Dr. Richard G. Fessler is a Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at
the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. Prior to assuming
this position, he founded and directed the Institute for Spine Care at the Chicago
Institute of Neurosurgery and Neuroresearch (CINN) and was Professor of Neurological
Surgery at Rush Medical College in Chicago. Formerly he was Director of Clinical
Services and Education at the University of Florida Brain Institute. Additionally,
at the University of Florida, he was a Professor in the Department of Neurological
Surgery. In 1994 he was appointed to the Dunspaugh-Dalton Chair of Brain and
Spinal Surgery. Dr. Fessler's current hospital appointment is at the University
of Chicago Hospitals and Clinics, Chicago, Illinois.
Dr. Fessler completed his Medical Doctorate with honors, and Surgical and Neurosurgical
residencies at the University of Chicago. In addition to surgical training,
Dr. Fessler completed a Doctorate of Philosophy in Pharmacology and Physiology,
and a Masters of Science in Psychology. Continuing education after earning doctoral
degrees, Dr. Fessler held research Fellowships at the University of Chicago
Medical Center in Neurological Surgery and Psychiatry. The Chicago Surgical
Society honored Dr. Fessler with the Excellence in Surgical Research award.
Dr. Fessler has made significant contributions to endoscopic and microendoscopic
surgical developments. The Kambin Foundation awarded Dr. Fessler the annual
research award for his research in the field of minimal invasive spinal surgery.
Dr. Fessler is a member of the American Medical Association, Congress of Neurological
Surgeons, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Neurosurgical Society
of America, Joint Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves, North
American Skull Base Society, Joint Section on Pain, Joint Section on Trauma
and Critical Care, American College of Surgeons, Society of Neurological Surgeons,
Southern Neurosurgical Society, North American Spine Society, World Spine Society,
and the American Academy of Neurological Surgery. He has held leadership positions
for several of these professional organizations, and has been a course director
or faculty member for meetings sponsored by these groups. For the Federal Government,
Dr. Fessler served on the Advisory Committees for the Food and Drug Administration and the government committees of the
Department of Health and Human Services and the National Head Injury Foundation.
At the state-level as well, Dr. Fessler has served on several advisory councils
for the state of Florida.
A prolific author, Dr. Fessler has written 13 books and contributed almost
90 book chapters to medical texts. He has published 87 articles in peer-reviewed
journals and presented numerous papers at peer-reviewed symposiums. Dr. Fessler
lends his expertise to the Editorial Boards of Neurosurgery and Neuro-Orthopaedics,
and he is an editorial reviewer for several other professional journals. He
is frequently invited for speaking engagements and visiting professorships worldwide.
This active doctor has five times been listed among the Best Doctors in
America and recently in Who's Who in Medicine and Health Care. In
addition to all of the above accomplishments, Dr. Fessler is a Medical Specialist
and Flight Surgeon for NASA/Space Shuttle.
Dr. Fessler Interviewed on HealthRadio.net - June 22,2007
Richard G. Fessler, MD, PhD is on the Spine Universe Editorial Board.
