Michael L. J. Apuzzo (born May 22, 1940) is an American academic neurological surgeon, the Edwin M. Todd/Trent H. Wells, Jr. Professor Emeritus of Neurological Surgery and Radiation Oncology, Biology, and Physics at the Keck School of Medicine, of the University of Southern California. He is also editor emeritus of the peer-reviewed journals World Neurosurgery and Neurosurgery. He is distinguished adjunct professor of neurosurgery at the Yale School of Medicine, distinguished professor of advanced neurosurgery and neuroscience and senior advisor, at the Neurological Institute, Wexner Medical School, The Ohio State University, and adjunct professor of neurosurgery, Weill Cornell Medicine, Department of Neurological Surgery & Weill Cornell Brain and Spine Center.
Early life and education Apuzzo is the son of a maritime family with roots in Amalfi, Italy (Dominic John Apuzzo, a precision machinist and craftsman) and Vienna, Austria (Ann Janet Lorenz, a registered nurse). Born in New Haven, Connecticut where he attended the Hopkins Grammar School, continued his academic studies at Yale College and obtained his medical degree at the Boston University. After completing his general surgery training at McGill's Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, he returned to the Yale School of Medicine to complete his neurosurgical residency at Yale New Haven Hospital, West Haven Veteran's Administration Hospital, and Hartford Hospital, along with fellowships in neurophysiology and neuro-pathology. During that time, Apuzzo obtained training in nuclear, submarine and deep sea diving medical specialties at the Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut.
Military service Following training in Groton, Connecticut, he served as a medical and deep sea diving officer on the USS Robert E. Lee (SSBN-601), one of the original five nuclear-powered fleet ballistic missile submarines as a part of submarine Squadron 14 based in Holy Loch, Scotland. This squadron was assigned to implement the deterrent mission of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), serving as a submarine platform for sixteen Polaris A-3 multiple nuclear warhead intercontinental ballistic missiles. This duty consisted of multiple 90- to 120-day submerged patrols to polar regions, the Mediterranean Sea, and Black Sea.Apuzzo ML, Pagán VM, Faccio R, Liu CY. A Bosphorus submarine passage and the reinvention of neurosurgery. World Neurosurgery 79(1):40-52, 2013.
Professional life He joined the faculty at the University of Southern California School of Medicine in 1973, where he established a central nervous system immunology and cellular biology laboratory.Farin A, Liu CY, Elder JB, Langmoen IA, Apuzzo ML. The biological restoration of central nervous system architecture and function: part 1-foundations and historical landmarks in contemporary stem cell biology. Neurosurgery 64(1):15-39, 2009. There, he primarily focused on brain diseases such as tumors, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease and neuropsychiatric disorders. At the Los Angeles County General Hospital, he developed early refinements of microsurgical techniques for the management of intracranial neoplasms. Specifically, he described and advocated complex midline transcerebral microsurgical corridors to the brain's centrally located third ventricle, which ultimately resulted in popularizing these approaches internationally.Michael L. J. Apuzzo. Surgery of the Third Ventricle. Williams & Wilkins, 1987Michael L.J. Apuzzo. Brain Surgery: Complication Avoidance and Management, Volume 2. Churchill Livingstone, 1992 He helped establish the microscope as a regular and essential component of the general neurosurgical armamentarium.Michael L.J. Apuzzo. Brain Surgery: Complication Avoidance and Management, Volume 1. Churchill Livingstone, 1983 He was appointed Professor in 1980.
Currently, Apuzzo is the Edwin M. Todd/Trent H. Wells, Jr. Professor Emeritus of Neurological Surgery and Radiation Oncology, Biology, and Physics at the Keck School of Medicine, of the University of Southern California, distinguished adjunct professor of neurosurgery at the Yale School of Medicine, distinguished professor of advanced neurosurgery and neuroscience and senior advisor, at the Neurological Institute, Wexner Medical School, The Ohio State University, and adjunct professor of neurosurgery, Weill Cornell Medicine, Department of Neurological Surgery & Weill Cornell Brain and Spine Center. He was director of Neurosurgery at the Kenneth Norris, Jr. Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, senior clinical director of surgical neuro-oncology, and director of the Gamma Unit Facility at the USC University Hospital and neurosurgical director of the Norris CyberKnife Facility at the Norris Hospital.
Clinical and research activities Apuzzo was a leader in the development and employment of imaging directed stereotactic neurosurgery in 1979.Heilbrun MP, Roberts TS, Apuzzo ML, Wells TH Jr, Sabshin JK. Preliminary experience with Brown-Roberts-Wells (BRW) computerized tomography stereotaxic guidance system. J Neurosurg. 1983 Aug;59(2):217-22.Apuzzo ML, Sabshin JK. Computed tomographic guidance stereotaxis in the management of intracranial mass lesions. Neurosurgery. 1983 Mar;12(3):277-85. In the laboratory and clinic, he developed and refined prototype stereotactic systems and technical adjuvants. These created a mode of intracranial navigation at a new level of precision and safety. He introduced the computer as an intraoperative neurosurgical tool and reintroduced intracranial endoscopy as a technical adjunct.Apuzzo ML, Heifetz MD, Weiss MH, Kurze T. Neurosurgical endoscopy using the side-viewing telescope. J Neurosurg. 1977 Mar;46(3):398-400 Though not primarily a radiosurgeon, he introduced and developed rotational dynamic radiosurgery techniques and performed the first procedure in America using these methods for brain tumors, arteriovenous malformations, and functional disorders. Later, he worked to refine and popularize the use of fixed beam systems.Hoh DJ, Liu CY, Pagnini PG, Yu C, Wang MY, Apuzzo ML. Chained lightning, part I: Exploitation of energy and radiobiological principles for therapeutic purposes. Neurosurgery. 2007 Jul;61(1):14-27; discussion 27-8.Hoh DJ, Liu CY, Chen JC, Pagnini PG, Yu C, Wang MY, Apuzzo ML. Chained lightning, part II: neurosurgical principles, radiosurgical technology, and the manipulation of energy beam delivery. Neurosurgery. 2007 Sep;61(3):433-46; discussion 446.Hoh DJ, Liu CY, Chen JC, Pagnini PG, Yu C, Wang MY, Apuzzo ML. Chained lightning: part III--Emerging technology, novel therapeutic strategies, and new energy modalities for radiosurgery. Neurosurgery. 2007 Dec;61(6):1111-29; discussion 1129-30.
He studied functional restoration in the central nervous system and performed North America's first human stereotactic cerebral grafting research procedure for the amelioration of Parkinsonism. He conceived the term‚ 'cellular and molecular neuro-surgery'Apuzzo ML, Mitchell MS. Immunological aspects of intrinsic glial tumors. J Neurosurg. 1981 Jul;55(1):1-18 and promoted the amalgam of molecular biology and neurosurgery in the comprehension and management of neurological diseases. He developed the concept of minimally invasive neurosurgery and played a primary role in the investigation and application of vagal nerve stimulation for the management of intractable epilepsy.Amar AP, Heck CN, DeGiorgio CM, Apuzzo ML. Experience with vagus nerve stimulation for intractable epilepsy: some questions and answers. Neurol Med Chir (Tokyo). 1999 Jul;39(7):489-95. This method of treatment was subsequently applied to multiple neurofunctional and psychiatric disorders.Heller AC, Amar AP, Liu CY, Apuzzo ML. Surgery of the mind and mood: a mosaic of issues in time and evolution. Neurosurgery. 2008 Jun;62(6 Suppl 3):921-40.Robison RA, Taghva A, Liu CY, Apuzzo ML. Surgery of the mind, mood, and conscious state: an idea in evolution. World Neurosurg. 2012 May-Jun;77(5-6):662-86.
He has worked as a special consultant to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) through the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the Cape Kennedy-Canaveral Facilities.
He has raised awareness of the role of nanotechnology as a neurosurgical adjuvant.Elder JB, Liu CY, Apuzzo ML. Neurosurgery in the realm of 10(-9), part 1: stardust and nanotechnology in neuroscience. Neurosurgery. 2008 Jan;62(1):1-20.Elder JB, Liu CY, Apuzzo ML. Neurosurgery in the realm of 10(-9), Part 2: applications of nanotechnology to neurosurgery--present and future. Neurosurgery. 2008 Feb;62(2):269-84; discussion 284-5. He has worked in the area of advanced and specialized operating room design,Apuzzo ML, Weinberg RA. Architecture and functional design of advanced neurosurgical operating environments. Neurosurgery. 1993 Oct;33(4):663-72; discussion 672-3. as well as the concept of virtual environments for surgical simulation.Liu CY, Spicer M, Apuzzo ML. The genesis of neurosurgery and the evolution of the neurosurgical operative environment: part II--concepts for future development, 2003 and beyond. Neurosurgery. 2003 Jan;52(1):20-33; discussion 33-5.Spicer MA, Apuzzo ML. Virtual reality surgery: neurosurgery and the contemporary landscape. Neurosurgery. 2003 Mar;52(3):489-97; discussion 496-7.Spicer MA, van Velsen M, Caffrey JP, Apuzzo ML. Virtual reality neurosurgery: a simulator blueprint. Neurosurgery. 2004 Apr;54(4):783-97; discussion 797-8.
Publications and editorships Apuzzo has made over 800 contributions to the scientific literature on surgical techniques, methods, and concepts as they apply to disorders of the human cerebrum. Major independent volumes have included: Surgery of the Third Ventricle (1987, 1998) Brain Surgery: Complication Avoidance and Management (1992), and Surgery of the Human Cerebrum (2009).Michael L.J. Apuzzo. Surgery of the Human Cerebrum: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2009 Predominant themes have included surgical minimalism, technology transfer and the implementation of advanced technologies to the therapy of brain diseases.
In 1991, he was appointed editor-in-chief of the peer-reviewed journal Neurosurgery. He established the web-based "Neurosurgery-Online" and later "Operative Neurosurgery" during his term as editor-in-chief. When he completed his term in 2009, he was asked to found the society sponsored peer-reviewed journal "World Neurosurgery" and "worldneurosurgery.org" by the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) until January 2015, when he stepped down.
In 2015, he was the new editor of World Neurosurgery."Right-Wing Brain Surgeons: The Case of Surgical Neurology International", Discover Magazine (February 22, 2015) In 2021, he co-published "Applications of augmented reality in the neurosurgical operating room: A systematic review of the literature" in the Journal of Clinical Neuroscience."Applications of augmented reality in the neurosurgical operating room: A systematic review of the literature", Journal of Clinical Neuroscience (September 2023) 2021 Sep:91:43-61. doi: 10.1016/j.jocn.2021.06.032, Swathi Chidambaram, Vito Stifano, Michelle Demetres, Mariano Teyssandier, Maria Chiara Palumbo, Alberto Redaelli, Alessandro Olivi, Michael L J Apuzzo, Susan C Pannullo In 2023, he is on the editorial board of the Chinese Neurosurgical Journal."Editorial Board", Springer Nature, Chinese Neurosurgical Journal
Internationalism and education