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CINCINNATI – Mario Zuccarello, MD, a Mayfield Clinic neurosurgeon and internationally recognized cerebrovascular specialist, today was named the Frank H. Mayfield Professor & Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Dr. Zuccarello had served as Interim Chairman since July 1, 2009. The announcement was made by David Stern, MD, Dean of the UC College of Medicine.

Dr. Zuccarello is Professor and Director of the Division of Cerebrovascular Neurosurgery at UC. He also serves as Director of the Neurovascular Program for the UC Neuroscience Institute and as a member of the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Stroke Team.

He is the fifth chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery. Preceding him in that position were Joseph Evans, MD (1937-1954), Robert McLaurin, MD (1954-1982), John M. Tew, MD (1982-2002) and Raj Narayan, MD (2002-2009).

UC’s Department of Neurosurgery features one of the leading neurosurgery residency training programs in the country. The Department provides broad-based education for medical students, residents, and fellows, while offering continuing medical education for neurosurgeons worldwide. The Department supports technical, clinical, and basic science research in the neurosciences.

“Mario Zuccarello is a distinguished physician-scientist who is known throughout the world for his neurosurgical expertise,” said Ronald Warnick, MD, Chairman of the Mayfield Clinic and Director of the Brain Tumor Center at the UC Neuroscience Institute. “His skills are widely admired, and his dedication to research is unrelenting. Patients who are fortunate enough to come under his care will not find a more committed or compassionate doctor.”

Dr. Zuccarello, who joined the Department of Neurosurgery and the Mayfield Clinic in 1993, has published 163 articles in peer-reviewed journals, has authored 8 book chapters, and has given 88 international, national, and local presentations. He is dedicated to clinical research in neurovascular disease and the development of new neurosurgical techniques for the treatment of stroke, cerebral hemorrhage, vasospasm, carotid artery disease, and moyamoya disease. While Cincinnati has become widely known for its leadership in stroke research, treatment, and the development of clot-busting drugs, Dr. Zuccarello has led a quiet revolution in the prevention and treatment of brain hemorrhages, which rank among the most hazardous conditions of the brain.

Dr. Zuccarello graduated summa cum laude from the Gymnasium in Catania, Italy, in 1970. He received his medical degree from the University of Padova, Italy, in 1976, and completed his residency in neurosurgery from Padova, with summa cum laude honors, in 1980. He subsequently performed research fellowships at the University of Iowa and the University of Virginia Medical Center, Charlottesville, and a clinical fellowship at the University of Cincinnati.

He was named to the Best Doctors in America database in 2005 and was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical honor society, in 2001. He received the Distinguished Physicians Award from the Kentucky Nurses Association in 1996 and 1998.

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The Mayfield Clinic is recognized as one of the nation's leading physician organizations for clinical care, education, and research of the spine and brain. Supported by 20 neurosurgeons, five neurointensivists, an interventional radiologist, and a pain specialist, the Clinic treats 20,000 patients from 35 states and 13 countries in a typical year. Mayfield's physicians have pioneered surgical procedures and instrumentation that have revolutionized the medical art of neurosurgery for brain tumors and neurovascular diseases and disorders.