June 21, 2010

JH surgeon among ‘Nifty 50’ to speak at D.C. schools

In an effort to ignite a passion for science and engineering in middle and high school students, the USA Science & Engineering Festival has tapped 50 professionals—among them, high-tech entrepreneurs, financiers, policymakers, actors, journalists, educators, explorers, video game developers, spies, alien hunters, astronauts and surgeons—to speak at Washington, D.C.–area schools during its  October festival.

Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa, an associate professor of neurosurgery and oncology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and his colleagues in this so-called “Nifty Fifty” were selected from hundreds of applicants for their differing fields, talents, divergent backgrounds and ages, and ability to convey the importance of science to our nation’s future.

Once a migrant farm worker, Quinones-Hinojosa is now a top-rated neurosurgeon who specializes in treating patients with brain and spinal cord tumors. He also leads research efforts to understand the role of stem cells in forming brain tumors and the potential role of these cells in fighting brain cancer.