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Charles J. Hodge, MD, Endowed Professorship in Neurosurgery created at the Upstate Foundation

The Charles J. Hodge, MD, Endowed Professorship in Neurosurgery has been established at the Upstate Foundation. In addition, Jonathan Miller, MD, has been appointed as its first endowed professor. The announcements were made by Eileen Pezzi, vice president for development at Upstate, and Lawrence Chin, MD, the Robert, MD, and Molly King Endowed Professor and dean of the Alan and Marlene Norton College of Medicine.

“The time frame in which this endowment campaign was conducted is the briefest in recent history at the Foundation, which is testimony to the reverence and respect so many have for Dr. Hodge as a physician and teacher,” Pezzi said.

Chin added, “It’s a pleasure to bestow Dr. Miller with this honor. He has dedicated his career to advancing knowledge and treating patients with functional disorders in neurosurgery. His commitment to neurosurgical training and excellence best exemplifies Dr. Hodge’s legacy at Upstate.”

“Dr. Hodge is an outstanding role model who established our department's legacy as a true academic program through robust and demanding educational standards,” said Miller.  “To serve as the inaugural recipient of the professorship is a tremendous honor, and I am looking forward to building on his tradition of superior clinical training through meaningful exposure to research, problem-solving, and the diverse ethical and technical aspects of neurosurgery.”

Mantosh Dewan, MD, president of Upstate Medical University, cited the importance of endowed professorships to academic institutions. “Building a strong base of faculty talent enriches the academic environment, which attracts the brightest students. Endowed professorships support faculty already performing at a high level, enabling them to make even more significant contributions to the institution and their respective fields.”

Hodge’s path to neurosurgery took some early twists and turns. As a young man, Hodge spent summers in Wyoming and wanted to become a rancher. He pivoted and began college as an architecture major. One semester at Princeton, he read Sinclair Lewis’s “Arrowsmith” and was fascinated by the world of the brilliant scientist. From that point on, he pursued the field of medicine from Princeton to Columbia P&S for medical school, to Presbyterian Hospital for internship and Yale for general surgery, and ultimately, to Upstate Medical University, where he studied under Dr. Robert King.

“Dr. King’s scientific approach was wonderful,” Hodge said. “That is what I emulated. I felt there was tremendous importance in doing research, partially for the discoveries, but more for learning how to think through problems. I think that is something at which the Upstate program excels. It’s not the magic hands, it’s the magic judgment that makes a great surgeon.”

Hodge says he thrived under King’s tutelage, and over time he, too, became a teacher to countless neurosurgery residents.

Students credit Hodge with having a great influence on their neurosurgical operative skills, saying he always expected the best out of his trainees.

Hodge was a dedicated academic neurosurgeon active in both research and clinical practice. His laboratory, a basic science experience for numbers of residents, focused on the neuroanatomy and physiology of pain processes, and later was active in neural plasticity and the use of optical imaging techniques, areas funded by NIH grants. His clinical work included general neurosurgery with special interest in vascular diseases, neoplasia, seizure disorders and Gamma Knife Radiosurgery (the first in New York state). He was instrumental in resurrecting the MD/PhD program at Upstate.

At a national level, Hodge served on the American Board of Neurological Surgery for six years, and was president of the Society of University Neurosurgeons; editor for the Journal of Neurosurgery; director of a yearly neuroscience course for neurosurgery residents in Woods Hole, Mass; member and president of the Society of Neurological Surgery (a group dedicated to neurosurgery education from whom he received their distinguished service award); and vice president of the American Association of Neurosurgeons.

He received a Grass Foundation Award for Neurosurgery research, as well as the University of Michigan Elizabeth Crosby Prize for research. Hodge is most proud of his role in setting demanding educational standards and for helping train residents in the critical art of rational clinical management, clinical judgment and technical surgical skill.

“I had intense relationships with the residents,” Hodge recalled. “It wasn’t always easy for them or for me, but in time, the pain of being corrected can be overcome. I am honored, obviously, and even a little surprised.”

Caption: Charles Hodge, MD, left, has been honored with an endowed professorship in his name; Jonathan Miller, MD, right, chair of neurosurgery, will be the first to hold the professorship.

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