6/29/04 News Release

PRINT MEDIA CONTACT: Robert Dicks at (650) 497-8364 (rdicks@stanfordmed.org)

STANFORD, Calif. -- Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford and the Stanford University School of Medicine announced today the recruitment of Michael S. B. Edwards, MD, to serve as the director of regional pediatric neurosurgery at LPCH and as a professor of neurosurgery and pediatrics in the medical school. Edwards most recently served as the director of the Sutter Neuroscience Institute in Sacramento

“Dr. Edwards’ recruitment represents a significant addition to our pediatric neurosurgery program at Packard. He is an outstanding pediatric surgeon with a national and international reputation for excellence,” said Christopher Dawes, president and chief executive officer of Packard Children's Hospital. “His commitment to the clinical care of children with complex disorders or tumors of the central nervous system is extraordinary, and he has made remarkable contributions to clinical research and medical education. Together he and our outstanding pediatric neurosurgery team will offer an unparalleled breadth and range of care for our patients and their families.”

Edwards will join Packard Children's Hospital pediatric neurosurgeons Stephen Huhn, MD; Lawrence Shuer, MD; and Michael Taekman, MD, caring for children at the hospital. Gary Steinberg, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Stanford University School of Medicine, also operates on children with cerebrovascular disorders.

“We are all delighted Dr. Edwards will be joining our neurosurgery faculty,” concurred Steinberg. “Dr. Edwards is one of the most distinguished and pre-eminent neurosurgeons in the country. He is a gifted surgeon, a compassionate physician and wonderful teacher. He has been an international leader in developing innovative treatments for patients with pediatric brain tumors, intracranial vascular malformations and congenital disorders. His recruitment will enable us to significantly expand our pediatric neuroscience program.”

“I am excited to join one of the top pediatric neurosurgery programs at one of the leading children’s hospitals in the country,” said Edwards. “My focus will be to continue to provide care to children from infants to teenagers with complex brain tumors.”

At LPCH, Edwards will work to broaden relationships with referring physicians throughout the country, advance clinical protocols, and grow both the research and teaching components of pediatric neurosurgery. As a result, hospital officials expect to see a significant increase in pediatric neurosurgery cases within the next five years.

Edwards’ recruitment also reflects the medical school’s commitment, in the form of the emerging Institutes of Medicine, to bench-to-bedside medicine as a way to improve patient care. “Dr. Edwards’ array of talents is essential to the efforts of the Neuroscience Institute at Stanford and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital to improve the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of serious neurological and neurosurgical disorders in children and adults,” said Philip Pizzo, MD, dean of Stanford University School of Medicine. “He will join colleagues across the medical center and the university in developing technologies and innovations that will foster the rapid transfer of knowledge from the laboratory to the patient.”

“By coupling world-class neurosurgical techniques at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital with the latest advances in clinical research at Stanford University School of Medicine, we plan to become the top referral site for pediatric neurosurgery on the West Coast,” said Edwards. “The incidence of pediatric brain tumors is increasing and they are now the leading cause of non-traumatic death in childhood. Over the past few years, surgical and imaging techniques have improved and we’re seeing better long-term outcomes for these children. The key issue right now is that our expertise in molecular biology will allow us to develop therapies that are less toxic for patients and offer better cure rates.”

“This is a great opportunity,” said Edwards. “Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and Stanford have incredible facilities for molecular biology research and an astounding commitment to translational medicine. I’m looking forward to working alongside highly recognized pediatric and adult neurosurgeons, as well as having access to the remarkable research and science community at the university.”

Edwards earned his medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine in Louisiana and completed residencies in neurosurgery and general surgery at Oschner Foundation Hospital in New Orleans. He served as chief resident in neurosurgery at Tulane University’s VA Hospital and at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. From 1977 to 1999 he served as a faculty member at the University of California-San Francisco in the Department of Neurological Surgery and Pediatrics, and since 1999 he served as a clinical professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery at UC-Davis. From 1995 to 1997 he served as director of pediatric neurosurgery at Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento; in 1997 he became the director of pediatric neurosciences at Sutter. In 1998 he was named director of the Sutter Gamma Knife Radiosurgery Center and in 2002 he became director of the Sutter Neuroscience Institute.

Edwards presently sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Radiosurgery and Surgical Neurology. He has authored 50 book chapters and nearly 200 peer-reviewed articles during his career.

About Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital

Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford is a 264-bed hospital devoted to the care of children and expectant mothers. Providing pediatric and obstetric medical and surgical services and associated with Stanford University School of Medicine, LPCH offers patients locally, regionally and nationally the full range of health care programs and services – from preventive and routine care to the diagnosis and treatment of serious illness and injury. To learn more about Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, please visit our Web site at http://www.lpch.org.

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The Stanford University School of Medicine consistently ranks among the nation’s top 10 medical schools, integrating research, medical education, patient care and community service. For more news about the school, please visit http://mednews.stanford.edu. The medical school is part of Stanford Medicine, which includes Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. For information about all three, please visit http://stanfordmedicine.org/about/news.html.