Dr. Cerullo’s Training, Philosophies and Accomplishments
December 14, 2007 – 12:19 pm
Last week Dr. Cerullo provided a glimpse into why he chose to practice neurosurgery and shared a perspective on the rapid evolution of neurosurgical care over the past twenty five years. This week we look further into Dr. Cerullo’s training, philosophies, and accomplishments.
Known for pioneering the use of lasers in neurosurgery, no one knows the brain better than Len Cerullo, M.D. Twenty years ago, Dr. Cerullo founded the Chicago Institute of Neurosurgery and Neuroresearch (CINN), Chicago, and as Medical Director was one of the first in the world to acquire the Gamma Knife®, a means of treating brain lesions non-invasively.
With more than 30 years of experience, Dr. Cerullo is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leaders in the field of neurosurgery. He is highly regarded for his skill in the diagnosis and treatment of brain tumors and spine disorders.
While famous for his left-brain, forward thinking approach to neurosurgery, Dr. Cerullo also is in touch with his right brain talents, such as acting and cooking. He is an accomplished chef, perhaps the result of growing up with Italian immigrant parents and an extended family of grandparents, aunts and uncles, all who loved to cook and who conveniently lived next door. Dr. Cerullo was born in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, a small mining town in the northeastern part of the state. A go-getter throughout high school, he was class President, drama club President and performed the lead role in several high school productions. He attended Georgetown University, graduating with an English degree.
Dr. Cerullo began his medical education in 1966 at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After earning his degree in 1970, Dr. Cerullo came to Chicago to pursue his residency training in neurosurgery at Northwestern University Medical School. During his residency, Dr. Cerullo held two fellowships: one in neuroradiology at the Neurological Institute of New York, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, New York, and another in transphenoidal and craniofacial surgery at Hôpital Foch, Suresnes, France.
Following his residency, Dr. Cerullo accepted a position on the medical staff of Northwestern Memorial Hospital and was appointed assistant professor of neurosurgery at Northwestern University Medical School. Dr. Cerullo remained at Northwestern for the next seven years, serving as an Associate Professor of Neurosurgery and later Chief of Neurosurgery. In 1987, Dr. Cerullo founded CINN.
In 2002, Dr. Cerullo founded the CINN Foundation, a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization, as a vehicle to support clinicians and researchers’ research, education and outreach activities targeted at improving the lives of individuals afflicted with neurological disorders. Since its inception, The Foundation has provided almost $2 million in funding for such initiatives.
A visionary surgeon and researcher, Dr. Cerullo is credited with pioneering the use of lasers in neurosurgery. He has published several articles and books on this subject. As medical director of CINN, Dr. Cerullo oversees many clinical and basic research studies. The goals of these investigations are either to develop techniques that reduce the risk and recovery time associated with surgery or to develop revolutionary therapies that eliminate the need for invasive surgery.
Having earned the admiration and respect of both his patients and his peers, Dr. Cerullo has been featured repeatedly in Chicago Magazine’s Top Doctors issues.
Over the course of his career, he always sought out opportunities to deliver better care for the neurosurgical patient. In 2002, that dream came true with the Neurologic & Orthopedic Hospital of Chicago (NOHC), the country’s first freestanding acute care facility dedicated exclusively to neuroscience and orthopedic services. Today more than 2,000 surgeries are performed there annually.
Dr. Cerullo is a member of the Society of Neurological Surgeons, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. He is past president of the American Society of Laser Medicine and Surgery, Laser Association of Neurological Surgeons International, and Midwest Bio-Laser Institute.
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