Friehs Gerhard Neurosurgeon
Associate Director, Pediatric Neurosurgery ClinicEducation & Academic Qualifications
- Professor of Neurosurgery and Director of Neuroscience, European University, Nicosia, Cyprus
- Associate Professor of Neurosurgery, Medical University of Graz, Austria
- 1984 – 1988: Medical School (Doctor of Medicine, MD): Karl-Franzens University, Graz, Austria
- 01/1988 – 12/1989: Neurosurgery Residency: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, Dept. of Neurosurgery, USA
- 1/90 – 12/90: Surgery Internship: Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Department of Surgery, Graz, Austria
- 1991 – 1995: Neurosurgery Residency: Karl-Franzen -University Graz, Department of Neurosurgery, Graz, Austria
- 10/2012 – 12/2012: Endovascular and Cerebrovascular Intervention Fellowship at University of Alabama, Dept. of Neurosurgery, Birmingham, AL, USA (Director: Mark Harrigan M.D., Ph.D.)
2013 – present: Director, IMASA (International Medical and Surgical Associates), Nicosia, Cyprus
2010 – 2012: Chairman, Dept. of Neurosurgery, Baylor Scott&White hospital, Texas A&M University, USA
Director of the Neuroscience Institute at Scott&White, Temple, Texas,
Administrative Leadership for the entire institutional Neurosurgery program and Neuropsychology program
Administrative Leadership for the Children’s hospital at Scott&White, Neurosurgery
Administrative co-director for Finances, Neurosurgery clinic Co-director of the Movement Disorder Center at Scott&White
Administrative and Clinical Neurosurgery appointee for Radiosurgery
2009 – 2010: Interim Chair, Department of Neurosurgery, Scott &White Memorial Hospital, Temple, Texas, USA
2008 – 2009: Vice-Chairman, Department of Neurosurgery, Scott &White Memorial Hospital, Temple, Texas, USA
2002 – 2008: Vice-Director of the New England Gamma Knife Center, Lifespan, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
Director of Pain and Functional Neurosurgery at Brown University, USA
Brown University Quality Assurance Director, Neurosurgery
Administrative Director for Neurosurgery at Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island
1995 – 2008: Attending Neurosurgeon, Rhode Island Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery, USA
Attending Neurosurgeon, The Miriam Hospital, Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, USA
Attending Neurosurgeon, Memorial Hospital of Pawtucket, Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, USA
Attending Neurosurgeon, Butler Hospital, Department of Surgery, USA
Hospital Appointments
2012 – present: Hygeia Hospital, Athens, Greece
Iaso Children’s Hospital, Athens, Greece
American Medical Center, Niocosia, Cyprus
Polyclinic Hygeia Limassol, Cyprus
Mediterraneo Hospital, Athens, Greece
2014 – 2018: Henry Dunant Hospital Center, Athens, Greece
2008 – 2012: Scott &White Memorial Hospital, Temple, Texas, USA
2005 – 2008: Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, USA
1995 – 2008: Rhode Island Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery, USA
The Miriam Hospital, Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, USA
Memorial Hospital of Pawtucket, Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, USA
Butler Hospital, Department of Surgery, USA
Education Experience:
2017 – present: Professor of Neurosurgery and Director of Neuroscience Program, European University, Nicosia, Cyprus
2010 – 2012: Administrative leader for all clinical, educational and research responsibilities, Baylor Scott&White hospital. Texas A&M University, USA
2009: Associate Professor of Surgery, Scott&White Memorial Hospital, Texas A&M University, Texas
2008 – 2009: Assistant Professor of Surgery, Texas A&M University
2005 – present: ATLS instructor
2002 – 2008: Associate Professor of Clinical Neurosciences (Neurosurgery), Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
Director of Functional Neurosurgery Fellowship, Brown University, USA
Mentor: Masters of Medical Science Program at Brown University Clinical
1996 – present: Associate Professor for Neurosurgery, Medical University Graz, Austria
Teaching Appointment in Neurosurgery
1995 – 2002: Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurosciences (Neurosurgery), Brown University, Providence RI, USA
1988 – 1989: Research Assistant, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
1985 – 1986: Teaching Assistant, Karl-Frazens-Universität Institut für Medizinische Physik und Biophysik, Austria
1984: Teaching Assistant, Karl-Frazens-Universität Institut für Medizinische Chemie, Austria
Clinical & Research Interest
Clinical Interest:
Adult and Pediatric Neurosurge
Research Interest:
Functional Neurosurgery
Patents: 2001
Co-Founder, Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems, Inc. (CYKN); co-inventor on 3 patents on brain-machine interfaces
Honors & Awards
2007: Dean’s Teaching Excellence Award, Brown University
2005: Rhode Island Top Doctor, Pain Management
2004: State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Outstanding Doctor
2003: Brown University, M.A. honorary degree
1994: Honorable mention by the Austrian Medical Association for Ph.D. work on new neurosurgical approaches for the treatment of Parkinsonism
1993: Honorable mention by the Austrian Medical Association for work on Parkinsonism
1991: Birkmayer Award for Research on Parkinsonism
Grants
2009 – 2012: Principal Investigator: Development of a Tissue Bank for Neuroscience Research, Scott&White Institutional Grant: $ 450.000.
2004 – present: Co-Investigator: Implantation of Braingate (R) in Human Subjects who cannot move. (2 studies: for patients with stroke, high cervical injury or ALS). Funded by Cyberkinetics Neurotechnologies, Inc. Approx. $ 700.000.
2003: Principal Investigator, A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of Intrathecal Ziconotide in Adults with Severe Chronic Pain. Funded by Elan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Multicenter Phase III Study. $140,000.
2003: Co-Investigator, Deep Brain Stimulation for the Treatment of Intractable Depression, NIH RO1 application
2002 – 2005: Co-Investigator, Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy for the Treatment of Intractable Depression. Funded by Medtronic, Inc. Multi-Center Phase 1 Study. $150,000.
2001 – 2003: Co-Investigator, Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy for the Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Funded by Medtronic, Inc. Multi-Center Phase 1 Study.$150,000.
2000: Co-Investigator, Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy for the Treatment of Intractable Depression. Funded by Cyberonics, Inc. Multi-Center Study Phase 2 Double-Blind Study. US$ 100,000.
1999 – present: Co-Investigator, Neuroprosthesis Project. Funded through Dept. of Neuroscience (Chairman: John Donoghue, Ph.D.).
1997 – 2002: Consultant, Static and Dynamic Organization of Primate Motor Cortex. NINDS grant R01 NS25074.
1995: Investigator, Rhode Island Hospital research grant (“Radiosurgical lesioning of the striatum in 6-OHDA hemiparkinsonian rats”); US $ 20,000.
1994: Co-Investigator, Österreichische Nationalbank, Research Grant (co-investigator with O. Schröttner, M.D.) for Research in Parkinsonism (“Radiochirurgische Behandlung des Parkinsonismus durch Zerstörung des Nucleus caudatus”), US $ 40,000. Investigator, Elekta Research Grant for Research in Parkinsonism (“Treatment of Parkinsonism with the Gamma Knife”), US $ 100,000.
1993: Investigator, Birkmayer Award for Research in Parkinsonism (“Lesioning of the Striatum Reverse Motor Asymmetry in a 6-OHDA Rodent Model of Parkinsonism”); US $ 6,000.
Books
Park MC, Goldman MA, Carpenter LL, Price LH, Friehs GM. Vagus nerve stimulation for depression: rationale, anatomical and physiological basis of efficacy and future prospects. In: Operative Neuromodulation. Volume II: Neural Networks Surgery, Sakas DE, Simpson BA (eds). Springer Wien New York, NY, 2006.
Friehs GM, Walters BC, Zerris V. Radiosurgical Treatment of Parkinsons’s Disease. In: Surgery for Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders. Krauss JK, Grossman G, Jankovich J (eds). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2001, pp 258-267.
Nakata GK, Friehs GM. Neurological Physiology. The brain and its response to injury. In: The Practice of General Surgery. Bland K (ed.). W.B. Saunder 2001, pp 192-195.
Friehs GM, Friedman J, Epstein MH, Noren GC. Radiosurgical Pallidotomy for Parkinson’s Disease. Krauss JK, Grossman G, Jankovich J (eds), Pallidal Surgery for Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders. Lippincrott-Raven (1998).
Haselsberger K, Friehs GM, Schrottner O, Pendl G. Radiosurgery (gamma knife): an alternative adjuvant treatment for glioblastoma. In: Kogelnik HD (ed), Progress in Radio- Oncology V. Monduzzi editore, 1995.
Schröttner O, Friehs GM. Place of stereotactic techniques in surgery for pain. In: Pain-Clinical Aspects and Therapeutical Issues, Part II. Kepplinger B, Penak JM, Ray AL, Schmid H (eds.), Edition Verlag Selva (1993).
Friehs GM, Schröttner O. Levels of analgesia and thermanesthesia after percutaneous and open cordotomies. In: Pain – Clinical Aspects and Therapeutical Issues, Part II. Kepplinger B, Penak JM, Ray AL, Schmid H (eds.), Edition Verlag Selva (1993).
Recent Publications
2016: Tsitskari M, Friehs G, Zerris V, Georgiades C. CT-Guided, Ethanol Sympatholysis for Primary Axillary-Palmar Hyperhydrosis. Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol. 2016 Dec;39(12):1722-1727. Epub 2016 Jul 26.
2015: Jarosiewicz B, Sarma AA, Bacher D, Masse NY, Simeral JD, Sorice B, Oakley EM, Blabe C, Pandarinath C, Gilja V, Cash SS, Eskandar EN, Friehs G, Henderson JM, Shenoy KV, Donoghue JP, Hochberg LR. Virtual typing by people with tetraplegia using a self-calibrating intracortical brain-computer interface. Sci Transl Med. 2015 Nov 11;7(313):313.
2013: Jarosiewicz B, Masse NY, Bacher D, Cash SS, Eskandar E, Friehs G, Donoghue LP, Hochberg LR. Advantages of closed-loop calibration in intracortical brain-computer interfaces for people with tetraplegia. J Neural Eng 2013; 10: 046012. Kubu CS, Malone DA, Chelune G, Malloy P, Rezai AR, Frazier T, Machado A, Rasmussen S, Friehs G, Greenberg BD. Neuropsychological outcome after deep brain stimulation in the ventral capsule/ventral striatum for highly refractory obsessive- compulsive disorder or major depression. Stereotact Funct Neurosurg 2013; 91: 374-8.
2012: Robinson JL, Laird AR, Glahn DC, Blangero J, Sanghera MK, Pessoa L, Fox PM, Uecker A, Friehs G, Young KA, Griffin JL, Lovallo WR, Fox PT. The functional connectivity of the human caudate: an application of meta-analytic connectivity modeling with behavioral filtering. Neuroimage 2012, 60: 117-129.
2011: Kim SP, Simeral JD, Hochberg LR, Donoghue JP, Friehs GM, Black MJ. Point-and-click cursor control with an intracortical neural interface system by humans with tetraplegia. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng. 2011; 19: 193-203.
2009: Malone DA, Dougherty DD, Rezai AR, Carpenter LL, Friehs GM, Eskandar EN, Rauch SL, Rasmussen SA, Machado AG, Kubu CS, Tyrka AR, Price LH, Stypulkowski PH, Giftakis JE, Rise MT, Malloy PF , Salloway SP, Greenberg BD. Deep brain stimulation of the ventral capsule/ventral striatum for treatment-resistant depression. Biol Psychiatry 2009; 15; 65: 267-275.
2008: Truccolo W, Friehs GM, Donoghue JP, Hochberg LR. Primary motor cortex tuning to intended movement kinematics in humans with tetraplegia. J Neurosci 2008, 28 (5): 1163- 1178.
2007: Friehs GM, Park MC, Goldman MA, Zerris VA, Noren G, Sampath P. Stereotactic radiosurgery for functional disorders. Neurosurg Focus 2007, 23. Park M.C., Goldman M.A., Carpenter, L.L., Price, L.H., Friehs, G.M. Vagus nerve stimulation for depression: rationale, anatomical and physiological basis of efficacy and future prospects. Acta Neurochir Suppl 2007, 97: 407-16.