The Leondard I. Malis, MD Memorial Lecture was established by Ruth Malis to foster the memory of her husband, Dr. Leonard I. Malis, a celebrated neurosurgeon, Mount Sinai Neurosurgery Resident Alumni, and former Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Mount Sinai.  

After serving as captain in the Medical Corps in WW II, Dr. Malis completed his neurosurgical training at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. He completed a fellowship at Yale University and returned to Mount Sinai as an assistant attending neurosurgeon, assuming the chairmanship of the Department of Neurosurgery in 1970. 

Dr. Malis was a pioneer in microneurosurgery, introducing the operating microscope to neurosurgery in New York. With his brother Jerry, he developed some of the earliest state-of-the-art surgical instruments and techniques which are still in use today. 

Dr. Malis retired as Chairman of the Mount Sinai Department of Neurosurgery in 1991 but continued as Professor of Neurosurgery until 1994 and as Professor Emeritus until his death. His clinical and academic legacy will enrich the practice of neurosurgery for generations to come. 

Lola B. Chambless, MD, Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery and Director of the Neurological Surgery Residency Program at Vanderbilt University, will serve as this year's honored lecturer. She will present "Revolution on the Horizon: AI in Brain Tumor Surgery."