Robert Maciunas

Robert Joseph Maciunas, M.D., former Professor of Neurosurgery at University Hospitals of Cleveland/Case Western Reserve University, and Director of the Center for Image-Guided Neurosurgery and Vice Chairman of Neurological Surgery at University Hospitals Case Medical Center, passed away at the Breuning Health Care Center at Judson University Circle in Cleveland, on March 1, 2011. Dr. Maciunas was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 15, 1955. His father, Algirdas, was Chair of General Surgery at the Vytautas Didysis University in Lithuania, and his mother, Genevieve Strikas, was a dentist, prior to their emigration to America in 1949 with his three older sisters. He received his B.A. degree in Biochemistry and Biology from Northwestern University in 1976 and his M.D. degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1980. Inspired by the example of Dr. Oscar Sugar, Chair of Neurologic Surgery at Illinois, he elected to pursue postgraduate training at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. This included a surgical internship and a neurosurgical residency under the leadership of Drs. Ross H. Miller and Thoralf M. Sundt, Jr. He was privileged to have professors such as Frederick W.L. Kerr, Burton M. Onofrio, Edward R. Laws, Jr., David G. Piepgras, and Michael J. Ebersold. Subsequently, he received fellowship training in computer-assisted stereotactic Neurosurgery with Dr. Patrick J. Kelly. In 1986, Dr. Maciunas joined the faculty of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1997 he was promoted with tenure to Professor of Neurological Surgery in the School of Medicine and Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the School of Engineering. During this time, he was Chief of the Neurosurgical Service at the Nashville Veteran's Administration Hospital, Director of the Vanderbilt Comprehensive Brain Tumor Clinic, and Director of the Computerized Photon Knife program in stereotactic radiosurgery. Dr. Maciunas' major clinical interest was the development and integration of technology- intensive neurosurgical techniques to treat a variety of neurologic disorders. He was the neurosurgical principal investigator at the Vanderbilt Free Electron Laser Center. He defined and quantified the application accuracy of stereotactic frames. Working with colleagues in Computer Science and Biomedical Engineering, he was the neurosurgical principal investigator for research and development of fiducial marker-based interactive image-guided neurosurgery, later commercialized as the AcustarTM navigational system by Codman, Picker, and ZCAT. In 1999, he was named Frank P. Smith Professor and Chair of Neurosurgery at the University of Rochester in New York. During this time, he directed a transition to full Departmental status while emphasizing subspecialty-based clinical and academic productivity for Neurosurgery. He especially enjoyed working with Dr. Frank P. Smith during this time. In March 2001, he accepted the position of Professor of Neurosurgery at University Hospitals of Cleveland/Case Western Reserve University. His clinical and academic focus was Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, and he was the Director of the Center for Image-Guided Neurosurgery. He was also Vice Chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University Hospitals Case Medical Center. Beginning in 2003, he started his pioneering investigations on the use of deep brain stimulation for the treatment of tourette's syndrome with remarkable results. Indeed, his first patient's successful operation was covered internationally see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3591401.stm and his first patient's relief of symptoms was appeared on Oprah Winfrey and Sixty Minutes http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/webchats/592872/chat-jeff-matovic . Deep Brain Stimulation in the treatment of Tourette's continued to interest him, and it is the topic of his final paper, coauthored with Dr. Brian Maddox, submitted for publication last fall. His scholarly contributions include over 75 peer-reviewed articles, 32 engineering proceedings, 25 book chapters, six patents, and seven books. He has served on the editorial boards of Neurosurgery, Clinical Neurosurgery, and Computer Assisted Neurosurgery. He was active in the Executive Committee of the Joint Section of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, the International Stereotactic Radiosurgery Society, and the AANS Publications Committee. Dr. Maciunas was also acutely interested in science education of youth, as evidenced by the Hawken School's Annual Dr. Bob Maciunas STEMM Science Technology Engineering Math Medical Research Symposium see http://www.hawken.edu/podium/default.aspxt =204&nid=581241&bl=back&rc=0 . In private life, Dr. Maciunas enjoyed literature and read widely, enjoyed photography and travel, enjoyed classical music -- with a particular fondness for Beethoven's 9th symphony -- and took great delight in a good joke or a wide-ranging conversation shared with his colleagues, co- workers, coauthors, students and friends. His talents extended also to the graphic arts; he produced many clever drawings for friends and family and once illustrated a professional album cover in the days of vinyl records. Dr. Maciunas is survived by two sons Nicholas Maciunas of New York City, NY and Joseph Maciunas of Las Vegas, NM , his wife Dr. Ann Failinger of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, three sisters Dr. Dana Vytautas Mockus of San Diego, CA, Dr. Grazina Michael McClure of Ellicott City, MD, and Dr. Jurate Carl Landwehr of McLean, Virginia, as well as a niece and three nephews. He will be mourned by his family and his many colleagues, co-authors, students and friends. A funeral Service will be held Saturday, March 5th at 10 AM in St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 2747 Fairmount Blvd., Cleveland Hts., OH 44106. Internment Services will be held on March 12 in St. Casimir's Catholic Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois, where his parents are interred, preceded by a Funeral Mass at 9:30 AM in the Blessed J Matulaitis Lithuanian Catholic Mission in Lemont, Illinois. In lieu of flowers, it is requested that donations be made in Dr. Maciunas's name to the Creative Arts Program Fund at Judson Park 2181 Ambleside Drive, Cleveland, Ohio 44106 which afforded him much joy during his final illness. Additional options for contributions, in lieu of flowers, may be made to Hawken School STEMM Pathways Program Robert Maciunas Annual Symposium 12465 County Line Road Gates Mills, OH 44040-8002 OR University Hospitals Department of Neurosurgery Robert Maciunas Memorial Fund, 11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106.


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