Eben Alexander Jr
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Eben Alexander Jr (1913–2004) was an American
academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
neurosurgeon and a native of
Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...
. He is known for his notable education and training of
neurosurgeons Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty that focuses on the surgical treatment or rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, ...
, his many recognition awards, and for his editorship of Surgical Neurology — An International Journal of Neurosurgery and Neuroscience from 1987 to 1994.


Early life and education

Eben was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. His mother was a Canadian graduate nurse, and his father a prominent surgeon. Alexander came from a distinguished family of scholars that spans several generations. His paternal grandfather Eben Alexander was a diplomat, scholar, and a professor of Greek at the
University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...
as well as U.S. Minister to Greece 1892-1896. Alexander's adopted son, Eben Alexander III, followed in his father's footsteps as an academic neurosurgeon, and wrote the book, '' Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife'' (2012). Alexander studied at the University of North Carolina, earning his A.B. degree at Chapel Hill. He later attended
Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...
and graduated with an M.D. degree
cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...
in 1939. Alexander trained in surgery at the Peter Bent Brigham hospital during 1939-42, joining the
U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...
in 1942. During his military service, Alexander transferred to the ground forces, went overseas to New Guinea, the Philippines, and Japan, and was awarded the
Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...
for action in Mindanao, the Philippines. Following his service in the Army Medical Corps, he continued his training in Boston at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, The Children's Hospital, and as a research fellow at
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...
, then at
Toronto General Hospital The Toronto General Hospital (TGH) is a major teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the flagship campus of University Health Network (UHN). It is located in the Discovery District of Downtown Toronto along University Avenue (Toronto), ...
and
Yale University School of Medicine The Yale School of Medicine is the medical school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1810 as the Medical Institution of Yale College and formally opened in 1813. It is the sixth-oldest m ...
, before joining the Wake Forest faculty in 1949.


Career

Alexander joined the academic faculty at Bowman Gray School of Medicine in 1949 and became Professor and Chief of Neurosurgery. He was Chief of Staff of the North Carolina Baptist Hospital from 1953–73 and also Chairman of Wake Forest Baptist Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery, 1953-1973. He retired as Chief of service in 1978, and became
Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...
in 1983. Nevertheless, he remained active in his profession, serving as editor of the prominent journal, Surgical Neurology 1986-1994 and Associate Editor of the North Carolina Medical Journal 1986-2004. Alexander was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from both the American Medical Association (AMA) and the Society of Neurological Surgeons (SNS) in 1989. He was also awarded Wake Forest's highest honor, the University's Medallion of Merit in 1990. He had also received his Local Hadassah
Humanitarian Humanitarianism is an ideology centered on the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotiona ...
Award 1958. He served as president of both The Society of Neurological Surgeons (SNS) and the
American Association of Neurological Surgeons The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) is a professional organization focused on advancing the specialty of neurological surgery. Founded in 1931, the AANS serves a membership of over 12,000 professionals worldwide, including ne ...
(AANS), from which he received the Association's highest award, the Cushing Award for Outstanding Service, in 1984. His contribution to the fields of
neurology Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix wikt:-logia, -logia, "study of") is the branch of specialty (medicine) , medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous syst ...
and
neurosurgery Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the specialty (medicine), medical specialty that focuses on the surgical treatment or rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system ...
include over 200 publications with interests ranging from pediatric neurosurgery to cervical spine (
vertebral column The spinal column, also known as the vertebral column, spine or backbone, is the core part of the axial skeleton in vertebrates. The vertebral column is the defining and eponymous characteristic of the vertebrate. The spinal column is a segmente ...
) disease,
fractures Fracture is the appearance of a crack or complete separation of an object or material into two or more pieces under the action of stress (mechanics), stress. The fracture of a solid usually occurs due to the development of certain displacemen ...
of the spine,
brain tumor A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the Human brain, brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign ...
research and
congenital anomalies A birth defect is an abnormal condition that is present at birth, regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disabilities that may be physical, intellectual, or developmental. The disabilities can range from mild to severe. Birth de ...
. He continued to write and publish papers for 15 years after his Emeritus status. In his honor, the medical center established the Eben Alexander Jr., M.D., Chair in Neurosurgery at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Alexander was among the early neurosurgeons who explored the use of plastics in neurosurgery. He was engaged in
pediatric neurosurgery Pediatric Neurosurgery is a subspecialty of neurosurgery; which includes surgical procedures that are related to the nervous system, brain and spinal cord; that treats children with operable neurological disorders. __TOC__ History Boston Chil ...
, contributing to the surgical treatment of congenital conditions.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander Jr, Eben American neurologists American neurosurgeons 1913 births 2004 deaths Wake Forest University faculty 20th-century American surgeons University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Harvard Medical School alumni