UAB Department of Neurosurgery faculty member Beverly Walters, M.D., MSc, FRCSC, FACS, will retire and assume an adjunct professorship role in the department, effective Dec. 1, 2021.
The department is grateful for Walters’ unwavering dedication to research and trainee education during her 12 years with the department. Her talents as a researcher, educator, and clinician has deployed well-trained neurosurgeons across the nation, provided excellent patient care to countless patients, and taken the field of neurosurgical research to the next level.
A Legendary Career
Walters took on her first hospital appointment as a clinical fellow in 1983 for The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She then took on various roles at Chedoke-McMaster Hospitals, Sunnybrooke Health Science Centre, and Bayview Regional Cancer Clinic before becoming the Chief of Neurosurgery at The Miriam Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island.
In her career, Walters has held several leadership roles in academic surgery. She served as chief of neurosurgery at The Miriam Hospital and at Landmark Medical Center, where she also served as director of the Neuromuscular Disease Center. At Brown University School of Medicine, Walters was the neurosurgery residency program director.
Walters has held professorship roles at the University of Toronto, Brown University School of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, the University of Zagreb, VCU School of Medicine, and the Krasnow Institute of Advance Study at George Mason University.
A Continuing Legacy
In all, Walters has published over 200 original publications in peer-reviewed journals and has authored 20 books or book chapters. Walter has given over 70 presentations across the nation, and internationally. She has received countless research awards and grants and has produced numerous educational monographs.
After retirement from a full-time clinical practice in general neurosurgery, Walters will turn her focus to pursue her interest in applied evidence-based medicine. Her experience in clinical research involves the design and implementation of randomized controlled trials, case-control studies, and meta-analyses, and she has written extensively on study design and assessment of the quality of medical literature.
Walters has extensive experience in survey methodology and has been a lecturer, tutor, and course designer for several educational programs on critical appraisal of the medical literature for practicing clinicians, graduate students, postgraduate trainees, and medical students. She is the co-editor of the neurosurgical textbook, Evidence-based Neurosurgery. Most recently, Walters was awarded the Congress of Neurological Surgeons Founders Laurel Award – the first female to receive this honor.
Notes from the Department
A message from Mark Hadley, M.D., Charles A. and Patsy W. Collat Endowed Chair in Neurosurgery and director emeritus of the UAB neurosurgery residency program:
“It is with mixed emotions that I address Dr. Beverly Walter’s retirement. I am elated for Beverly and for husband George and their family. I am grateful for her incredible intellect, savvy, and experience, her witty personality, her benevolence and her fostering instincts that have guided and delighted me personally and professionally over the past 30 years, more recently our UAB faculty, and more importantly, our resident trainees over these last 12 years.
Beverly has long been a contributor in Neurosurgery since her formal training including becoming the first female graduate of the esteemed University of Toronto Neurosurgery Residency Training Program. She was a terrific patient care and surgical specialist over her lengthy and meaningful active practice career.
She remains an international expert in the application of Evidence-based Medicine, first to her own practice and later to the entire specialty of Neurosurgery, including its teaching and promotion. She is a published and well-recognized leader in organized Neurosurgical Societies worldwide. Our specialists and specialties salute Dr. Walters for her many enduring contributions over her distinguished career
Personally, we will remain dear friends, academic collaborators, conspirators on the golf course and travel companions. Bravo for a life and career well led!”
A message from James Markert, M.D., MPH, James Garber Galbraith Endowed Chair of Neurosurgery:
“Dr. Walters is a neurosurgical great whose impact will be felt on the field for years to come. She has inspired countless trainees and been instrumental for our program in the training of the next generation of neurosurgeon-scientists. Her contributions to resident education and the culture of the residency, in general, have been tremendous. We are incredibly grateful for her time, talents, and the obvious passion she has applied as a leader in this department. Personally, she has been a wonderful friend and mentor, and I wish her all the best in her next chapter.”
A message from Curtis Rozzelle, M.D., director of the UAB neurosurgery residency program:
“Dr. Walters has left an indelible mark on the field of neurosurgery and so many neurosurgical trainees. We are all grateful to have benefited from Dr. Walters’ leadership and look forward to watching her excel in her continued achievements as a research powerhouse. I know that many trainees across the nation are grateful for their time training with Dr. Walters, and I encourage them to reach out and send a note of their gratitude if they wish.”
Send Your Note
If you are a former trainee who spent time training with or researching alongside Dr. Beverly Walters, feel free to send her a note directly or to nsgycomm@uabmc.edu.