Dr. Andrew Fishman Named Inaugural Douglas L. Johnson Endowed Chair in Neuroscience

WINFIELD, Ill., Oct. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Andrew J. Fishman, MD, an otologist and neurotologist at Central DuPage Hospital, has been named the inaugural Douglas L. Johnson Endowed Chair in Neuroscience at Cadence Health, now part of Northwestern Medicine. The endowed chair honors the late Douglas Johnson, MD, a twenty-one year veteran of Central DuPage Hospital and a true pioneer in neurosurgical services.  

"For more than twenty-one years, Dr. Johnson brought leading edge neurosurgical practices to our community and was a tireless advocate for advancing care in this rapidly evolving field of medicine.  The Douglas Johnson Chair honors that legacy by supporting other Cadence neuroscience doctors in their efforts to bring the most advanced research, education and technology to patients in the Chicago region," said Dee Manire, Chairman of the Cadence Health Foundation.   "Dr. Fishman is an outstanding choice to further the Douglas Johnson legacy of pioneering excellence through this Endowed Chair.  His work will not only benefit our community and the Chicago region but will help advance care for neurosurgical patients around the world."    

Dr. Fishman is the Director of Neurotology and Cranial Base Surgery and Director of the Cochlear Implant Program at Cadence Health Neurosciences.  As the Johnson Chair in Neuroscience, which includes a three-year, $450,000 funded grant, Dr. Fishman plans to focus on the creation of the Douglas L. Johnson Neuroanatomy Lab and establishment of a 3D neurosurgery video library.  He also plans to use the grant funding to establish conferencing capabilities with other neuroscience centers around the country and assemble educational materials. The endowment was made possible through the generous support of the Cadence Health Foundation.

"I am honored to receive this distinction. With the generous support of the donors, we plan to promote the advancement of global medical education which is a passionate endeavor of mine," said Dr. Fishman. "It is my ambition to honor the legacy of Dr. Johnson by developing the Douglas L. Johnson Neuroanatomy Laboratory at Central DuPage Hospital, a facility where both colleagues and students alike can expand their capabilities and knowledge in the field of surgical and medical neurology."

Board certified in otolaryngology head and neck surgery in 1997, Dr. Fishman completed a fellowship in neurotology and cranial base surgery at New York University (NYU) in 1998. He then went on to join the faculty there, where he supervised the surgical component of the Cochlear Implant Program for the Manhattan Veterans Affairs Hospital, and served as the Medical Director of the Vestibular Unit at the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation. At NYU, he performed pivotal laboratory and clinical research, which ultimately led to the development of one of the cochlear implant electrodes currently in use today.  Before joining Cadence Health, he served as Associate Professor of Otolaryngology and Neurological Surgery at Northwestern University.  He is a graduate of the Boston University School of Medicine.

In late 2013, Dr. Johnson died of gastric cancer.  He was on staff at Central DuPage Hospital and founded DuPage Neurosurgery in 2000. The attack on the U.S. on September 11, 2001, prompted Dr. Johnson to join the U.S. Naval Reserves.  He was commissioned as a lieutenant commander in the Reserves' medical corps.  He was deployed in 2004 to Iraq, where he served as an assistant battalion surgeon with the 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines, 4th Marine Division.

About Northwestern Memorial HealthCare
Northwestern Memorial HealthCare (NMHC) is an academic health delivery system whose entities operate as Northwestern Medicine®. As of September 1, NMHC will consist of 60 sites of outpatient care services throughout Chicago and Illinois' northern and western suburban regions, including four hospitals; Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital in Lake Forest, Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, Delnor Hospital in Geneva and its flagship Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, which is rated No. 1 in Chicago and Illinois, as well as 10th in the nation according to the U.S. News & World Report 2014-2015 Honor Roll of America's Best Hospitals. Additionally, the health system will also include Northwestern Medical Group, more than 1,000 physicians who hold faculty appointments at NMHC Northwestern Medicine partner Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; Cadence Physician Group, a local network of more than 250 primary care physicians and specialists on the medical staffs at Central DuPage Hospital and Delnor Hospital; and approximately 2,800 affiliated physicians.

About Northwestern Medicine®
Northwestern Medicine® is the collaboration between Northwestern Memorial HealthCare and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine around a strategic vision to transform the future of healthcare. It encompasses the research, teaching, and patient care activities of the academic medical center. Sharing a commitment to superior quality, academic excellence and patient safety, the organizations within Northwestern Medicine comprise a combined workforce of more than 25,000 among clinical and administrative staff, medical and science faculty and medical students. The entities involved in Northwestern Medicine remain separate organizations. Northwestern Medicine is a trademark of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare and is also used by Northwestern University.

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SOURCE Cadence Health