EDWARD R. LAWS, MD, FACS, IS INSTALLED AS PRESIDENT
OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS

NEW ORLEANS—Edward R. Laws, MD, FACS, a neurosurgeon from Charlottesville, VA, was installed as the 85th President of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) last night during Convocation ceremonies that concluded the College's annual Clinical Congress.

Dr. Laws is the W. Gayle Crutchfield Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville.

A native of New York City, Dr. Laws is a 1963 graduate of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, where he also served as a surgical intern under Alfred Blalock, MD, FACS, (1963-1964), and as a resident in neurological surgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital under A. Earl Walker, MD. He became a diplomate of the American Board of Neurological Surgery in 1972. Dr. Laws also served at the National Communicable Disease Center while in the United States Public Health Service, where he reached the rank of Lieutenant Commander (1964-1966). Following completion of his residency, he was assistant professor of neurological surgery at Johns Hopkins, and served as a neurosurgeon at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, until 1972.

From 1972 to 1987, Dr. Laws was a neurosurgeon at the Mayo Clinic and St. Mary's Hospital, Rochester, MN. During that time, he was assistant professor, associate professor, and professor of neurological surgery at Mayo Medical School. Dr. Laws was named the Joseph I. and Barbara Ashkins Professor of Surgery at Mayo in 1986. He served as professor and chairman, department of neurological surgery, at George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, DC, from 1987 to 1992. Since 1992, Dr. Laws has been director of the Pituitary/Neuroendocrine Center at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

A Fellow of the College since 1974, Dr. Laws has served as an active participant in and leader of numerous College activities. He became President-Elect in 2003 and served as Chair of the ACS Board of Regents from 2001 to 2003: the Board of Regents formulates policy and directs the affairs of the College. A Regent of the College since 1995, Dr. Laws was a member of the Board's Executive Committee (1998-2000), Chair of the ACS Finance Committee (2002-2003), and Chair of the Nominating Committee of the Board of Regents (2000).

Furthermore, Dr. Laws served as a member of the Board of Governors, as a member and Chair of the College's Advisory Council for Neurological Surgery and Chair of the Scholarship Committee. Dr. Laws also served as the ACS Representative to the American Joint Committee on Cancer, and to the Executive Committee and Credentials Committee of the Virginia Chapter of the College.

In addition to his service to the College, Dr. Laws has held many leadership positions in organized surgery, including being a founding member of the American Pituitary Association, the Brain Surgery Society, the International Society of Pituitary Surgeons, and the Society for Neuro-oncology. He has served as president of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (1997-1998), the Pituitary Society (1997-1998), and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (1983-1984). Currently, he is president of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies. He is a member of the American Surgical Association and American Neurological Association.

Dr. Laws has exemplified a commitment to the dissemination of surgical knowledge, having served as editor of the journal Neurosurgery (1987-1992) and having served as a member of many editorial boards, including the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, Journal of Neurosurgery, Cancer, and the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. In addition to his editorial board work, Dr. Laws is the author or co-author of hundreds of articles that have been published in peer-reviewed medical journals. He has served as editor or co-editor of more than 10 books, including Management of Pituitary Tumors: The Clinician's Practical Guide and Brain Tumors: An Encyclopedic Approach, and has been the writer or co-writer of more than 100 medical textbook chapters.

Dr. Laws has devoted a major part of his distinguished career to surgical research. He has been awarded numerous research grants, including the Umfrid Memorial Grant for Pituitary Research, the Page and Otto Marx Foundation Grant, the Ranieri Grant for Pituitary Research and the Ernest Grant for Brain Tumor Research, and he has been a principal or co-investigator on dozens of research projects, including studies investigating the treatment of brain tumors, Parkinson's disease, temporal lobe epilepsy, acromegaly, and Cushing's disease.

Additionally, Dr. Laws has served as Visiting Professor and a guest lecturer at major medical meetings around the world. He is an Honorary Member of Surgical and Neurosurgical Societies in Canada, Australasia, Japan, Italy, Germany, Peru, and France (SNLF). Other honors include membership in Alpha Omega Alpha and Sigma Xi.

Dr. Laws currently resides in Charlottesville, VA, with his wife Margaret.

The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and to improve the care of the surgical patient. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 66,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world.

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