Antonio Bernardo is an Italian-American neurosurgeon and academic physician. He is a professor of Neurological Surgery and the Director of the Neurosurgical Innovations and Training Center for Skull Base and Microneurosurgery in the Department of Neurological Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College."Antonio Bernardo, M.D.", skullbaseneurosurgery.org. Retrieved 25 September 2022. He has gained significant notoriety for his expertise in skull base and cerebrovascular surgery, and has published extensively on minimally invasive neurosurgery. He is a pioneer in the use of 3D technology in neurosurgery and a strong advocate for competency-based training in surgery.Lavinia Pisani, "Italian Luminary Leads in Manhattan" , L'Italo-Americano, 10 February 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2017.

Early life and education Bernardo was born and raised in Naples, Italy. Bernardo earned his medical degree from the University of Naples Federico II in 1990"Antonio Bernardo: Professor of Research in Neurological Surgery", vivo.med.cornell.edu. Retrieved 5 January 2018. and completed residency training in neurosurgery at The Western General Hospital in Edinburgh, Scotland, which is part of NHS Lothian. During his residency, he worked extensively on the epidemiology and treatment of head injury and hemorrhagic stroke with Douglas Miller."James Douglas Miller", THE SOCIETY OF NEUROLOGICAL SURGEONS. Retrieved 27 December 2017.

Following residency he trained in skull base and cerebrovascular surgery at the University of California, Irvine from 1997 to 1999 and subsequently completed fellowship training in Skull Base Surgery at the Barrow Neurological Institute, under the mentorship of Robert Spetzler.Vincenzo Pascale, "Microchirurgia cranica, un campano dirige la Cornell School di New York", Corriere della sera-Corriere del Mezzogiorno-Salute, 18 January 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2017.

Professional career Following his time at the University of California, Irvine, Bernardo moved to Peru in 1999 and joined the Foundation for International Education in Neurological Surgery (FIENS) as part of an effort to establish skull base surgery programs in hospitals throughout the country."Report of FIENS Activities", Neurosurgery, 1 August 2000, vol. 47 (2), p. 472. Retrieved 9 January 2018.

In 2000, Bernardo joined the neurosurgery faculty of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, where he was also the co-director of their Microneurosurgery Skull Base Laboratory.

Following completion of his fellowship at the Barrow Neurological Institute, he joined the Faculty of Weill Cornell Medical College in 2004 where he is currently a Professor of Neurosurgery and the Director of the Neurosurgical Innovations and Training Center for Skull Base and Microneurosurgery.Liliana Rosano, "Antonio Bernardo: un cervello di neurochirurgo", La Voce di New York, 26 May 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2017.

In 2011, Bernardo founded the Weill Cornell Neurosurgical Innovations and Training Center, a research and training facility for neurosurgeons, where he and his longstanding collaborator, fellow neurosurgeon Dr. Alexander I. Evins, direct a fellowship training program in skull base and microneurosurgery. As of 2025, the program has trained over 200 neurosurgeons from 57 countries and is regarded as one of the premier international training programs in skull base neurosurgery.

The research laboratory, under the direction of Bernardo and Evins, works on the development of new operative techniques in neurosurgery as well as the integration of neurosurgery with novel technologies."Neurosurgical Innovations and Training Center for Skull Base and Microneurosurgery", Weill Cornell Medicine. Retrieved 29 December 2017. Bernardo's current areas of research include minimally invasive neurosurgery, surgical simulation and planning, surgical robotics, flexible endoscopy, flexible surgical instrumentation, white matter navigation, 3D printing, virtual and augmented reality, and the development of novel operative techniques in microneurosurgery.

Bernardo currently practices neurosurgery in multiple countries where he exclusively operates on complex skull base and cerebrovascular surgical cases.

Humanitarian work Bernardo has been a vocal proponent for the advancement of neurosurgical education in developing countries and has provided educational opportunities for surgeons from around the world through courses and his fellowship program."Weill Cornell Neurosurgery Former Fellows" , Weill Cornell Medicine. Retrieved 30 December 2017. Since 1999, he has regularly volunteered his time for surgery and to teach surgeons in a number of developing countries in Latin America.

Awards 1994, Bruel & Kijel Travelling Fellowship Award from the Department of Neurosurgery at the Righospitalet in Copenhagen, Denmark"Bruel & Kijel travelling fellowship award (Antonio Bernardo - 1994)", vivo.med.cornell.edu. Retrieved 5 January 2018. 1999, Excellence in Clinical Teaching Award from the "Clinical and teaching excellence award (Antonio Bernardo - 1999)", vivo.med.cornell.edu. Retrieved 31 December 2017. 2000, Excellence in Clinical Teaching Award from the Hospital Rebagliati"Clinical and teaching excellence award (Antonio Bernardo - 2000)", vivo.med.cornell.edu. Retrieved 31 December 2017. 2001, Lou Grubb Fellowship in Skull Base Anatomy, Barrow Neurological Institute"Lou Grubb fellowship in Skull Base Anatomy (Antonio Bernardo - 2001)", vivo.med.cornell.edu. Retrieved 29 December 2017. 2002, Annual Clinical Excellence Award from Medtronic"Annual clinical excellence award from Medtronic/Midas Rex (Antonio Bernardo - 2002)", vivo.med.cornell.edu. Retrieved 31 December 2017. 2002, Best Scientific Paper, Annual Meeting of the Caribbean Association of Neurological Surgeons"Best Scientific Paper, Annual Meeting of the Caribbean Association of Neurological Surgeons (Bernardo, Antonio - 2002)", vivo.med.cornell.edu. Retrieved 16 January 2018. 2003, Honored Guest at the Annual Meeting of the Colombian Association of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, and Maxillo-Facial Surgery"Honored Guest at the Annual Meeting of the Colombian Association of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, and Maxillo-Facial Surgery (Bernardo, Antonio - 2003)", vivo.med.cornell.edu. Retrieved 16 January 2018. 2004, Award for Excellence in Surgery and Teaching from the University of Guadalajara, Mexico"Award for Excellence in Surgery and Teaching from the University of Guadalajara, Mexico (Bernardo, Antonio - 2004)", vivo.med.cornell.edu. Retrieved 16 January 2018. 2004, Honored guest at the Annual Meeting of the Colombian Association of Neurological Surgeons"Honored guest at the Annual Meeting of the Colombian Association of Neurological Surgeons, Armenia, Colombia (Antonio Bernardo - 2004)", vivo.med.cornell.edu. Retrieved 31 December 2017 2006, Gold Medal from the Venezuelan Congress of Neurological Surgeons for his contribution to the development of Neurosurgery in Venezuela"Gold Medal from the Venezuelan Congress of Neurological Surgeons for the contribution to the development of Neurosurgery in Venezuela (Bernardo, Antonio - 2006)", vivo.med.cornell.edu. Retrieved 16 January 2018. 2008, Gold medal from the Latin American Federation of Neurological Surgeons for his contribution to the development of Neurosurgery in Latin America"Gold medal from the Latin American Federation of Neurological Surgeons for the contribution to the development of Neurosurgery in Latin America (Bernardo, Antonio - 2008)", vivo.med.cornell.edu. Retrieved 16 January 2018. 2015, Friendship Award from the Gruppo Esponenti Italiani"Dr. Antonio Bernardo", geinewyork.com, 8 December 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2017. 2015, Honorary Member of the Italian Association of Neurological Surgeons 2015, Honored Guest at the Annual Meeting of the Italian Association of Neurological Surgeons"Al via a Napoli il 64° Congresso nazionale di neurochirurgia. Oltre 600 i lavori valutati dalla commissione scientifica. Focus sui traumi midollari", quotidianosanità.it, 24 June 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2017. 2016, Grand Award of Merit, American Society of the Italian Legions of Merit 2017, Cavaliere of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic"Dr. Antonio Bernardo Awarded Italian Order of Merit", weillcornellbrainandspine.org, 6 August 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.

Selected publications Books Bernardo A, Evins AI, Complex Surgical Approaches to the Skull Base: A Dissection Manual, New York, NY: NTG Press; 2024. Bernardo A, Evins AI, Skull Base Surgery: A Contemporary Guide to Operative Techniques, New York, NY: Thieme. 2026.

Book chapters Bernardo A, Stieg PE, Orbitocranial Zygomatic Approach for Upper Basilar Artery Aneurysms, Chapter 11 in: Mcdonald RL, Neurosurgical Operative Atlas: Vascular Neurosurgery, 2nd ed., New York, NY: Thieme Verlagsgruppe, 2009. Bernardo A, Stieg PE, Translabyrinthine and Transcochlear Petrosal Approaches, Chapter 12 in: Cappabianca P, Califano L, Iaconetta G, (eds.) Cranial, Craniofacial and Skull Base Surgery, Milan, Italy: Springer-Verlag Mailand; 2010. Bernardo A, Evins AI, Neurosurgical Anatomy and Approaches to Simulation in Neurosurgical Training, in: Alaraj A, ed. Comprehensive Healthcare Simulation: Neurosurgery Edition, New York, NY: Springer; 2018. Bernardo A, Anatomy and Histology of Intracranial AVMs, in: Steig PE, Khalessi A, Apuzzo MLJ eds. Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations: Essentials for Patients and Practitioners, New York, NY: Elsevier; 2023.

Research articles . . . . . . . . .

References