FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SAN DIEGO (May 4, 2009) - Edward Hudson Oldfield, MD, will be presented with the 2009 Cushing Medal, the highest honor granted by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) at 12:20 p.m. on Monday, May 4 at the AANS Annual Meeting in San Diego, May 4-6, 2009. He is being honored for his many years of outstanding leadership, dedication and contributions to the field of neurosurgery. Dr Oldfield has been an active member of the AANS since 1984.

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. Oldfield joined the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Virginia in 2007, where he leads a multidisciplinary effort in the treatment of pituitary tumors and contributes to the research program in the Department of Neurosurgery. He holds the Crutchfield Chair in Neurosurgery and is a professor of neurosurgery and internal medicine.

He received his medical degree from the University of Kentucky in 1973, followed by a general surgical residency at Vanderbilt University. He then spent a year as a visiting registrar in neurology and neurosurgery at The National Hospital for Nervous Disease, Queen Square, London, England, before beginning neurosurgical residency at Vanderbilt University, which he completed in 1980.

After a year in private neurosurgical practice in Lexington, Ky., Dr. Oldfield joined the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a senior staff fellow in neurosurgery and completed a 2-year intramural NIH fellowship in cellular immunology of tumors. In 1984 he became chief of the Clinical Neurosurgery Section, Surgical Neurology Branch, NINDS, and from 1986-2007, was the chief of the Surgical Neurology Branch, NINDS, NIH.

Dr. Oldfield served on the editorial boards of Neurosurgery (1992-1994), and the Journal of Neurosurgery (1994-2002), serving as co-chairman of the latter from 2001-2002. In 2007, he was elected president of the Society of Neurological Surgeons. He is the author of more than 400 original scientific and clinical contributions to the medical literature and is co-inventor of patents on convection-enhanced drug delivery and genetic therapy.

He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Grass Medal for Meritorious Research in Neurological Science (1995), the Farber Award of the AANS (1999), and the Distinguished Alumnus Award, University of Kentucky Medical Alumni Association (2006).

Founded in 1931 as the Harvey Cushing Society, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) is a scientific and educational association with more than 7,400 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.

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