(847) 378-0517 or bvd@aans.org
NEW ORLEANS (April 18, 2005) Martin H. Weiss, MD, was presented with the 2005 Cushing Medal, the highest honor granted by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) at 12:05 p.m. on Tuesday, April 19, at the AANS Annual Meeting, April 16-21, in New Orleans. He was honored for his many years of outstanding leadership, dedication and contributions to the field of neurosurgery.
The Harvey Cushing Medal, the highest honor the AANS can bestow on a member, was established at the recommendation of President Lester Mount, MD, in 1976. Given annually since 1977, the award recognizes an AANS member for distinguished service in the field of neurosurgery.
Dr. Weiss graduated from Dartmouth College, AB, Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He received his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College, and was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha. He served a surgical internship at University Hospitals of Cleveland, followed by military service as general surgeon at the United States Military Academy, West Point. He returned to Cleveland as a resident in neurosurgery under Frank Nulsen, MD and finished as a special fellow of the National Institutes of Health in neurosurgery from 1969 to 1970.
Dr. Weiss was a member of the neurosurgical staff at Case Western Reserve University from 1970 to 1973. In 1973, he moved to the University of Southern California where he has been professor of neurosurgery since 1976 and chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery at Keck School of Medicine of USC from 1978 to 2004. In 1997, he was named to The Martin H. Weiss Chair in Neurological Surgery, endowed in his honor by the William Wrigley family.
His early basic research efforts included a number of collaborative studies designed to study the effects of pharmacological agents, blood flow and intraventricular pressure on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) production. In addition, collaborating with Gordon McComb, MD, he has been involved with studies detailing outflow mechanisms for CSF. In 1976 he collaborated with the initial head trauma studies of Jennett and Teasdale, directing the acquisition of approximately 1/3 of the 1000 patients that constituted the studies in the original Glasgow Coma Study. His clinical research has focused upon molecular biological principles of tumor growth and development, particularly relating to pituitary tumors and meningiomas. His experience with trans nasal approaches to the sella began in 1968, and to-date, he has performed in excess of 3000 cases of trans nasal surgery of the pituitary and parasellar structures.
During his 34 years of service to neurosurgery, Dr. Weiss has served as chairman of the American Board of Neurological Surgery, the Residency Review Committee for Neurological Surgery, and the Neurology B Study Section of the National Institutes of Health. He also served as president of the AANS (1999-2000) and the Society of Neurological Surgeons, as well as vice president of the American Academy of Neurological Surgery and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.
Dr. Weiss served as editor-in-chief of Clinical Neurosurgery and was a member of the original editorial board of Neurosurgery. He has been a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Neurosurgery (JNS) since 1987, served as chairman from 1995 to 1996, and is currently associate editor of the JNS. He is chair of the Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation (NREF) Executive Council.
Founded in 1931 as the Harvey Cushing Society, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) is a scientific and educational association with more than 6,800 members worldwide. The AANS is dedicated to advancing the specialty of neurological surgery in order to provide the highest quality of neurosurgical care to patients. All active members of the AANS are certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (Neurosurgery) of Canada or the Mexican Council of Neurological Surgery, AC. Neurological surgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of disorders that affect the entire nervous system including the spinal column, spinal cord, brain and peripheral nerves.
