Skip to main content
2023 AANS Annual Scientific Meeting Main banner
Back

H. Hunt Batjer, MD (he/him/his)

Professor
UTSouthwestern, Mayo Clinic
Dallas, Texas, United States

Hunt Batjer, MD is Professor Emeritus, UT Southwestern and Adjunct Professor, Mayo Clinic. He is recognized internationally as a leading cerebrovascular surgeon. His academic pursuits and research are in ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke and brain injuries. After training at UT Southwestern in neurological surgery, he was on the faculty until 1995. He then accepted the position of chair of the department of neurological surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago where he served untl 2012. He was recruited back to UT Southwestern and retired at the end of 2020.

Dr. Batjer has held numerous positions in organized medicine including past-president of the CNS, the Society of University Neurosurgeons, the Neurosurgical Society of America, the Society of Neurological Surgeons, and the AANS. He served as Chairman of the AANS/CNS Section on Cerebrovascular Disease in 2000, and was Chairman of te Board of the Interurban Neurosurgical Society from 2001 to 2012. In addition to leadership roles in many large-member societies, Dr. Batjer has had the opportunity to serve as an advocate for public health and wellbeing. He is Past Director and Past Chair of the American Board of Neurological Surgery. In that role, he testified before the Institute of Medicine and on Capitol Hill as a leading voice opposing severe restrictions on duty hours for surgeons in training which would have jeopardized public safety. He later served as a member and Chair of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Neurosurgical Residency Review Committee. In these roles, he participated as a leader initiating the new accreditation system for all specialties and worked toward development of the Single Accreditation System inclusive of Osteopathic trainees.

At the height of the national and international controversies surrounding athletic head trauma and the risk of permanent neurological damage, Dr. Batjer was named co-chair of the NFL Committee on Head, Neck, and Spine Injuries. He and his co-chair, Dr. Rich Ellenbogen, testified before Congress and at numerous national and international public gatherings to further define this problem. The committee implemented more than 40 new rules and policy changes to protect defenseless players. One of these rules advanced the restraining line on kickoffs by 5 yards and reduced concussions on kickoff plays by 40%.

In 2016, Dr. Batjer was nominated by the Council of Medical Specialty Societies to serve on the Board of Directors of the ACGME and in 2019 he was elected to their Executive Committee. He became treasurer in 2020 and served until 2022.

In 2011, Dr. Batjer was named Honored Guess of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and in 2016 he was the Medalist for the Neurosurgical Society of America and was awarded the Founder's Laurel by the CNS. In 2018 he was named Honored Guest for the 8th Academic Congress of International Chinese Neurological Sciences and the 53rd Rocky Mountain Neurosurgical Society. In April 2020, he received the Cushing Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the AANS.

Presentation(s):