Pittsburgh, November 1, 2005 -- Department of Neurological Surgery professor Douglas Kondziolka, MD, has been named recipient of the Peter J. Jannetta Endowed Chair in Neurological Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh.

Dr. Kondziolka is co-director of the UPMC Center for Image-Guided Neurosurgery and vice chairman of education for the department. He is an internationally known expert in radiosurgery and stereotactic surgery. His clinical interests include brain tumor management; movement disorder surgery; Gamma Knife® radiosurgery of vascular malformations, tumors, and functional disorders; trigeminal neuralgia, and neurorestoration. Dr. Kondziolka has a special interest in the care of patients with brain tumors, vascular malformations, movement disorders and trigeminal neuralgia.

The Jannetta Chair honors the career of Peter J. Jannetta, MD, former chairman of the department, a pioneer in the use of microvascular decompression for the treatment of cranial nerve syndromes, and one-time secretary of health for the state of Pennsylvania.

An endowed chair confers special recognition to the holder of the chair and provides annual benefit to the holder by facilitating his or her work.