Neurosurgical Resident Chad Farley, MD, Wins 2012 Ellen and Stewart Dunsker, MD, Award

CINCINNATI – Chad Farley, a fifth-year resident in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine, is the 2012 winner of the Ellen and Stewart B. Dunsker, MD, Award for Clinical Research.

Dr. Farley, who has a special interest in complex spine surgery, won the $2,000 annual prize for his research about spinal cord intramedullary pressure in cervical and thoracic spine deformity. The research has been published in two peer-reviewed journals, and the announcement of his award was made today during the 30th Mayfield Neuroscience Symposium on the UC Academic Health Center campus.

The annual Dunsker Award seeks to spur clinical research among neurosurgical residents. Dr. Dunsker, Professor Emeritus of Neurosurgery and a retired Mayfield Clinic neurosurgeon, and his wife underwrite the prize, which is given each spring to a resident who has proposed and completed the most compelling clinical research project during the academic year.

“The goal is to make you uncomfortable, to disrupt your complacency,” he said before presenting the award. “If you operate on the 50th case the way you did your first, you won’t get any better.”

Dr. Dunsker, who retired as Professor of Neurosurgery in 2002 after a 31-year career with the Mayfield Clinic, played a role in developing spinal surgery into a subspecialty of neurosurgery. He was named Ohio Neurosurgeon of the Year in 1992 and received the Harvey Cushing Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, in 2003. He remains a familiar figure at department meetings and grand rounds.

Judging the 2012 entrants were Mario Zuccarello, MD, Frank H. Mayfield Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery; Jeffrey Keller, PhD, Research Professor of Neurosurgery and Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology; Philip Theodosopoulos, MD, Associate Professor and Director of the Neurosurgery Residency Program; and Jed Hartings, PhD, Assistant Professor. Drs. Zuccarello and Theodosopoulos are Mayfield Clinic neurosurgeons.

Dunsker Award Winners:
2008 Andrew Losiniecki, MD
2009 Andrew Grande, MD
2010 Ellen Air, MD, PhD
2011 Dean Hertzler, MD
2012 Chad Farley, MD