E. Antonio Chiocca, HMS professor of surgery, chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), and co-director of the Institute for Neurosciences at BWH, has been named the inaugural incumbent of the Harvey W. Cushing Professorship in Neurosurgery. The professorship honors Harvey W. Cushing, an alumnus of HMS who was a pioneer in the development and practice of neurosurgery.
At the June 26 ceremony, Chiocca was honored for his research into malignant gliomas—a deadly type of tumor originating in the central nervous system—and for discovering new therapies to treat them.
Born in Padua, Italy, Chiocca completed his medical training at the University of Texas and his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. He continued to hold appointments with MGH and Harvard Medical School until 2004, when he was charged with chairing the newly established department of neurosurgery at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and James Cancer Hospital. Under his leadership, the neuroscience faculty grew from two to 26, and the team completed seven times as many neurological procedures.
“We are truly fortunate to have welcomed Nino back to our faculty last summer as the Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and co-Director of the Institute for Neurosciences,” said Jeffrey S. Flier, dean of HMS. “He is an exceptional surgeon, an exemplary researcher, an outstanding leader and a very deserving inaugural incumbent for this great honor.”
The breadth and depth of Chiocca’s service to the medical community is illustrated by his work in the operating room as a surgeon and as a mentor and member of several health-related organizations, including the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee in the Office of Biotechnology Activities at the National Institutes of Health.
He is the recipient of numerous previous awards, including the Grass Foundation Award in Neurosurgery from the Society of Neurological Surgeons and the Farber Award in Neuro-Oncology from the Society for Neuro-Oncology.
The professorship was established through the generosity of Daniel E. Ponton, who attended the celebration, through the Daniel E. Ponton Fund for the Neurosciences at BWH.
