Dr. Golfinos Succeeds to Position Previously Held by Patrick J. Kelly, M.D.

January 20, 2009

NEW YORK - John G. Golfinos, M.D., associate professor of neurosurgery and otolaryngology at NYU Langone Medical Center, has been named chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery. The announcement was made by Dean and CEO Robert I. Grossman, M.D.

Dr. Golfinos will be leading the Department of Neurosurgery in exciting and important new directions.  As part of his new responsibilities, Dr. Golfinos will create a multidisciplinary Brain Tumor Center that will serve both adults and children, and he will lead the expansion of the Department's expertise in cerebrovascular and endovascular surgery and complex procedures of the spine. Under Dr. Golfinos' leadership, the Department's academic program is scheduled to expand significantly, as well.  He plans both to increase the number of residents the department trains each year and to intensify its research efforts, not only in brain tumors but also in such other areas as epilepsy.

Dr. Golfinos joined the faculty of NYU School of Medicine in 1995.  In 1997 he partnered with the Department of Radiation Oncology to open New York's first Gamma Knife Stereotactic Radiosurgery Center, offering minimally invasive treatment options for brain tumors. In 2008, he was a co-founder of the Neurofibromatosis Center.  This Center, the first in the New York metropolitan area to receive official recognition from the Children's Tumor Foundation, is the busiest of its kind in New York. Dr. Golfinos also launched neurosurgical clinical trials in conjunction with colleagues in Neuroradiology, Neuro-oncology and Radiation Oncology, a direction he intends to build on in the near future.  Additionally, he is a member of the NYU Cancer Institute and has worked closely with oncologists on metastatic tumors in the brain, ties that will grow even closer with the creation of the Brain Tumor Center.

Dr. Golfinos' own expertise focusing on the treatment of acoustic neuromas, metastatic brain tumors, skull base tumors and neurofibromatosis Type 2 has been widely hailed.  For the past decade, he has been featured in the "Best Doctors" rankings of Castle Connolly and in 2008 was featured both in New York Magazine's Best Doctor issue and in the newly created Castle Connolly "Guide to the Best Cancer Doctors in America."  Dr. Golfinos, in addition to being a superb clinician, is also an award-winning researcher, specializing in diagnostic and outcomes investigations.

"Dr. Golfinos brings outstanding talent and dynamism to his new role," said Robert I. Grossman, M.D. "His proven leadership spans both personal excellence as a clinician, researcher and educator, and an unbroken track record of ground-breaking multidisciplinary collaboration-qualifications that make him ideally suited to take our Department of Neurosurgery in exciting and important new directions."

A native New Yorker with deep roots in the community, Dr. Golfinos holds an A.B. in biology from Princeton University and an M.D. from Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons. He completed his residency and chief residency in neurosurgery, as well as a fellowship in molecular biology research, at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona.  He is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

Contact:        
Lorinda Klein
Office of Communications & Public Affairs
NYU Langone Medical Center
(212) 404-3555
Lorindaann.Klein@nyumc.org

About NYU Langone Medical Center
Located in the heart of New York City, NYU Langone Medical Center is one of the nation's premier centers of excellence in health care, biomedical research, and medical education.  For over 167 years, NYU physicians and researchers have made countless contributions to the practice and science of health care. Today the Medical Center consists of NYU School of Medicine, including the Smilow Research Center, the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, and the Sackler Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences; the three hospitals of NYU Hospitals Center, Tisch Hospital, a 726-bed acute-care general hospital, Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, the first and largest facility of its kind, and NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, a leader in musculoskeletal care; and such major programs as the NYU Cancer Institute, the NYU Child Study Center, and the Hassenfeld Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders.