Dunn Named Member of Prestigious Neurosurgical Society

Ian F. Dunn, M.D., executive dean of the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and professor of neurosurgery, has been named a new member of the American Academy of Neurological Surgery, a premier neurosurgical professional society in North America.

Academy members voted on Dunn’s inclusion on Oct. 18 during the 2024 annual meeting. Membership is capped at 200 and recognizes each member’s contributions to the field of neurosurgery. The academy was founded in 1938 to foster scientific discovery that seeks to improve the lives of patients suffering from neurological disorders. Dunn is known internationally for his expertise in the surgery and science of brain tumors, with meningioma as a particular area of specialization.

“Dr. Dunn is an exceptional leader in the discipline of neurosurgery, and we are thrilled that he has been welcomed into the American Academy of Neurological Surgery,” said Gary Raskob, Ph.D., senior vice president and provost of the OU Health Sciences campus. “He is highly respected as physician-scientist, educator and college dean and is most deserving of this honor.”

Dunn joined the OU College of Medicine in 2018, serving as professor and chair of the Department of Neurosurgery and holding the Harry Wilkins, M.D. Chair in Neurosurgery. In 2022, he was named senior associate dean for clinical affairs at the OU College of Medicine, and in January 2024, he began serving as executive dean.

As chair of the Department of Neurosurgery, Dunn led efforts to increase the number of faculty members and advanced practice providers, recruiting the most comprehensive neurosurgical group in the state. The department has leveraged innovative approaches such as telehealth to expand clinical services and neurosurgical care to more Oklahomans.

He grew the neurosurgery residency program and emphasized the importance of medical student mentorship, supporting a medical student research program. He also supported the Graduate Program in Neuroscience, recruiting graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to grow the research enterprise. Dunn is also a prolific researcher, publishing more than 250 peer-reviewed journal articles and writing 35 chapters for various books. He has lectured across the nation and the world.

As an executive leadership team member for the university’s clinical partner, OU Health, Dunn played a key role in creating a comprehensive, integrated academic health center. He previously served as chief physician executive for OU Health and president of OU Health Physicians, Inc. Currently, he is chair of the board for OU Health Physicians, Inc. and chief academic officer for OU Health.

Dunn is passionate about serving the state and region through an academic health system that leverages the tripartite mission of patient care, education and research. As the OU College of Medicine enters its 125^th year, he envisions it playing a crucial role in addressing the state’s physician workforce shortage.

Prior to arriving at OU, Dunn served eight years as an associate professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School and as director for the Center for Pituitary and Skull Base Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Dunn earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School and completed his residency in neurosurgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Children’s Hospital of Boston, serving as chief resident in his final year. During his time in residency, he also completed a post-doctoral research fellowship in the functional genomics of cancer at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Broad Institute in Boston. He then completed a fellowship in skull base neurosurgery at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences/St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center in Little Rock.