UAB Synopsis, Vol. 25, No. 14, June 26, 2006
Kirby I. Bland, MD, chair, Department of Surgery, announces the appointment of James M. Markert, MD, as director of the Division of Neurosurgery. Dr. Markert is professor of surgery, of physiology and biophysics, and of pediatrics, and holds appointments in the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center and Gene Therapy Center. He succeeds Richard B. Morawetz, MD, who retired after 18 outstanding years as division director.
“Dr. Markert’s significant achievements have advanced neurological research and patient care,” Dr. Bland said. “He is an excellent educator, clinician, and researcher who will ensure the division continues to make signal contributions to neuro-oncology and neurosurgery.”
A Harvard University graduate, Markert earned his MD and MPH degrees from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York. He completed a neurosurgical residency at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a postdoctoral fellowship in neuro-oncology at Harvard’s Massachusetts General Hospital. He was then a research associate in molecular virology at the University of Chicago before joining the UAB faculty in 1995.
“Dr. Morawetz has done a superlative job of building our division into a clinical powerhouse,” Dr. Markert says. “Our outstanding faculty will allow us to maintain and expand our mission of providing excellent patient care and training the next generation of neurosurgeons.”
Dr. Markert and his colleagues treat a wide variety of patients with surgical and nonsurgical problems related to the brain, spinal cord, spinal column, and peripheral nerves, employing the most advanced approaches. The division also is establishing a patient registry to measure outcomes, he says. “We want to expand our publications in the neurosurgical literature to illustrate the contributions of UAB neurosurgeons to the advancement of our specialty.”
Dr. Markert recognizes the division’s potential for growth in research and education, and aims to broaden its research focus into such areas as neurovascular and spinal diseases. The division’s successful brain tumor research program also will be expanded.
His own research focuses on molecular biology, viral, and gene therapies for gliomas. While a fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital, his research group first published studies on using a genetically engineered herpes simplex virus as an experimental treatment for malignant gliomas. This has since expanded to an extensive multidisciplinary investigation of the ability of recombinant viruses to eradicate malignant human gliomas. “We are in our third clinical trial and are seeing promising results,” he says.
A Diplomat of the American Board of Neurological Surgeons, Dr. Markert codirects the UAB Brain Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE), awarded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for brain cancer research. The 5-year, $13 million SPORE grant is part of an NCI program to accelerate translation of laboratory findings into therapeutic applications.