Victor Horsley Lecture

The annual meeting celebrates the enduring legacy of one the greatest National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery doctors.

Horsley (1857 – 1916) was the first neurosurgeon appointed to the National Hospital Queen Square, and was known worldwide as the ‘Father of Neurosurgery’. He was also a brilliant experimentalist, elected as FRS at the age of 29 years for his work on cerebral localization and comparative anatomy. He pioneered neurosurgery for epilepsy, tumours, abscesses, head injuries, spinal and pituitary diseases, and trigeminal neuralgia. He devised a stereotactic frame and a variety of new surgical techniques and technologies. His work was not limited to neurosurgery: he made significant contributions to the understanding of rabies, thyroid disease, vaccines, antisepsis, anaesthesia, and military medicine. He was an iconoclast and social reformer, active in the Temperance Movement, a supporter of female suffrage, health care of the working class, vivisection, and medical reform. He stood for Parliament and served as president of the British Medical Association and was on the General Medical Council. He won the Gold Medal of the Royal Society, and was knighted in 1902. He worked to reform the medical services of the British Army and died on active duty, the only casualty of the First World War amongst the National Hospital senior staff.

Thursday, 13 February 2025: Dr Kee Park

Dr Kee Park, Director of Policy and Advocacy, Program in Global Surgery and Social Change, Lecturer on Global Health, Harvard Medical School: "Global Neurosurgery, Why it Matters"

The nascent field of Global Neurosurgery is transforming the fundamental nature of modern neurosurgical practice. The talk will describe its genesis and progress, definitions, key events and actors, and what the future holds for the pursuit of neurosurgical equity.

Location: 33 Queen Square, Basement Lecture Theatre, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG

View the event page for further information and booking

The third Annual Neurosurgery Research Symposium is being held before the lecture.

Thursday 22 February 2024 : Dr Gelareh Zadeh

The annual memorial lecture celebrates the legacy of Horsley. This year, we hosted Dr Gelareh Zadeh, Professor of Neurosurgery from the University of Toronto, who presented a lecture entitled “Lessons learned from Oncolytic Viral Therapy and Tumor Metabolism in GBM.”

We welcomed over 70 guests from Neurosurgical centres across the UK for an engaging evening followed by a wine reception. Gelareh’s presentation related to the pioneering work of her team related to understanding brain tumours, and how new approaches can be used to target some of the most devastating of these tumours. Watch the recording of Dr Gelareh’s Lecture

Prior to the lecture, the neurosurgical trainees at UCL/UCLH presented their research as part of the 2nd Annual UCL Neurosurgery Research Afternoon. Research themes included hydrocephalus, pituitary, AI, neuro-oncology, paediatric epilepsy, and robotics. The breadth of the presented research reflects the strength of the partnership between the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (UCLH), as well as the growing partnership with ICH-GOSH.

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23^rd February 2023

Professor Philip Starr, Dolores Cakebread Professor of Neurological Surgery, at the University of California, San Francisco.

Chronic invasive brain recording and adaptive deep brain stimulation: A new era in neuromodulation

Host: Rob Brownstone

Location: 33 Queen Square, Basement Lecture Theatre, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG

View the event page for further information and tickets

A UCL/NHNN Neurosurgery Research Symposium is being held before the lecture.

5th December 2019

Professor Chris Honey, Professor of Neurosurgery, University of British Columbia, Canada.

Challenging neurosurgical dogma: neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and a new disease.

Host: Rob Brownstone

Location: 33 Queen Square, Basement Lecture Theatre, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG

18th December 2018

Dr Shinya Yamada, Chief of Neurosurgery, Toshiba Rinkan Hospital, Japan.

Visualization of cerebrospinal fluid movement with spin labelling at MR imaging in normal and pathophysiologic conditions.

Host: Rob Brownstone

Location: 33 Queen Square, Basement Lecture Theatre, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG

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17th December 2017

Professor Itzhak Fried, Professor of Neurosurgery, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California.

Neuromodulation of Human Memory: From Single Neurons to Clinical Intervention

Date: Thursday 14th December 2017 at 5-6pm, followed by a reception

Host: Rob Brownstone

Location: 33 Queen Square, Basement Lecture Theatre, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG

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23rd November 2016

Sir Victor Horsley: a continuing legacy: commemorating the centenary of Horsley's death.

Location: 33 Queen Square, Basement Lecture Theatre, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG

View the event flyer for further information.