Author: Thomas Robert

Dr. Thomas Robert, MD, is a Titular Professor of Neurological Surgery at the University of Southern Switzerland and a neurosurgeon in the private practice. He trained as neurosurgeon in Switzerland (Lausanne, Sion, Lugano), in France (Paris) and in Canada (Quebec, Montreal). After a strong knowledge about the general neurosurgery, he dedicated to the study of neurovascular diseases; in particular to cerebral aneurysms, brain arterio-venous malformations and dural arterio-venous fistulas. After the completion of distinct clinical fellowship, one in Interventional Neuroradiology at the Rothschild Foundation Hospital and the other in vascular and skull base Neurosurgery at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Montreal (CHUM, Montreal, Quebec, Canada), he began his clinical practice at the Neurocenter of Southern Switzerland (Lugano, Switzerland). Since 2020, he holds the position of responsible for cranial neurosurgery and is also the resident’s program director in his department. In 2022 he moved to the clinical practice and continued his academic activity in the vascular field. Dr. Robert is fascinated by the embryology the cranio-facial arteries that allows to explain anatomical variations. His clinical research is mainly focused on vascular embryology, anatomical variations, and neurovascular diseases. He is the principal investigator of few national multicentric studies. He published nearly 65 publications and five educative books for residents and students in Neurosurgery. He also participated in the elaboration of various book chapters Dr. Sara Bonasia, MD, is a Resident in Neurosurgery in Switzerland. She studied medicine at the Catholic University of Sacred Heart in Rome, obtaining her medical degree in 2017, and then moved to Switzerland (Lugano and then St. Gallen) to start her Neurosurgical Residency Program in 2018. She is actually completing her training with a Fellowship in Interventional Neuroradiology at the Rothschild Foundation Hospital in Paris. She was awarded the title of Medical Doctor in 2020 after writing a thesis entitled “Angiographic analysis of natural anastomoses between the anterior and posterior cerebral artery in Moyamoya disease and syndrome.” Since this early work, her interest in vascular anatomy and embryology represents the main focus of her research and her scientific publications. Dr. Bonasia has always cultivated a keen interest in illustrative art, and from her earliest publications she demonstrated this passion by creating medical illustrations. Currently, she regularly contributes to scientific works by providing original illustrations with the aim of helping residents like herself to understand very complex concepts related to vascular anatomy. Since 2019, she has published approximately 15 scientific papers in the vascular field, of which she is first author on 10. The articles are mainly descriptive reviews related to cerebral arteries and their embryology, but also surgicalreports in the “How I do It” form as well as clinical studies. Since 2020 she is junior member of the Swiss Society of Neurosurgery, and of the Society of Swiss Young Neurosurgeons. Prof. Michel W. Bojanowski, M.D., F.R.C.S.C., is a full professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Montreal and neurosurgeon at University of Montreal Hospital Center(CHUM).  Specialized in cerebrovascular disease and skull base tumors, professor Bojanowski is the director of the cerebrovascular section of the division of neurosurgery. A graduate in neurosurgery from the University of Montreal, he completed additional training in vascular neurosurgery at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. Professor Bojanowski has co-authored more than 150 publications in peer-reviewed journals and authored 15 book chapters. He has been a guest speaker on numerous occasions. For several years, he was responsible for teaching ethics to surgical residents at the University of Montreal, and has chaired the Medical Procedure Evaluation Committee of the Department of Surgery at CHUM. He is responsible for additional training (fellowship) in vascular neurosurgery and skull base at CHUM.  He has won numerous teaching awards including the Senior Mentor Award from the University of Montreal Department of Surgery. Professor Bojanowski received the Quebec Medical Specialists Federation 2021 award for excellence in care for an innovative project.