Dr. Justin Schwarz Wins Stieg Award for Resident Education

Dr. Justin Schwarz has been named winner of the 2022 Philip E. Stieg Faculty Teaching Award for Dedication and Excellence in Resident Education. The award, established in 2004, is presented annually at the neurosurgery residency graduation dinner to recognize an educator who has achieved distinction in the training of our residents. The winner is selected by the residents themselves as a show of appreciation for the efforts of a particularly dedicated teacher. Past winners have included not only Weill Cornell Medicine neurosurgical faculty and fellows but also faculty from neurology and radiology, as well as from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where our residents also work and train.

In her speech announcing this year’s winner, resident Alexandra Giantini Larsen described Dr. Schwarz as “the last person that you want to disappoint with a lapse in patient care, a wrong move in the OR, or not picking up on an imaging finding, because he always sets the bar high for patient care and expects the most from you. At the same time, he is the first person you will go to for advice with a complicated case, patient situation, or when seeking guidance. In both cases, you come out of the experience with a deeper understanding of the case. There is always a feeling that the absolute best is being done for the patient when he is involved.”

“Dr. Schwarz has done a tremendous job working with our residents this year,” said Dr. Philip E. Stieg, for whom the award is named. “As a recent graduate of the residency program himself, he has a unique perspective on what the next generation of neurosurgeons need to know, and how to convey that knowledge. It is truly impressive when a young neurosurgeon turns out to be not only a skilled and compassionate surgeon, but also a dedicated teacher of those who follow him into this field.”

Dr. Larsen concluded her remarks by speaking directly to Dr. Schwarz and saying, “I speak on behalf of all the residents when I say thank you. You have impacted all of us in the OR and out. We are better neurosurgeons in training having worked with you and learned from you.”

Previous winners have included:

2004: Mark Souweidane, MD

2005: John Boockvar, MD, and Mark Souweidane, MD

2006: Igor Ougorets, MD

2007: Anders J. Cohen, DO

2008: Apostolos John Tsiouris, MD, and Robert Zimmerman, MD

2009: Philip Gutin, MD

2010: Jeffrey Greenfield, MD, PhD

2011: Eric Elowitz, MD

2012: Philip Stieg, PhD, MD

2013: Martin Bilsky, MD

2014: Ilya Laufer, MD

2015: Cameron Brennan, MD

2016: Ali Baaj, MD

2017: Jeffrey Greenfield, MD, PhD

2018: Rafael Uribe, MD, MPH

2019: Michael Virk, MD, PhD

2020: Philip Stieg, PhD, MD

2021: Eric Elowitz, MD

Neurological Surgery 525 E. 68th St., Starr 651, Box 99 New York, NY 10065