SAN DIEGO (April 28, 2003) -- Stewart B. Dunsker, MD, was presented with the 2003 Cushing Medal, the highest honor granted by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) at the AANS Annual Meeting, April 26-May 1, 2003, in San Diego, California. He is being honored for his many years of outstanding leadership and dedication 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 to the field of neurosurgery.

Dr. Stewart B. Dunsker, a retired neurosurgeon with the Mayfield Clinic & Spine Institute is one of the world's leading authorities on neurosurgical treatment of spinal disorders and disease. At the time of his retirement, after 31 years of dedicated work with the Mayfield Clinic, Dr. Dunsker was vice-chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine, Director of the Division of Spine Surgery at UC, and Director of the Department of Neurosurgery at The Christ Hospital. A driven and effective leader, he has held high-ranking positions in numerous state and national organizations.

Dr. Dunsker is widely known for his successful efforts to establish spine surgery as a subspecialty of neurosurgery, at a time in the 1980s when neurosurgeons were at risk of losing that subspecialty to orthopedic surgeons. He is among the founders of the Joint Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves, a collaborative entity of the AANS and Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS).

Dr. Dunsker served as president of organizations including: AANS (2000-2001), Society of University Neurosurgeons (1981), Ohio State Medical Association (1981-1982), and the Ohio State Neurosurgical Society (1983-1984). He was vice president of the American Academy of Neurological Surgery (1990-1991), and he was a director of the American Board of Neurological Surgery from 1993 to 1999, serving as its first treasurer from 1995 to 1998 and as vice chairman in 1999.

In addition, The Ohio State Neurosurgical Society named him Neurosurgeon of the Year in 1992, and the U.S. Department of Neurosurgery and the Mayfield Clinic honored him in 1998 with the Evans Award for his outstanding service to the community and his embodiment of "the highest ideals as teacher, practitioner, citizen and friend." In 2001 he received the Meritorious Service Award from the joint AANS and CNS Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves. He also currently chairs an AANS/CNS task force that is examining the issue of the increasing professional liability (malpractice) insurance rates.

Founded in 1931 as the Harvey Cushing Society, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) is a scientific and educational association with more than 6,500 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.