P. David Adelson, MD, an internationally recognized neurosurgeon, is a professor in the West Virginia University School of Medicine Department of Neurosurgery, vice chair of the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, and executive director of the WVU Medicine Children’s Neuroscience Center.
Dr. Adelson is a renowned expert in pediatric and adult neurosurgery with extensive experience in epilepsy surgery, CNS tumors and vascular malformations, and management of brain, spinal cord, and brachial plexus/peripheral nerve injuries.
Dr. Adelson previously served as director and chief of pediatric neurosurgery and neuroscience at Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children’s Hospital and as Diane and Bruce Halle Endowed Chair for Children’s Neurosciences. In these roles, Dr. Adelson was instrumental in the development of one of the top pediatric neuroscience programs in the country.
Prior to joining Phoenix Children’s, Adelson was the A. Leland Albright Professor of Neurosurgery/Pediatric Neurosurgery and vice chairman for research for the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh and Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
After earning his undergraduate and medical degrees at Columbia University, Dr. Adelson completed his neurosurgical residency at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a fellowship in pediatric neurosurgery at the Children’s Hospital of Boston and Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Adelson is also the recipient of many awards and accolades, including but not limited to Surgeon of the Year (Phoenix), multiple named lectureships, and multiple inclusions in The Best Doctors in America, a list honoring the nation’s top-ranked physicians. He is also a recipient of the Herbert Olivecrona Medal from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, considered by many to be the “Nobel Prize of Neurosurgery” for his work in pediatric neuroscience.
A prolific researcher, Adelson has authored nearly 300 publications in peer-reviewed journals and 45 book chapters. In addition to his published research, Adelson has edited eight books, including the widely respected pediatric neurosurgery textbook, “Principles and Practice of Pediatric Neurosurgery,” now in its third edition.
