Words from past alumni

Two alumni reflect on their experience in the Neurosurgical International Fellowship at Mayo Clinic.

Akio Morita, M.D.

Dr. Morita was a graduate of the International Fellowship program in 1989. He is currently the Dean of the Graduate School and Chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery, Nippon Medical School in Tokyo, Japan, and Secretary of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies. After completing his fellowship, Dr. Morita decided to repeat his neurosurgery residency at Mayo Clinic.

"When I applied for the Mayo Clinic international fellowship, I wished to experience practicing neurosurgery in one of the top US institutes to see what was missing in Japan, as well as to brainstorm my concepts in neurosurgery." Dr. Morita thinks doing an international fellowship can have a significant impact on a young neurosurgeon’s career — "Mayo gave me the confidence and soul to pursue academic neurosurgery to convey all my experience and thoughts in Japan."

"Consequently, I recommend that my young colleagues and fellows see the world outside of Japan to recognize how small their world is and to expand their field of vision. It was the most precious time in my life." Dr. Morita also developed a great interest in cerebrovascular surgery and has written over 200 publications, including two articles in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Michael Morgan, M.D.

Dr. Morgan was one of the first fellows in the international fellowship program in 1986. Dr. Morgan completed his neurosurgery residency at the Royal Prince Hospital in Sydney, Australia, before beginning his fellowship. During his time at Mayo Clinic, he worked under the guidance of Dr. Sundt and developed interest in cerebrovascular neurosurgery. Following his fellowship, Dr. Morgan was appointed Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Sydney in 1998 and the Dean of Medicine at Macquarie University in 2006.

He has contributed to multiple publications, and he is considered a pioneer in arteriovenous malformation and aneurysm surgery. His experience at Mayo Clinic was described as "a transformative experience." Dr. Morgan added, "Although I went there wishing to add some techniques to my repertoire, limited as though it was, I changed my fundamental way of thinking. I learned some of the basic knowledge and skills that helped for future growth and development until the day I retired."

Dr. Morgan believes that the experience of doing an international fellowship has a remarkable impact on a neurosurgeon’s career: "I feel that the knowledge and skills gained allowed me to perform at a level that I would not have been able to achieve without my experience at Mayo Clinic. I also learned to engage in writing in the literature to help me reflect on my performance and knowledge to deepen my understanding."

Top reasons

In the table, alumni share their top reasons for having pursued the Neurosurgical International Fellowship.

Past fellows

*Originally from Morocco but obtained M.D. in France