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  • William A. Friedman, MD 2021, Austin, TX Dr. William Alan Friedman was born in Dayton, Ohio on April 25, 1953. He attended high school in Cincinnati, Ohio, graduating in 1970 as a National Merit Scholar. At Oberlin College, he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa before moving on to the Ohio State University College of Medicine.
    2019, San Francisco, CA
    Dr. Raymond Sawaya was the founding chair of Neurosurgery at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, as well as an advisor to the leaders of the Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) Moon Shot™
    2018, Houston, TX
    Dr. Rossenwasser has published over 400 peer reviewed publications, abstracts and book chapters. He has served as division chief of cerebrovascular surgery and interventional neuroradiology at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and since 2004 has held the position of Chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery.
    2017, Boston, MA
    Dr. Cohen has served as Neurosurgeon-in-Chief and Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at Boston Children’s Hospital and the Franc D. Ingraham Professor of Neurological Surgery at Harvard Medical School. In 2016, he moved to Johns Hopkins where he is Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery and the Carson Spiro Professor of Pediatric Neurosurgery.
    2016, San Diego, CA
    Dr. Oldfield held the Crutchfield Chair in Neurosurgery, and was a Professor of Neurosurgery and Internal Medicine at the University of Virginia. He joined the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Virginia in 2007 where he led a multidisciplinary effort in the treatment of pituitary tumors and contributed to the research program in the Department of Neurosurgery.
    2015, New Orleans, LA
    Dr. Burchiel is the John Raaf Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery at Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU). He serves as Director of the functional and stereotactic neurosurgery fellowship program that encompasses the surgical treatment of pain, movement disorders, and epilepsy.
    2014, Boston, MA
    Dr. Benzel is Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at the Cleveland Clinic and Professor of Surgery, at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Benzel’s major clinical interests are focused on spinal disorders including cervical spondylosis and syringomyelia, complex spine instrumentation, and spine tumors.
    2013, San Francisco, CA
    Dr. L. Nelson Hopkins joined UBNS in 1975. He served as the chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery from 1989-2013 and recently earned the title of Distinguished Professor of neurosurgery and radiology from the State University of New York. Professor and Chairman of Neurosurgery, Professor of Radiology, and fostered the creation of the Toshiba Stroke Research Center, University at Buffalo, State University of New York.
    2012, Chicago, IL
    Dr. Dacey, a Past President of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, is currently the Henry G. and Edith R. Schwartz Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery at Washington University in St. Louis. He is an author on over 190 publications in the area of neurosurgery and cerebrovascular physiology. Dr. Dacey has served as a member of the NIH’s National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke Council.
    2011, Washington, DC
    H. Hunt Batjer, MD has served as the President of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. He is the Michael J. Marchese Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Dr. Batjer is recognized internationally as a leading cerebrovascular surgeon, especially for complex aneurysms, vascular malformations, and brain ischemic states.
    2010, San Francisco, CA
    Dr. Barrow, has served as President of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. He is the Pamela Rollins Chairman & Professor of the Department of Neurosurgery and Director of the Emory Stroke Center at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Barrow has authored more than 250 scientific articles and chapters in medical textbooks. He has authored or edited fourteen monographs, including a major textbook of neurosurgery, The Practice of Neurosurgery.
    2009, New Orleans, LA
    Dr. Rutka has served a Co-Director of the Arthur and Sonia Labatt Brain Tumor Research Centre at the University of Toronto since 1998. From 1999-2010, Dr. Rutka held the Dan Family Chair in Neurosurgery at the University of Toronto, leading the world's largest neurosurgical training program. In 2011, he was selected as the R.S. McLaughlin Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto. Dr. Rutka has also served as the President of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (2010-2011), President of the American Academy of Neurological Surgery (2011-2012), and in 2013 he was appointed as the seventh Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Neurosurgery, the first Canadian neurosurgeon to hold this prestigious role.
    2008, Orlando, FL
    Dr. William Chandler is a Past President of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. He is Professor Emeritus of Neurological Surgery and Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan. Dr. Chandler has had a long standing clinical and research interest in disorders of the pituitary. Along with these interests, he has maintained an interest and expertise in cerebrovascular neurosurgery, brain tumor surgery and general neurosurgery.
    2007, San Diego, CA
    Dr. Lawrence Dade Lunsford is the Lars Leksell Professor of Neurological Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. He currently is Director of the Center For Image-Guided Neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and Director of the Residency Program. Dr. Lunsford’s primary scholarly and patient care interests have been related to the combination of imaging and brain surgery.
    2006, Chicago, IL
    Dr. Black is currently the Franc D. Ingraham Professor of Neurosurgery, Emeritus. Emeritus, Harvard Medical School Neurosurgeon-in-Chief / Chair, Neurosurgery, Boston Children's Hospital. Dr. Black has previously held the position as Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital; Neurosurgeon-in-chief at Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Chief of Neurosurgical Oncology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute; and Franc D. Ingraham Professor of Neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School.
    2005, Boston, MA
    Dr. Heros has served as Professor, Co-Chairman and Program Director of the Department of Neurosurgery and the founding Director of the University of Miami International Health Center since 1995. Dr. Heros has authored or co-authored four textbooks and has published about 150 refereed articles and approximately 70 textbook chapters dealing with cerebral aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, experimental cerebral ischemia and skull base surgical approaches.
    2004, San Francisco, CA
    Dr. Menezes is Professor and Vice Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Iowa Roy and Lucille Carver College of Medicine and the University of Iowa Health Care Center in Iowa City, Iowa, where he has been in practice for over 30 years. He has played a significant role in the development of the department and its teaching activities. His main areas of interest have been pediatric and spinal neurosurgery as well as the posterior skull base.
    2003, Denver, CO
    Dr. Hoff served as Professor and Head of the Section of Neurosurgery in the Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, succeeding Richard C. Schneider, M.D. He later was named the Richard C. Schneider Professor in that same department. Dr. Hoff held a number of consulting positions and had substantial research interests. He was named a recipient of the Senator Jacob Javits Neuroscience Award by the NIH on two occasions - the first in 1985, and the second in 1992.
    2002, Philadelphia, PA
    Dr. Volker K. H. Sonntag was a Professor of Clinical Surgery at the University of Arizona and the Vice-Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at the Barrow Neurological Institute. At the Institute, he was also Chairman of the Spine Section and Director of the Residency Program. Dr. Sonntag retired in 2010.
    2001, San Diego, CA
    Dr. Apizzo currently serves as Adjunct Professor of Neurological Surgery at the Weill Cornell Brain and Spine Center. He was appointed Editor of Neurosurgery in 1991 and served in that capacity for 19 years. During that time he led the publication into the digital age, founding and developing Neurosurgery Online and Operative Neurosurgery.
    2000, San Antonio, TX
    Dr. Laws is a Past President of the Congress of Neurological Surgeon. He is the Director of the Pituitary and Neuroendocrine Center of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Professor at Harvard Medical School. He has served as President of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Editor of Neurosurgery, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation for International Education in Surgery, Secretary and First Vice President of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies, Director of the American Board of Neurological Surgery and President of the Pituitary Society. He has been the author of eight books and more than 400 scientific papers and book chapters.
    1999, Boston, MA
    Dr. Samson, joined the faculty at Southwestern in 1977, focusing his clinical and investigative interests on vascular diseases of the nervous system. Dr. Samson was promoted to Professor of Surgery in 1984 and assumed the chairmanship of the Division of Neurological Surgery the following year. is Professor Emeritus of Neurological Surgery at the UT Southwestern Medical Center. He currently holds the Lois C.A. and Darwin E. Smith Distinguished Chair in Neurological Surgery.
    1998, Seattle, WA
    Dr. John Tew, a former President of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, joined the Mayfield Clinic and UC in 1969. In 1993 he would become the first Frank H. Mayfield Professor, an academic appointment that marked the first endowed position in the UC Department of Neurosurgery. Dr. Tew further developed the science of microsurgery to treat disorders of the nervous system; he introduced non-invasive radio frequency for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia and was the first to apply lasers in neurosurgery; he led the team that brought radiosurgery to North America for the treatment of brain tumors and vascular malformations.
    1997, New Orleans, LA
    Dr. Zervas distinguished himself in academic neurosurgery, and has been recipient of numerous honors and awards. He served as Chairman of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Neurosurgery, President of the American Academy of Neurological Surgery, Chairman of the American Board of Neurological Surgery, and Vice Chairman of the AANS Research Foundation Executive Council.
    1996, Montreal, QC, Canada
    Dr. Jannetta held the Francis Sargent Cheever distinguished professorship at the University of Pittsburgh from 1976 to 1978. In 1989, Washington and Jefferson College granted him the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa. In 1992, he was honored by becoming the first Walter Dandy Professor of Neurological Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. The Neuroscience community mourned the loss of Dr Jannetta who passed on April 11, 2016 at the age of 84.
    1995, San Francisco, CA
    Dr. Jane served as the Alumni Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. He became the David D. Weaver Professor in 1987. Dr. Jane was especially proud of having participated in the programs at the Western Reserve and subsequently at the University of Virginia and in the training of 13 Professors of Neurosurgery, 11 of whom became Chairmen, three Associate Professors, and five Assistant Professors. In 1993 Dr. Jane also served as Editor of the Journal of Neurosurgery.
    1994, Chicago, IL
    Dr. Spetzler, for many years, served as Director and the J.N. Harber Chair of Neurological Surgery at the Barrow Neurological Institute (BNI) in Phoenix, Arizona. Among just a few of Dr. Spetzler's contributions have been the development of theories on normal perfusion pressure breakthrough and how the size of arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) is related to their rupture; the development of a heuristic grading system for AVMs; as well as advances in surgical treatment of complex cerebrovascular lesions.
    1993, Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Dr. Rhoton, was a University of Florida professor and chairman emeritus of the Lillan S. Wells Department of Neurosurgery. He had a storied career that spanned more than five decades. In that time, he trained thousands of fellows and residents in the latest micro neurosurgical techniques, invented hundreds of neurosurgical devices and received the profession’s highest recognition. Dr. Rhoton has earned numerous honors and awards throughout his career. He became a member of the Executive Committee of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons in 1973, and served as President in 1978. Dr. Rhoton passed away at the age of 83 in 2016.
    1992, Washington, DC
    Dr. Ojemann, a former President of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, was a world-renowned academic neurosurgeon and physician. He rose through the academic ranks at Harvard Medical School and ultimately was named Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School in 1979. He remained on the staff of the MGH and the faculty of Harvard Medical School for his entire career. Bob Ojemann was known as a superb surgeon, academician, clinician, teacher, and life-long student of neurosurgery. He was the “neurosurgeons’s neurosurgeon” and the teacher of an entire generation of neurosurgeons currently practicing world-wide.
    1991, Orlando, FL
    Dr. Stein served as the Byron Stookey Professor of Neurological Surgery and Chairman of the Department at the College of Physicians and Surgeons. In addition to his teaching and administrative responsibilities, Dr. Stein was extraordinarily productive, having authored more than 170 scientific works and extending his studies of AVMs and pineal region tumors to include the chemical reactivity of vessels and the hormonal activity of tumors.
    1990, Los Angeles, CA
    Wilson was recruited to the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), as chair of the Division of Neurosurgery in 1968, at just 39 years of age. His appointment put him in prestigious company; previous chairs included the illustrious neurosurgeons and educators Howard Naffziger, John Adams, and Edwin Boldrey. But over the next 28 years, Wilson would turn the already well-regarded division into one of the nation’s most sought-after academic neurosurgery training programs and an internationally recognized center for research and treatment of brain tumors.
    1989, Atlanta, GA
    Dr. Sundt served Chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the Mayo Clinic and professor of Neurological Surgery at the Mayo Medical School. He was an internationally recognized leader in cerebrovascular surgery who has written more than 200 articles on this subject. Dr. Sundt's initial career interests lay in the military. A graduate of West Point, Dr. Sundt was awarded the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster for his service in the Korean war.
    1988, Seattle, WA
    In 1978, Dr. Symon became professor of neurological surgery and chairman of the Gough Cooper Department of Neurological Surgery at the National Hospital, Queen's Square, in London. There he has developed an outstanding neurosurgical training program, which is considered one of the leading units in England. Research endeavors there have stressed not only his own interests in cerebral circulation and cerebral metabolism but also an active neuro-oncology laboratory of his associates.
    1987, Baltimore, MD
    In 1968 Dr. Langfitt became professor and chairman of the Division of Neurological Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania, a position he held until 1987. He served as vice president for health affairs at the University and was for a time acting vice president for Finance. Nationally, he has served on numerous advisory councils and committees for the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Langfitt also led the Pew Charitable Trusts to prominence in the 1980's and 90's. As a board member and then as president, Dr. Langfitt helped shift the trusts' focus from largely local interests to national and international programs. The causes he championed included early child development, health care reform and the environment.
    1986, New Orleans, LA
    From 1953 until his retirement in 1993 he was first resident, chief resident and then professor and chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Zurich and the Zurich University Hospital. In 1999 he was honored as "Neurosurgery’s Man of the Century 1950–1999" at the Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting. Perhaps his greatest contribution to neurosurgery has been his deep and thoughtful study of the subarachnoid spaces and the pioneering of micro surgical techniques.
    1985, Honolulu, HI
    In 1974, Dr. Goldring became head of neurological surgery and co-chairman of the newly created Department of Neurology and Neurological Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine, and neurosurgeon-in-chief at Barnes Hospital and St. Louis Children's. Dr. Goldring's research interests focused on neurophysiology and experimental and clinical epilepsy. He published extensively on these subjects and has developed a large experience in the surgical treatment of seizure disorders.
    1984, New York, NY
    Dr. Rizzoli was appointed the first full-time chairman of neurosurgery at George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) in 1971. In 1998, the Hugo V. Rizzoli Chair of Neurological Surgery was established in his honor. Rizzoli trained dozens of neurosurgeons over his career to whom he was a tireless and devoted mentor.
    1984, New York, NY
    A student of both Cushing and Halstead, Dr. Dandy's 1938 description of surgery for clipping of an intracranial aneurysm was particularly important because it marked the birth of the subspecialty of cerebrovascular neurosurgery. On March 23, 1937, Dandy performed a frontotemporal craniotomy and placed a hemostatic clip on the neck of a posterior communicating artery region aneurysm arising from the internal carotid artery. This experience led Dandy in the later part of his career to treat successfully a variety of vascular problems of the brain in addition to aneurysms, such as arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs), carotid cavernous fistulas (CCFs), and cavernous malformations.
    1983, Chicago, IL
    In 1941, Dr. Fisher was the ship doctor on an armed merchant cruiser called the Voltaire when it was attacked and crippled by a German vessel in the South Atlantic. Dr. Fisher spent the next 3½ years as a physician in a German prisoner of war camp, where he taught himself German, principally to read whatever German medical literature his captors made available. After the war Dr. Fisher became the head of the MGH Adult Neurology Service. However, he is best known for his many seminal contributions to stroke, for example, the discovery not just of carotid stenosis but also of carotid dissection as a cause of stroke; the demonstration that atrial fibrillation was a frequent stroke substrate and that initial strokes, owing to atrial fibrillation, were often catastrophic; recognition of the clinical and pathologic features of thalamic and cerebellar hemorrhage as well as the description of the major clinical and pathologic syndromes of lacunar infarction.
    1982, Toronto, ON, Canada
    Dr. Sano was a towering figure in Japanese Neurosurgery. He was promoted to lecturer and chief of the outpatient clinic of neurosurgery in 1955 and then to associate professor of neurosurgery at the Institute of Brain Research, University of Tokyo Faculty of Medicine, in 1957. In 1962 the Japanese Government first approved and opened an independent department of neurosurgery at the University of Tokyo and appointed Dr. Sano as the first professor and chairman of the department.
    1981, Los Angeles, CA
    The Division of Neurosurgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham was initially founded and nurtured by Dr. J. Garber Galbraith in the 1950s. Dr. Galbraith became associate professor of Neurological Surgery at the University of Alabama School of Medicine in 1946 and was subsequently promoted to professor and director of the Division of Neurosurgery in 1954. In addition to training a host of neurosurgeons, his scientific contributions consist of publications concerned with cerebral aneurysms, cerebral occlusive disease, brain tumors, and craniocerebral trauma. His area of expertise is craniotomy for meningioma.
    1980, Houston, TX
    Dr. Alexander joined the academic faculty at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine in 1949 and became Professor and Chief of Neurosurgery. He was Chief of Staff of the North Carolina Baptist Hospital from 1953–73 and also Chairman of Wake Forest Baptist Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery, 1953-1973. He retired as Chief of service in 1978, and became Emeritus in 1983. Nevertheless, he remained active in his profession, serving as editor of the prominent journal, Surgical Neurology 1986-1994 and Associate Editor of the North Carolina Medical Journal 1986-2004.
    1979, Las Vegas, NV
    Founder of the Mayfield Clinic and Spine Institute in Cincinnati, Dr. Mayfield was a national leader in Neurosurgery both as President of the Harvey Cushing Society and its transformation into the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.
    1978, Washington, DC
    It was the intracranial aneurysm and AVM that were to become the focus of Dr. Drake’s energies, and for the next 25 years he set a standard for the world in the treatment of these common and deadly lesions. Drake, Allcock, and Aitken furthered our understanding of aneurysms and subarachnoid hemorrhage with their astute observations on vasospasm, the importance of magnified vision and postoperative angiography, and the safety and limits of intentional, deep hypo-tension to make the exposure and dissection safe and even possible. In 1978, he had operated on more than 1000 aneurysms and since his first attack on a superior cerebellar artery aneurysm in 1958 to 1978, he had operated on more than 600 aneurysms arising from the vertebralbasilar system.
    1977, San Francisco, CA
    In 1950, he joined the University of Michigan as an assistant professor. He became an associate professor in 1952 and professor in 1962. He began the neurosurgical service at St. Joseph's Mercy Hospital. When Doctor Kahn retired in 1969, he became chief of the Section of Neurosurgery at the University of Michigan. Dr. Schneider's bibliography includes extensive publications on head and cord injuries. He described the mechanisms of acute central cord injury and hangman's fracture and made important observations concerning the role of vascular insufficiency of the brain stem due to injury to the neck and spinal column. In addition to his book documenting serious and fatal football injuries, he was co-editor with Drs. Kahn and Crosby of the first and second editions of Correlative Neurosurgery and served as editor of an expanded third edition
    1976, New Orleans, LA
    After completion of his formal training in neurosurgery, Dr. French was appointed to the neurosurgical faculty of the University of Minnesota. In 1952, he was promoted to associate professor, and in 1957 to professor. Under his guidance the Division of Neurological Surgery achieved departmental status, and he served as chairman of the department until 1974. In recognition of his administrative capabilities, Dr. French was elected chief of staff, University Hospitals and served from 1968 to 1970. In 1970 he was appointed vice president for health science affairs at the University of Minnesota.
    1975, Atlanta, GA
    A Rhodes Scholar, Dr. Sweet n 1961 Dr. Sweet became chief of the neurosurgical service of the Massachusetts General Hospital ultimately becoming professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School. His contributions to basic and clinical neurosurgery are numerous and wide ranging. His major areas of interest have included basic studies of the flow and formation of cerebrospinal fluid in man, application of radioactive isotopes to the investigation and treatment of central nervous system disorders, improvements in the techniques of clinical neurosurgery, treatment of extra-cranial and intracranial vascular disorders, treatment of pain, experimental investigations with primary malignant brain tumors, treatment of aggressive behavior disorders associated with organic brain disease, and medico-legal problems of neurosurgery.
    1974, Vancouver, BC, Canada
    In 1943 Dr Odom was first recruited to Duke University. Dr. Odom accepted a position as associate in neurosurgery and has remained at the Duke University Medical Center rising through the academic ranks to become professor in 1950, chairman of the Division of Neurosurgery in 1960, and James B. Duke Professor of Neurological Surgery in 1974. Dr. Odom has been honored by the Neurosurgeon Award of the American Academy of Neurological Surgery (1972) and the Distinguished Service Award of the American Board of Neurological Surgery (1972) and by his selection as the Semmes Lecturer of the Southern Neurosurgical Society (1974). In 1972 former Duke residents met to form the Odom-Woodhall Legion, adopting the owl as the emblem of the group, and planning meetings every 2 or 3 years. In 1973, the book, Neurological Classics (2), was dedicated to him.
    1973, Honolulu, HI
    From 1942 to 1945 Dr. Schwartz served as a member of the Washington University 21st Army Hospital in Africa and in Italy, achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel and receiving the Legion of Merit in 1945. His loyalty and devotion to the maintenance of the highest standards of neurosurgical care in the military service has continued over the years in his capacity as a consultant to the Surgeon General of the U.S. Army. In 1945 Dr. Schwartz returned to St. Louis and in 1946 he was appointed professor and chairman of the Division of Neurological Surgery at Washington University. He served the Washington University until his death in 1998.
    1972, Denver, CO
    Dr. Murphey held every academic rank in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Tennessee, culminating in his appointment as professor and chairman in 1956. In addition to his duties at the University of Tennessee, he was able to direct an active service at the Baptist Memorial Hospital and was named chief of service of the Department of Neurosurgery in 1956. With the outbreak of World War II, Dr. Murphey entered the Armed Services. He was chief of the Neurosurgical Service at O'Reilly General Hospital in Springfield, Missouri, a center for peripheral nerve injuries, from 1942 to 1946.

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