possible—as well as Pierre Lasjaunias, a fellow founder of the ABC-WIN Seminar, and Dominique Doyon. Moret closed his talk by thanking those in attendance, and subsequently received a lengthy standing ovation.
The session concluded with a presentation from Mawad, who hailed Moret’s calmness and poise inside the operating room, intellectual integrity, and ingenious ability to innovate and solve problems. Mawad further highlighted the great number of practice-altering techniques and concepts Moret was responsible for but humbly never put his name to.
Echoing Spelle and Pereira before him, Mawad added that Moret’s legacy will endure for many years to come, not only through LINNC—which has more recently expanded beyond Europe into the Americas, China and other parts of Asia—but also through the hundreds of clinicians he has mentored across the globe, and the thousands more they have trained thanks to the passion for teaching he instilled in them.
