Mount Sinai Neurosurgeon Elected as The First Woman Chair of North America’s Preeminent Brain Tumor Association
Isabelle M. Germano, MD, MBA to lead the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and Congress of Neurological Surgeons Section on Tumors
Isabelle M. Germano, MD, MBA, has been elected Chair of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and Congress of Neurological Surgeons (AANS/CNS) Section on Tumors, making her the first woman to be elected to the leadership role since its establishment in 1984. Dr. Germano assumed her new role, which carries a two-year term, at the conclusion of the AANS/CNS annual meeting in Philadelphia on Monday, May 2.
“There are multiple steps in the months-long election process for AANS/CNS section leadership, which include initial nominations plus two rounds of actual elections,” says Joshua B. Bederson, MD, the Leonard I. Malis, MD/Corinne and Joseph Graber Professor of Neurosurgery and Chair of the Mount Sinai Health System Department of Neurosurgery. “We are extremely pleased that a body of her peers has chosen Dr. Germano to lead the brain tumor section. Her election is a testament to the well-recognized leadership she brings to the field of brain tumor research and treatment, as well as a reflection of the commitment to innovation, experience, research acumen, and excellence that Mount Sinai’s Department of Neurosurgery is proud to bring to our patients.”
Dr. Germano is a board certified neurosurgeon who specializes in the most advanced research in, and treatment of patients with, brain tumors. She is Professor of Neurosurgery, Neurology, and Oncological Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. She serves as Director of the Mount Sinai Comprehensive Brain Tumor Program, as well as Co-Director of the Radiosurgery Program and Vice Chair for Diversity and Inclusion of the Mount Sinai Health System Department of Neurosurgery.
In her clinical practice, Dr. Germano focuses on providing multidisciplinary care, rooted in minimally invasive procedures, for brain and spine tumor patients. Her pioneering work in the field includes first-in-human technology applications for computer-assisted, image-guided neurosurgery. Dr. Germano’s translational research focuses on delivery of gene therapy for brain tumors and she has been awarded multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the National Cancer Institute, and private foundations to advance her research. She is also internationally recognized as a neurosurgery educator, having organized, directed, and/or served as an instructor for nearly 300 practical courses for neurosurgeons and trainees in the United States and abroad.
Dr. Germano has received more than 50 awards recognizing her as a leader in neurosurgery. She is past chair of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies Education and Training and past chair of the AANS/CNS Section on Women in Neurosurgery, and has held more than 30 other leadership positions within neurosurgical societies, governmental agencies, and other professional organizations.
Founded in 1931 as the Harvey Cushing Society, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons is a scientific and educational association with more than 12,000 members worldwide. It partners with the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, founded in 1951, for educational activities. AANS/CNS joint sections are specialized groups focusing on topic and subspecialty concentrations within neurosurgery and are composed of interested members of the AANS and CNS. The mission of the AANS/CNS Section on Tumors is to provide a forum for education and research on tumors of the nervous system. Section leadership and members coordinate activities and programs relating to tumors for the AANS and CNS and other societies, committees, and agencies.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with 48,000 employees working across eight hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, more than 600 research and clinical labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time—discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.
Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 9,000 primary and specialty care physicians and 11 free-standing joint-venture centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida. Hospitals within the System are consistently ranked by Newsweek’s® “The World’s Best Smart Hospitals, Best in State Hospitals, World Best Hospitals and Best Specialty Hospitals” and by U.S. News & World Report's® “Best Hospitals” and “Best Children’s Hospitals.” The Mount Sinai Hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report® “Best Hospitals” Honor Roll for 2024-2025.
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