Pittsburgh, April 6, 2022 -- Martina Stippler, MD, director of neurotrauma at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, assistant professor of neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School and graduate of the University of Pittsburgh neurological surgery residency program, presented a talk on “Triage of Complicated Mild TBI” as the special guest speaker for the 2022 Peter J. Jannetta Lecture, held April 6 at the University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Stippler also presented the inaugural Dorothy Klenke Nash Lecture at a special evening event held at the Pittsburgh Golf Club. Dr. Nash was the first female neurosurgeon to practice in the United States, working with Stuart Niles Rowe, MD—widely considered the founding figure of neurosurgery in Pittsburgh—in the 1940s. Dr. Stippler spoke on the current state and future of women in neurosurgery. Leslie Davis, president and CEO of UPMC, also spoke at the event, talking about the importance of female role models in medicine. Members of the Nash and Rowe family also attended the event and related personal stories of Drs. Nash and Rowe.
(See also Honoring Dr. Dorothy Klenke Nash, first female neurosurgeon, with a call for more representation in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.)
The Peter J. Jannetta Lecture is held annually in honor of the innovative former chairman of the University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurological Surgery who passed away in 2016. Dr. Jannetta served as head of neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh from 1971 through 1997. He was internationally acclaimed for his development of microvascular decompression (MVD), an innovative procedure that moved blood vessels away from the trigeminal nerve, alleviating chronic pain and spasms in facial muscles. The procedure became commonly known as the ‘Jannetta Procedure’ and brought relief to thousands.