The Dr. Thomas A. Dooley Award - 2023: Robert J. Dempsey M.D., ’73

2023: Robert J. Dempsey M.D., ’73

Dr. Robert J. Dempsey ’73 is the Manucher Javid Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Wisconsin. He specializes in cranial neurosurgery of brain tumors, intracranial aneurysms, carotid endarterectomy, and the repair of congenital brain stem disorders, and co-directs the UW Stroke Program.

With a philosophy of “Service Through Education,” Dempsey is committed to solving health disparities by training, equipping, and mentoring generations of physicians in worldwide areas of need. The former president of the U.S. Society of Neurological Surgeons (SNS), he also chairs the Foundation for International Education in Neurological Surgery (FIENS), helping establish and support over 20 training programs in developing countries in Africa, Asia, Central America, and South America.

Dempsey has received the Humanitarian Award from American Association of Neurological Surgeons and Distinguished Service Awards from the Neurological Society of America, the SNS, and the University of Chicago Medical Alumni Association, noting a lifetime commitment to science, mentoring, neurosurgical service, and education nationally and internationally. In 2022, he received the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies Medal of Honor, the highest award in world neurosurgery.

In recognition of a lifetime of worldwide mentoring of resident and young faculty, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons has named its annual resident award the Robert J. Dempsey Research Award for Cerebrovascular Neurosurgery in his honor. In 2018, the Society of Neurological Surgeons awarded Dempsey the National Medical Student Teaching Award in recognition of his role as an outstanding educator and mentor in the U.S.

With over 35 years of NIH funding, Dempsey has multiple research projects with a focus on education, global health, cerebral ischemia, vascular cognitive decline, and repair of the injured brain with over 300 publications, an H-index of 83, and over 100 research grants.

"The humanitarian work of Dr. Thomas Dooley has been an inspiration to me from the first day I set foot on Notre Dame’s campus. His lesson of Health and Hope is the greatest of gifts, both given and received by us when we partner with all. I am deeply humbled and wish to share this honor with all who have - and continue to - inspire me."