CHICAGO (April 8, 2002) -- Roberto C. Heros, MD, was elected President of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) at the AANS Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, April 6-11, 2002. An active member of the AANS since 1980, Dr. Heros has served as Chairman of the Annual Meeting Committee (1990-1991), Chairman of the Annual Meeting Scientific Program (1989-1999), and Treasurer (1997-2000).

Dr. Heros is Professor and Co-Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Miami, where he also was the founding Director of the International Health Center. He received his medical degree from the University of Tennessee, where he graduated first in his class. Dr. Heros served his surgical internship and residency in neurosurgery at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Heros is a member of numerous professional societies, including the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), the Society of Neurological Surgeons, the American Academy of Neurological Surgery, Neurosurgical Society of America, American College of Surgeons and World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies. He also holds honorary memberships in a number of neurosurgical societies abroad, particularly in Latin America. He has been Vice-President of the CNS and President of the American Academy of Neurological Surgery and is the founding Chairman of the Neurovascular Committee of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies. A visiting professor at nearly 40 universities throughout the United States and abroad, Dr. Heros has authored or co-authored more than 200 scientific journal articles and book chapters and four textbooks on a variety of neurosurgical topics, including intracranial aneurysms, carotid endarterectomy, cerebral arteriovenous malformations, and skull base and brainstem tumors.

Founded in 1931 as the Harvey Cushing Society, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) is a scientific and educational association with nearly 5,500 members worldwide. The AANS, as the spokes-organization for North American neurosurgery, is dedicated to advancing the specialty of neurological surgery in order to provide the highest quality of neurosurgical care to the public. All active members of the AANS are certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery. 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.