HARVEY CUSHING is considered the founder of modern neurosurgery and one of the most influential doctors in the history of medicine. When he arrived at Hopkins in 1896, he brought with him an X-ray machine, a device that had been invented only the year before. Dr. Cushing introduced the use of X-rays in preparation for surgery and the practice of monitoring blood pressure during surgery, discovered the function of the pituitary gland, founded the medical specialty of endocrinology, and opened the nation’s first experimental surgery laboratory. He was a member of the Hopkins faculty until 1912.
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Harvey Cushing Professorship in Neurosurgery
School of Medicine
Established in 1981 by Betsey Cushing Whitney and John Hay Whitney to honor Mrs. Whitney's father
Held by Henry Brem
HENRY BREM, MD, the Harvey Cushing Professor and director of neurosurgery, joined the faculty in 1984 and has built one of the largest brain tumor research and treatment centers in the world. He reinstituted the Hunterian Neurosurgery Laboratory (originally founded by Cushing) and has trained numerous researchers who have revolutionized the fields of intraoperative imaging, angiogenesis, immunotherapy, and controlled release polymers for drug delivery to the brain.
Dr. Brem has changed the surgical treatment of brain tumors by introducing new approaches for targeted therapy. He developed new classes of polymers and microchips for drug delivery that are custom synthesized for the agent being developed. The polyanhydrides, which were the first new treatments for brain tumors that the FDA had approved in 23 years, have been shown in his laboratory to be biocompatible and potent. He then designed and led the clinical trials demonstrating safety and efficacy.
Dr. Brem has used his laboratory experience to design and lead many novel multi-institutional clinical trials to prove the safety and efficacy of this approach in patients with brain tumors. His work has been continuously funded by the NIH since 1982, and is currently funded by several active grants.
Dr. Brem’s teaching was recognized by the Hopkins Professors Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1996. In 1998 he was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. In 2000 he was awarded the Grass Award by the Society of Neurological Surgeons for meritorious research; in 2001 he received the Founders Award of the Controlled Release Society; in 2004 he received the New York University Distinguished Alumni Award; in 2005 he was co-recipient of the Society for Biomaterials Technology Innovation and Development Award and was named the Coleman Fellow in Life Sciences at Ben-Gurion University. In 2011 he delivered the commencement address for the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He has been recognized by the Castle Connolly Guide each year from 2002 in “America’s Top Doctors”, and from 2005 – present in “America’s Top Doctors for Cancer”. In 2013, the Society for Neuro-Oncology and the Section on Tumors of the AANS/CNS named him as the recipient of the Abhijit Guha Award. In 2014, The Johns Hopkins University established the Henry Brem Endowed Chair in Neurosurgery. In 2015 Dr. Brem was selected to receive a Castle Connolly National Physician of the Year Award for Clinical Excellence. The award is given annually to five physicians whose dedication, talents and skills have improved the lives of thousands of people throughout the world.