Howard appointed to VanGilder Chair
Dr. Matthew Howard, UI professor and head of neurosurgery, has been appointed the John C. VanGilder Chair in Neurosurgery. The five-year appointment was effective March 1.
The endowed VanGilder Chairmanship honors the achievements and contributions of the late Dr. John VanGilder, UI emeritus professor of neurosurgery, and was created by gifts to the UI Foundation from colleagues, former trainees, friends and the VanGilder family. John VanGilder died in 2007.
Howard, who joined the UI faculty in 1993, has led the UI Department of Neurosurgery since it was first created in 2001. He is an expert in neurosurgical treatment of epilepsy, and his cutting-edge research explores how the brain processes sounds and emotions. Howard also is active in the development of new medical devices. He helped pioneer the invention of the Stereotaxis Magnetic Navigation System, which uses magnets to precisely guide surgical instruments through the human body.
Howard is the first UI faculty member to hold the John C. VanGilder Chair in Neurosurgery, which is the department’s first endowed faculty award.