PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Garth Rees Cosgrove, M.D., an expert in areas including brain tumors and radiosurgery, will become the inaugural chair of a new Department of Neurosurgery at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and chief of neurosurgery at Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital. Both appointments are effective June 1, 2010.
As chief of neurosurgery at both hospitals, Cosgrove will be responsible for managing clinical services, educational and research activities, and administration of the Department of Neurosurgery. Additionally, he will be responsible for the creation and growth of programs within the department.
“I am thrilled about the recruitment of Dr. Rees Cosgrove, who is an outstanding neurosurgeon with expertise in functional neurosurgery, a critical tie to enhancing our research at Brown. His work also includes the surgical treatment of epilepsy. This appointment will create important future collaboration with the departments of neuroscience, psychiatry, and neurology,” said Edward J. Wing, M.D., dean of medicine and biological sciences at Alpert Medical School. “Leaders like Dr. Cosgrove will help boost our potential to be one of the top destinations in the country for clinical and academic neuroscience.”
Timothy J. Babineau, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital, called Cosgrove an internationally recognized and acclaimed neurosurgeon. “It is a real testament to our growth at Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital to have him lead our Department of Neurosurgery,” Babineau said. “We are confident that Dr. Cosgrove’s experience and leadership skills will enable him to effectively direct the Department of Neurosurgery and help us to successfully expand the program to meet increased patient needs.”
Physicians in the department of neurosurgery diagnose and treat disorders of the brain, spine, spinal cord and nerves throughout the body. This includes tumors of the brain, spinal cord and spinal column; herniated disks; Parkinson’s disease; hydrocephalus; epilepsy; chronic pain syndromes; arteriovenous malformations; stroke; cerebral palsy; spina bifida; head and spine trauma or injury; and much more.
Cosgrove will also join the Brown Institute for Brain Science. “We are very pleased that Dr. Cosgrove will be the new chair of neurosurgery at the Alpert Medical School and will be joining Brown’s Institute for Brain Science,” said John Donoghue, the institute’s director. “Dr. Cosgrove brings exceptional leadership, neurosurgical and scientific skills to Rhode Island and Brown’s flourishing multidisciplinary brain research community.”
Cosgrove, who is affiliated with the Neurosurgery Foundation, comes to Rhode Island Hospital from The Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Mass., where he served as chair of the Department of Neurosurgery and senior neurosurgeon, and as professor of neurosurgery at Tufts University School of Medicine. Prior to Lahey Clinic, Cosgrove served as associate professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School and attending neurosurgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is a member of the executive committee of the World Society of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery; the International Stereotactic Radiosurgery Society; the American Academy of Neurological Surgery; and the Society of Neurological Surgeons.
Cosgrove, of Winchester, Mass., received his medical degree from Queen’s University in Canada. He completed his internship in general surgery at Royal Victoria Hospital, McGill University, in Montreal, and his residency in neurosurgery at Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, where he also served as chief resident in neurosurgery.
He was named an honorary Litchfield Lecturer at Oxford University in England in 2008.
His research interests include stereotactic and functional neurosurgery; surgical treatment of brain tumors; functional imaging of the human cerebral cortex; and radiosurgery.
Alpert Medical School
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University is Rhode Island’s only school of medicine. Since granting its first M.D. degrees in 1975, Alpert Medical School has become a national leader in medical education and biomedical research.
Rhode Island Hospital
Founded in 1863, Rhode Island Hospital is a private, 719-bed not-for-profit hospital, the largest teaching hospital of Alpert Medical School and a major trauma center for southeastern New England. With its pediatric division, Hasbro Children’s Hospital, Rhode Island Hospital is dedicated to being on the cutting edge of medical care and research and ranks among the country’s leading independent hospitals that receive funding from the National Institutes of Health.
The Miriam Hospital
The Miriam Hospital, established in 1926 in Providence, is a private, not-for-profit hospital affiliated with Alpert Medical School and a founding member of the Lifespan health system.