UCLA's Dr.
Jorge A. Lazareff, (Los Angeles), associate professor of surgery at the
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and director of pediatric
neurosurgery at Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA, has been selected to
hold the newly established Geri and Richard Brawerman Chair in Pediatric
Neurosurgery.
In this position, Lazareff will provide
leadership in innovative biomedical and psychosocial research of brain
metabolism and neurobiology, with the goal of successfully treating
disorders of the developing central nervous system and protecting
surrounding brain and spinal cord function.
Richard Brawerman, an attorney, and his wife,
Geri, are long-time supporters of UCLA and have made significant
contributions to the advancement of medical sciences. Residents of West
Los Angeles, the Brawermans are leaders in the philanthropic community.
Recruited to UCLA in 1993, Lazareff serves as
co-director of both the UCLA Pediatric Brain Tumor Program and the UCLA
Cerebral Palsy Clinic. His research interests focus on innovative
diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to treating developmental diseases
of the central nervous system. He has developed novel surgical techniques
for the management of Arnold-Chiari malformation and cerebral palsy, and
currently is investigating the clinical applications of advanced
functional mapping of the brain stem for the resection of brain-stem
tumors.
In 2002, a medical team led by Lazareff captured
the world's attention with the successful surgical separation of conjoined
twin girls from Guatemala. In fact, Lazareff devotes much of his time
traveling to developing nations to assist children who suffer from
treatable neurosurgical disorders and train local doctors.
Also in 2002, he created Global Neuro Rescue, an
organization devoted to providing continuing medical education and
training to medical staffs in developing nations for treating regionally
prevalent neurological disorders. In the past three years, Global Neuro
Rescue has facilitated surgery for more than 100 children with complex
neurological conditions in Romania, Guatemala and China. In all cases, the
surgical procedures were performed with the active participation of local
neurosurgeons.
Born and raised in Argentina, Lazareff received
his medical degree from the University Nacional of Buenos Aires. After
completing his neurosurgery residency, he traveled to South Africa to work
with Dr. Warwick Peacock, his mentor and a former director of Pediatric
Neurosurgery at UCLA. He later completed a two-year postdoctoral
fellowship at the University of Alberta, Canada, where he participated in
one of the research groups that pioneered the use of magnetic resonance
spectroscopy for the study of the metabolism of brain tumors.
From 1988 to 1993, Lazareff served as chief of
pediatric neurosurgery at the Hospital Infantil de Mexico, where he
oversaw the treatment of children with neurosurgical conditions in one of
most populated cities in the world.
Lazareff has authored more than 40 publications
in the field of pediatric neurosurgery and is an internationally
recognized expert in the treatment of Arnold-Chiari malformation and
cerebral palsy. He also is an accomplished essayist, writing in themes of
bioethics and the social implications of biomedical research.
Lazareff has two children, Nicolas, 21, and Ana,
19.