June 24, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - James M. Markert, M.D., professor and division director, department of surgery, division of neurosurgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), has been named the James Garber Galbraith Endowed Chair of Neurosurgery at UAB. The appointment was made by the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees at its June 20 meeting.

Markert is recognized as a national authority in the field of novel therapies. He has made major contributions to the field of neurology with his work with malignant glioma, taking a laboratory discovery he made into a clinical trial, of which the results may dramatically alter the outlook for patients with malignant glioma.

Markert, who joined the UAB faculty in 1996, also is the co-director of the UAB Brain SPORE, a $13 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop new therapies to treat brain cancer.

Markert has received a number of awards and honors, including the American Cancer Society Institutional Award, American Association of Neurological Surgeons Young Clinician Investigator Award, Society of Neuro-Oncology and National Brain Tumor Society Award for Excellence in Clinical Neuro-Oncology Research and Fellow, American College of Surgeons. He also is a member of numerous professional societies, including Society of University Surgeons, American Academy of Neurological Surgery and Society of Neuro-Oncology.

Markert earned his doctor of medicine degree from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1988 as well as his master's degree in public health followed by the completion of his residency training at the University of Michigan Medical Center.