FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SAN FRANCISCO (April 24, 2006) - In recognition of his many years of dedication to neurosurgical science and the medical community, Gene Bolles, MD, has been named the recipient of the 2006 Humanitarian Award of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS). The award will be presented at 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday, April 26, at the AANS Annual Meeting, April 24-27, in San Francisco. Dr. Bolles is being honored for dedicating more than two decades to advancing neurosurgery around the world, and providing medical care to patients in several impoverished countries.
His pioneering efforts include being the first person to establish neurosurgery in Belize City, and arranging for patients to be brought to the United States for treatment. Dr. Bolles traveled eight times to Belize in the 1980s through Youth With A Mission (YWAM), and was honored by the Belize government for his humanitarian services.
Beginning in the late 1980s, he traveled to New Guinea, successfully making first contact with indigenous people. He provided penicillin and quinine to treat infectious conditions, as well as performing surgery.
Dr. Bolles went to Mante, Mexico on three separate one-week trips, assisting general surgeons and performing spinal surgery on a paralyzed boy. He has also made annual trips to Albania, from 1991 to 2005, initially with the Albanian Health Project. He helped Albanian neurosurgeons acquire modern instrumentation at no cost, and performed surgery alongside Albanian neurosurgeons at the University
of Tirana.
Dr. Bolles was in private practice in Boulder, Colo. for 32 years. Subsequently, he served as chief of neurosurgery at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany from November 2001 to February 2004, where he administered care to many Iraq/Afghanistan war casualties. He recently joined the faculty of the University of Colorado, at Denver Health Medical Center.
In addition to the AANS, Dr. Bolles is a member of Boulder County Medical Society, Colorado Medical Society, Colorado Neurosurgical Society, International Society of Neurosurgery, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, Rocky Mountain Society of Neurological Surgery, American Arbitration Association, and the North American Spine Society.
On the international front, Dr. Bolles is currently a member of the Disaster Relief Committee of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies, and Doctors without Borders. He is a physician with the Albanian Health Project, and the Irian Jaya Expedition with Marcus Anderson.
Dr. Bolles received his medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School, followed by his internship in general surgery at the University of Colorado Medical Center. He served as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Army from January 1965 to December 1966. Following military service, he undertook neurosurgical training at the University of Colorado Medical Center.
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.
