Pittsburgh, June 20, 2007 -- University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg has named L. Dade Lunsford, MD, Distinguished Professor of Neurological Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh, effective July 1, 2007.

This title constitutes the highest honor the university can accord a faculty member as it marks extraordinary, internationally-recognized scholarly attainment. Previous surgeons given the honor of distinguished service and distinguished professor include Bernard Fisher, Richard Simmons, Thomas Starzl and Eugene Myers.

Dr. Lunsford has achieved international acclaim as an expert in guided brain (stereotactic) surgery, a minimally invasive brain surgery technique. In 1981, the university became the first institution in the United States to have a dedicated intraoperative CT scanner for minimally invasive brain surgery. Since that time, more than 2,500 patients have undergone surgical procedures using this technique. Under Dr. Lunsford's leadership, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in 1987 became the first hospital in the United States equipped with the Gamma Knife, a device for performing brain surgery without an incision. By using carefully targeted doses of radiation in a single surgical procedure, the device can destroy blood vessel malformations and tumors deep in the brain, eliminate pain conditions and certain movement disorders, and stop seizures.

Dr. Lunsford directs UPMC's Center for Image-Guided Neurosurgery, which houses the Gamma Knife. More than 8,350 patients have undergone Gamma Knife brain surgery at UPMC since 1987. In 2007, UPMC installed the newest generation of brain surgery CT scanner and will soon install the latest generation of robotic Gamma Knife.

Dr. Lunsford is the Lars Leksell Professor of Neurological Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh, a professorship named for the pioneering Swedish brain surgeon who invented the Gamma Knife. He has authored more than 400 articles and almost 200 book chapters and has served as editor or co-editor of six books. He has lectured locally, nationally and internationally during his career.

Dr. Lunsford also serves as program director for the neurosurgical surgery department's residency training program and serves as neurosurgical consultant for the University of Pittsburgh's athletic teams.

He was president of the UPMC Presbyterian medical staff from 1999 to 2001 and chair of the Medical School Council of Clinical Chairs from 2001 to 2003. He served as interim chair of the university's Department of Neurological Surgery in 1996 then was chair from 1997 to 2006.

Dr. Lunsford also holds memberships in several professional organizations, including the Society of Neurological Surgeons; the American Association of Neurological Surgeons; the Congress of Neurological Surgeons; the American Academy of Neurological Surgery; the American Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery (where he served as president); and the International Stereotactic Radiosurgery Society, which he co-founded and served as the inaugural president. Currently, he chairs the medical advisory board of the International Radiosurgery Association. He also is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

Dr. Lunsford earned his medical degree at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1974. He completed his surgery internship at the University of Virginia Hospital and his neurological surgery residency at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Lunsford studied with Leksell and renowned stereotactic surgeon Erik-Olof Backlund from 1980 to 1981 following a one-year fellowship in stereotactic and functional neurosurgery at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, one of Europe's most renowned medical universities.