HONORED GUEST SPEAKER
JON H. ROBERTSON, MD, FAANS
Chairman Emeritus of Neurosurgery
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center
SESSION INFO: Friday, March 6th, during the NASBS Plenary Session
About: Jon H. Robertson, MD, FAANS was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He earned his undergraduate B.A. degree at Rhodes College in Memphis (1968), followed by his M.D. from the University of Tennessee Center for Health Sciences in Memphis (1971). He completed his neurosurgical residency at the University of Tennessee Semmes-Murphey Clinic program (1979). Following his residency training he joined the faculty of the UT Department of Neurosurgery and became a member of the Semmes-Murphey Clinic in Memphis. His neurosurgical practice focused on the management of complex skull base tumors. He was promoted to Associate Professor (1984) and became Professor and Chairman of the UT Department of Neurosurgery (1997). He stepped down as Chair of the UT program in July 2011.
Dr. Robertson served in multiple leadership roles as President of the North American Skull Base Society (2002), President of the Society of University Neurosurgeons (2005), Director on the American Board of Neurological Surgeons (2000-2006), President of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (2008), and Chairman of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons Neurosurgery Research & Education Foundation (2014-2016). In April 2013, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons awarded Dr. Robertson, with its highest member honor, the Harvey Cushing Medal.
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CURTIN CALL RADIOLOGY LECTURE: Skull Base Imaging Conundrums and How to Think Through Them
AMY JULIANO, MD
Associate Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School
Head and Neck Radiologist – Neuroradiologist; Massachusetts Eye and Ear / Massachusetts General Brigham
Director of Research and Academic Affairs, Head and Neck Radiology Fellowship Program Director; Department of Radiology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear
SESSION INFO: Friday, March 6th, during the NASBS Plenary Session
About: Dr. Amy Juliano is Associate Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School, and a Neuroradiologist subspecializing in Head and Neck Radiology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear / Massachusetts General Brigham in Boston. She serves as Director of Research and Academic Affairs and Head and Neck Radiology Fellowship Program Director for the Department of Radiology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear.
Dr. Juliano completed her Diagnostic Radiology residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Neuroradiology Fellowship at Brigham/Boston Children’s Hospital. She received her medical doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and a master’s degree in Physics at Harvard University.
She serves on executive committees and leadership teams for the Eastern Neuroradiological Society, American Society of Neuroradiology, American Society of Head and Neck Radiology, American College of Radiology, and American Board of Radiology. She is Senior Editor for the Head and Neck Section of the American Journal of Neuroradiology, and is on the Editorial Boards of the journals Head and Neck and European Radiology Experimental. Her main research interest is in the temporal bone.
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HONORED GUEST SPEAKER
FREDERICK G. BARKER, II, MD
Professor of Neurosurgery, Vice Chair for Faculty Development
Neurosurgical Director of the Cranial Base Center. Massachusetts General Hospital
SESSION INFO: Friday, March 6th, during the NASBS Plenary Session
About: Dr. Fred Barker was born and raised in Philadelphia. He earned his undergraduate degree from Yale University in Molecular Biochemistry and Biophysics and Classical Civilization, followed by his MD from Harvard University. He completed his neurosurgical residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and fellowships in microvascular and skull base surgery at the University of Pittsburgh and in neuro-oncology at the University of California, San Francisco.
Since returning to Massachusetts General Hospital in 1995, Dr. Barker has focused on surgery for acoustic neuromas and other benign skull base tumors, particularly in the posterior fossa, and on microvascular decompression surgery. He serves as Professor of Neurosurgery, Vice Chair for Faculty Development, and Neurosurgical Director of the Cranial Base Center. His research has centered on clinical trial design in brain tumor and spine surgery, as well as on outcomes and health equity in neurosurgical care. He has been chair of the AANS/CNS Section on Tumors, founding surgical vice-chair of the NCI-funded Alliance Cancer Cooperative Group Neuro-Oncology Committee, and served a six-year term on the National Cancer Institute Brain Malignancy Steering Committee. In 2025 he became Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Neurosurgery Publishing Group, and continues to work toward advancing the field of skull base neuro-oncology through research, mentorship, and clinical practice.
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HONORED GUEST SPEAKER
GELAREH ZADEH, MD, PhD, FRCS(C)
Chair, Department of Neurologic Surgery Mayo Clinic Rochester
Professor and Clinician Investigator of Neurosurgery
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science
SESSION INFO: Saturday, March 7th, during the NASBS Plenary Session
About: Gelareh Zadeh, M.D., Ph.D., is the Chair of the Department of Neurologic Surgery at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. She joined the staff of Mayo Clinic in 2025 and holds the academic rank of professor of neurosurgery, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. Dr. Zadeh is recognized with the distinction of the William J. and Charles H. Mayo Professorship I.
Dr. Zadeh earned her B.Sc. and M.D. at the University of Manitoba and her Neurosurgery residency and Ph.D. at the University of Toronto. She subsequently completed fellowships at the University of Health Network, University College of London, and Canadian Institutes of Health. Dr. Zadeh joined Mayo Clinic from the University of Toronto, where she was the Dan Family Chair and professor of neurosurgery at the University of Toronto, Head of Neurosurgery at University of Health Network as well as the medical director of the Krembil Neuroscience Program, the co-director of the Krembil Brain Institute. Dr Zadeh is a senior scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and the Dan Family Chair and professor of neurosurgery at the University of Toronto.
Dr. Zadeh’s research focuses on integrated multiplatform molecular analysis of brain tumors, together with a focus on understanding molecular response to targeted therapies, such as anti-angiogenesis and metabolic inhibitors. Her seminal research also focuses on use of circulating biomarkers for detection, diagnosis and discrimination in outcomes of brain tumors. Dr. Zadeh’s extensive and influential research has advanced clinical care and has been published in high-impact journals, including Nature, Nature Medicine, Nature Genetics, Nature Communications, and Cancer Cell. She has consistent peer-reviewed funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Department of Defense, the Brain Tumour Charity, the V Foundation for Cancer Research, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Brain Canada Foundation, and the Terry Fox Research Institute, among others.
In addition to her clinical and research activities, Dr. Zadeh is active in education and serves as mentor. She holds full faculty privileges in Neuroscience at Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. She also serves as editor-in-chief of Neuro-Oncology Advances.
Dr. Zadeh’s academic, clinical and research contributions have been recognized through many awards, such as the prestigious Canada Gairdner Momentum Award, the William E. Rawls Prize from the Canadian Cancer Society, and the American Brain Tumor Translational Research Award, as well as through her leadership in multiple international organizations, including the Society of Neuro-Oncology, the World Federation of Neurological Societies and the International Consortium on Meningiomas, which she co-founded.
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HONORED GUEST SPEAKER
RICHARD NELSON, MA FRCS(Eng) FRCS(Ed)
Past President of the Society of British Neurological Surgeons
SESSION INFO: Saturday, March 7th, during the NASBS Plenary Session
About: Richard Nelson studied medicine at Cambridge University. After a broad-based training in surgery and neurosurgery in Cambridge, Oxford, Swindon, London and Southampton he was appointed as a full-time consultant neurosurgeon in Bristol in 1990 with subspecialist interests in skull base, neurovascular and spinal surgery. Until 2018 he was the lead pituitary and acoustic neuroma surgeon in Bristol and Chair of the Skull Base Multidisciplinary Team. He is a founder member of the British Skull Base Society.
He has served as President of the Joint Neurosciences Council, President of the Society of British Neurological Surgeons, Chair of the Neurosurgical National Audit Programme, and Secretary to the Neurosurgical National Selection Board. He represented neurosurgery on the Council of the Royal College of Surgeon of England and the Federation of Surgical Specialty Associations.
He has had a career-long interest in surgical education. As Chair of the Specialist Advisory Committee in Neurosurgery he led the development of run-through neurosurgical training in the UK, the integrated neurosurgical curriculum and established neurosurgical national selection. In 2025 he was awarded the SBNS Medal for Outstanding Services to Neurosurgery.