From Immigrant to Brain Surgeon

Reported October, 2007

Baltimore, M.D. -- As the heated debate over immigration rages on, the tale of an illegal migrant worker turned brain surgeon shows a positive side to immigration.

As he walks the halls of his own research lab, Doctor Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa finds it hard to believe he once jumped a fence illegally from Mexico, lived in a run-down trailer, spoke no English, and is now a brilliant brain surgeon.

"It's not a secret I came from very humble backgrounds," say Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa, M.D., physician scientist at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, M.D.

But his background never stopped him from his dream of becoming a doctor -- Harvard educated -- and a physician-scientist at Johns Hopkins Hospital. After seeing a brain for the first time in an operating room, he found his calling.

"I saw the brain just pulsating with such a beautiful elegance, with such a mystique, with such a mystery. I was, and I was captivated. I fell in love," Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa recalls.

He's now on a mission to cure brain cancer. While others may disagree, he believes brain cells can regenerate, and taking brain tissue from patients during surgery for research may be the key to a cure.

"I truly use the operating room as an extension of my laboratory," Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa says.

When not in the operating room, he spends the rest of his time training future scientists to begin where he may one day leave off.

"If I can motivate one of these young minds who have a bright future ahead of me, that's going to be, potentially, my most important legacy," Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa says.

Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa graduated cum laude from Harvard Medical School. Along with countless other prestigious grants, has won the coveted Howard Hughes Medical Institution Award.

Click here to Go Inside This Science or contact:

Eric Vohr, Assistant Director
Media Relations and Public Affairs
Johns Hopkins Medicine
Baltimore, Md. 21231
(410) 955-8665
evohr1@jhmi.edu

No more parking attendants or tips! We’ll show you the latest technology that is turning parking garages into big Lazy Susans.

No more separating! We’ll show you an easier way to recycle that’s helping to clean up the environment.

Many of the nation's pipe lines and sewers need to be replaced -- this new device could save billions of dollars.

Once an illegal immigrant, this brain surgeon is now hoping to find the cure for cancer.

It could save thousands of lives, yet most people on the kidney transplant list don’t even know it exists.

New computer technology could make a life or death difference for patients who need a kidney.

Scientists are getting a break in detecting quakes happening under the sea … in hopes of saving lives if a Tsunami strikes.

A new, more precise warning system may save lives and property the next time a tornado, storm or flash flood hits your area.

A simple scan of your palm could make your next trip to the doctor’s office easier and eliminate deadly medical mistakes.

For stroke, multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy patients, this new device could help them get back on their feet faster.

A new procedure has patients in and out with a new smile in an hour.

Making moving magic is turning preteens on to computer science.