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Menezes receives distinguished service award for pediatric neurosurgery

Arnold Menezes, MBBS
Date: Friday, January 17, 2020

Arnold Menezes, MBBS, University of Iowa professor and vice chair of the Department of Neurosurgery, received the 2019 Franc D. Ingraham Award for Distinguished Service and Achievement, the highest honor given by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and Congress of Neurological Surgeons Section on Pediatric Neurological Surgery.

Menezes received the award during the section’s December 2019 annual meeting, where he also presented a talk titled, “Making of a Pediatric Spinal Neurosurgeon.”

Menezes began designing new neurosurgical procedures to treat disorders at the base of the skull in the late 1970s. Since then, he has treated over 7,000 patients and built one of the largest databases to identify and describe the natural history of a number of disorders in the craniocervical region, which is the area where the spine meets the skull.

“He is the most experienced neurosurgeon in the world for these high-risk procedures, and thousands of patients have traveled to Iowa City to be cared for by Dr. Menezes,” says Matthew Howard, MD, UI professor and chair of neurosurgery.

As a researcher and scholar, Menezes has written 240 peer-reviewed manuscripts, 130 textbook chapters, and four textbooks, including the first textbook on spinal neurosurgery.

In addition to his scholarly output and commitment to patient care, Menezes has also fostered an environment where a new generation of junior faculty can specialize in pediatric neurosurgery.

“In presenting Dr. Menezes with the award, it was noted that over the last 40 years, the Iowa neurosurgical residency program has produced the third-most number of pediatric neurosurgeons in North America—a true testament to Dr. Menezes’ mentorship throughout his career at Iowa,” says Brian Dlouhy, MD, UI assistant professor of neurosurgery.