SAN DIEGO (April 28, 2003) -- A. John Popp, MD, FACS, was elected President of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) at the AANS Annual Meeting in San Diego, California, April 26-May 1, 2003. An active member of the AANS since 1980, he has served as Vice President (1999-2000); Editor of the association's socioeconomic publication, the AANS Bulletin (1998-2003); Chair of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons' and Congress of Neurological Surgeons' Washington Committee (member of the committee since 1998); AANS Director-At-Large (1995-1998); and a Founding Editorial Board Member of the association's joint Web site NEUROSURGERY://ON-CALL®.

Dr. Popp is Professor, and Henry and Sally Schaffer Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Albany Medical College (Albany, New York), head of the Division of Neurosurgery and director of both the Neurosciences Institute at Albany Medical Center, and the Medical Center's Neurosurgery Residency Training Program. In addition, Dr. Popp is Surgeon-in-Chief of Albany Medical Center Hospital and Chairman of the Operating Committee of the Faculty Practice, overseeing the activities of more than 350 physicians. Recently, the Schaffer Foundation endowed The A. John Popp Chair in Neurosurgery at Albany Medical College.

He completed his undergraduate work at the University of Rochester and received his medical degree from Albany Medical College. During medical school, he was awarded a fellowship that allowed him to spend three months in the Philippines studying parasitic illnesses and the delivery of medical care to the needy. Thereafter, he completed his internship at The Queen's Hospital (Honolulu, Hawaii) and his surgical residency at Albany Medical Center Hospital. In 1969, he was commissioned captain in the U.S. Air Force and served as surgeon at the Tachikawa Air Force Hospital in Japan until 1971. Following his military service, Dr. Popp returned to Albany Medical Center Hospital to undertake his neurosurgical residency training.

In addition to his involvement with the AANS, Dr. Popp has served as president of the New York State Neurosurgical Society; as a delegate to the Council of State Neurosurgical Societies (1993-1996); as President of the Hudson/Mohawk Clinical Neurosciences Society (1992-present); Treasurer of the Society for Neurological Surgeons; and as a Director of the American Board of Neurological Surgery.

An active clinician, he has authored numerous books and articles for scientific journals on such topics as head injuries, stroke and brain tumors. He recently served as editor-in-chief of A Guide to the Primary Care of Neurological Disorders, a textbook designed to assist primary care physicians in managing patients with neurological disorders.

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.