Thanks to a generous $3 million commitment from the Hansen-MacDonald family, the Executive Committee of the Board of Fellows of Weill Cornell Medicine has appointed Dr. Roger Härtl as the inaugural Hansen-MacDonald Professor of Neurological Surgery. The Hansen-MacDonald family established the endowed professorship to support Weill Cornell Medicine’s tripartite mission to care for patients, conduct research to advance the standard of care, and teach the next generation of neurosurgeons, with a particular focus on issues relating to neck and back pain.
“We can think of no better candidate than Dr. Härtl, whose clinical expertise and research in new neurosurgical treatments for neck and back pain is world renowned, to be the inaugural Hansen-MacDonald Professor,” said Philip E. Stieg, PhD, MD, Chair of Neurological Surgery. “His accomplishments in minimally invasive spinal surgery and research on biological treatment strategies for degenerative spine diseases bring distinction to Weill Cornell Medicine.”
Dr. Härtl is director of spinal surgery at the Weill Cornell Medicine Brain and Spine Center in New York, and the Director of the Weill Cornell Medicine Center for Comprehensive Spine Care. He also serves as the official neurosurgeon for the New York Giants Football Team. He is the winner of multiple awards for his work on biological approaches for disc repair and regeneration, and he is a world-renowned pioneer in minimally invasive spinal surgery and computer-assisted spinal navigation surgery. He is routinely named to lists of New York Super Doctors, America's Top Surgeons, and America's Best Doctors, and has been included on the list of New York’s Best Doctors in New York magazine. He is actively involved in improving neurosurgical care in developing countries as the leader of Weill Cornell Medicine's Global Health Neurosurgery Initiative in eastern Africa.
“I am humbled by and grateful for the Hansen-MacDonald family’s generosity,” says Dr. Härtl. “Their support will allow me to pursue my research in bioengineered discs and other advances that will improve quality of life for patients undergoing spine surgery.”
The appointment was effective May 1, 2021.