After studying art in college, which earned him a career as a janitor, Allan J. Hamilton, MD, FACS, went on to attend Harvard Medical School, and to become the chief of neurosurgery and chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center. He currently holds a main appointment as a Professor in Neurosurgery as well as professorships in Radiation Oncology, Psychology, and Electrical and Computer Engineering Dr. Hamilton also is the Executive Director of The Arizona Simulation Technology and Education Center (ASTEC) at The University of Arizona College of Medicine. The recipient of several international awards for his groundbreaking work in the area of minimally invasive stereotactic neurosurgery of the spine, Dr. Hamilton's research interests continue in the areas of emerging technologies. He has been involved in developing new polymers for in situ chemotherapy delivery for malignant brain tumors and looking at the further development of polymers that can carry multiple chemotherapeutic agents into the brain.
As an educator of tomorrow's doctors, Dr. Hamilton employs the use of computer-assisted virtual environments and robotics with cutting edge technology, yet also nurtures the "soul" of those medical students with an innovative course, "Medicine and Horsemanship: An Introduction to Nonverbal Human Interaction at the Bedside"
In addition to his book, The Scalpel and the Soul, Dr. Hamilton is a prolific writer for both lay and scientific audiences with more than fifty scientific peer-reviewed articles and a dozen medical textbook chapters, a monograph on treating brain tumors, and has also published five lay articles on his experiences as a physician. Allan is a practiced, comfortable public speaker and has given more than three hundred public and professional presentations on subjects from “Ten Spiritual Rules to Improve Patient Survival,” to “Harnessing Computer Guidance Systems to Better Resect Brain Tumors.”
Dr. Hamilton has been featured on National Public Radio, “CNN-Anderson Cooper’s 360,” and The Discovery Channel on a wide variety of medical topics in his areas of expertise. He has earned a reputation as a speaker who can discuss sophisticated medical topics in a manner that is accessible and understandable to the public. He has been a public proponent of re-establishing what he terms “intimacy at the heart of Modern Medicine” and a public critic against the escalating rate of medical errors in American healthcare.
Dr. Hamilton serves as a Script Consultant to the popular television show "Grey's Anatomy", lending stories from his vast experiences as intern, resident and ultimately renowned surgeon.
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