The field of neurosurgery has long been male-dominated, with women making up only 30% of the neurology workforce.
This gender disparity shows no sign of shrinking. Data from the American Medical Association shows that 76% of neurosurgery residents are men, which may lead to the specialty becoming even more male-dominated in the future.
Here are five women from some of the U.S.' largest health systems making waves in neurosurgery:
Editor's note: Physicians are listed in alphabetical order. If you'd like to nominate someone for this list, please reach out to Paige Haeffele at phaeffele@beckershealthcare.com.
Aviva Abosch, MD, PhD. Dr. Abosch serves as the inaugural chair of the UNMC department of neurosurgery, a professor of neurosurgery at UNMC and co-director of Neurosciences Services, at Omaha-based Nebraska Medicine. She is the past president of the American Society of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery and of Women in Neurosurgery, and currently serves as secretary of the Neurosurgical Society of America, and of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.
Amy Heimberger, MD, PhD. Dr. Heimberger is a neurosurgeon at Chicago-based Northwestern Medical Group, and serves as the Jean Malnati Miller professor of neurological surgery and the vice chair for research at Northwestern University's department of neurosurgery. She has been in practice for more than 20 years, holds several professional titles and has published more than 200 articles pertaining to immunology and neurosurgery research.
Judy Huang, MD. Dr. Huang is a neurosurgeon at Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins and serves as director of the neurosurgery residency program at Johns Hopkins University. She is a member of the board of directors of the American Board of Neurological Surgery, and specializes in the treatment of cerebrovascular disorders.
Maryam Rahman, MD. Dr. Rahman serves as chair of the Women in Neurosurgery organization and is an associate professor in the department of neurosurgery at the University of Florida in Gainesville. She was the first female president of the Florida Neurosurgical Society and has served on the executive committee of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.
Stacey Quintero Wolfe, MD. Dr. Wolfe is director of neurointerventional surgery and residency program director at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem, N.C., and is co-principal investigator of NIH StrokeNet at Wake Forest Baptist. She is a navy veteran and specializes in disorders of blood vessels, brain trauma and spine.