The history of neurosurgery at the University of Rochester

Abstract

The Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Rochester has a long legacy of excellent patient care and innovation in the neurosciences. The department's founder, Dr. William Van Wagenen, was a direct pupil of Harvey Cushing and the first president of the Harvey Cushing Society. His successor, Dr. Frank P. Smith, was also a leader in organized neurosurgery and helped to permanently memorialize his mentor with an endowed fellowship that today is one of the most prestigious training awards in neurosurgery. The first 2 chiefs are honored every year by the department with memorial invited lectureships in their names. The department is home to a thriving multidisciplinary research program that fulfills the lifelong vision of its founder, Dr. Van Wagenen.

Exemplary mentorship in action: Harvey Cushing’s trainees from 1912 to 1919

“…In 1928, he hired Dr. William Perrine Van Wagenen as the first neurosurgical specialist and chief of the new Division of Neurosurgery. 16 Samuel Harvey trained under Cushing from 1913 to 1917 and received the Arthur Tracy Cabot Fellowship before joining Cushing at Base Hospital No. 5.…”