Curriculum Vitae

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Angelo Gandolfi, M.D. Professor of Neurosurgery 

Angelo Gandolfi was born in Parma, Italy, on March 21st, 1949. He finished Liceo Classico and acquired Maturità Classica in 1969. He started the Medical School in Parma and ended up with the maximum of points and the Lepetit Prix for Medical Degree. In November 1974 he sustained the Examination to practice Medicine in Italy. From November 1974 until October 1975 he was full time Assistant in Pathologic Anatomy and Histopathology at the University of Brescia, where he started electively to practice Neuropathology and Neuro-oncology. In Genuary 1975 Dr. Gandolfi obtained ECFMG Certification for recognition of his Italian Medical Degree in the United States of America and Canada. He has also been voluntary Assistant at the Neurosurgical Department of Parma University. Then he become officially employed by the Ministry of Public Education as Doctor in Medicine and Surgery affiliated at the Department of Neurosurgery of Parma University, beginning 1976. This was the way to start with intensive involvement in neurosurgical training and patient care. Togheter with this main interest and clinical application, he continued very active cooperation with the Department of Neurology and the Institute of Pathologic Anatomy, to carry out research and diagnostic work especially in the field of neuro-oncological histopathology.

 

In July 1976 he obtained the Specialty Certification in Pathologic Anatomy and Histopathology, cum laude. The thesis he presented was related to the pathology of Intracranial Chordomas. In August 1976 he spent one month at the S.Barnabas Hospital, Bronx, New York, dedicating his time to learn stereotactic techniques at that time available to treat extrapyramidal disorders of the central nervous system. After his serving as Lieutenant Doctor in the Italian Air Forces Dr.Gandolfi started again his regular Service at the Neurosurgical Department of Parma University. In June 1979 he was called to cover the position of Research Fellow at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. He went to the States and spent two years at the Anne and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Center for Research in Mental Retardation and Human Development, making extensive research work in Neuropathology, Neuroanatomy and Human Neurobiology. He started cooperating with the Department of Neurosurgery in a very close interdisciplinary style, as used at the Einstein University among cultors of basic and clinical neurological sciences. He ended up with a wonderful cooperation with professor Dominique Purpura and published in English language four papers on journals such as: Journal of Neurological Sciences and Acta Neuropathologica. The Kresge foundation and Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington D.C. gave him support to examine tens of petrous bones in several pathological but also normal conditions. 

A special point of interest was devoted to the neuroanatomy and architecture of the cochlear nuclei in humans, from the very early stages of intrauterine life to adulthood. The National Foundation March of Dimes sponsored all his efforts while at Einstein Institution. In the same period of time he attended conferences and attended clinical and surgical activities at the New York University Bellevue Hospital Medical Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Harvard University in Boston. His participations have been always recognized and granted by the American Medical Association. Back from the Unites States, Dr.Gandolfi continued to be a Doctor in the Department of Neurosurgery in Parma and was able to organize an International Symposium on "Aging of the Brain and Dementia" together with Dr. Robert Terry, Chairman of Pathology at Einstein. In June 1981 he was Board certified as Neurosurgeon at the University of Milan, obtaining full rewards. He has been nominated later on, in August 1981, Research Fellow in Neurosurgery at the University of Parma and Clinical Fellow in Neurosurgery at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, U.S.A. In April 1983 he started a very active cooperation with the Department of Neuro-Otology at the University of Parma and since then has dedicated and still fully dedicates all his efforts in the research activity and clinical work in the fileds of: acoustic neuroma surgery; skull base surgery; cerebello-pontine angle surgery; monitoring of cranial nerves in the posterior fossa, with a predilection in the field of neuro-vascular compression syndromes. 

He has spent several sabbatical periods at the University of Pittsburgh (Prof. P.J.Jannetta), mastering the neuro-vascular decompression techniques; University of California at Los Angeles and House Ear Institute (U.S.A.); Neurosurgical Clinic in Hannover (Prof. M.Samii); Neurosurgical Clinic in Vienna (Prof. Koos), dedicating all his efforts in the fields of microneurosurgery of the nerves and vessels in the posterior fossa and microtechniques for preservation of hearing function during removal of acoustic tumors or other c.p.a. lesions. In fact he has always posed special dedication on the preservation of hearing in acoustic neurinoma surgery. Dr.Gandolfi has become Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Parma in 1991 and mantains this position with full satisfaction of the Faculty. Fields of preferential activities are constituted by: treatment of Trigeminal Neuralgia and Hemifacial Spasm (and also other neuro-vascular syndromes) using 'a minima' retrosigmoid approach; microneurosurgery of expanding lesions in the cerebello-pontine angle (acoustic tumors, meningiomas...) with preservation of neural integrity, especially facial nerve and cochlear (auditory) nerve postoperative functions. Neurovascular Decompression procedures (DNV) for the Trigeminal and Facial nerve do represent the main field of interest, both in surgical practice and clinical research, of the Author. He has contributed to the development of innovative surgical techniques in order to get stable and optimal results from the Decompressive procedures.