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Edward R. Laws, Jr., M.D., FACS, former professor and chair, Department of Neurosurgery, The George Washington University, and professor of Neurosurgery and of Medicine, University of Virginia, was selected as the Pituitary Network Association’s “Gentle Giant 2004.” The award was presented on May 5, 2004, in conjunction with the American Association of Neurological Surgeons Convention in Orlando, Florida.

Dr. Laws received his bachelor’s degree with honors from Princeton University and then attended the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where he completed his surgical internship and neurosurgical residency before joining the faculty of the medical school with a primary appointment in pediatric neurosurgery. In 1972, he joined the staff of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where he ultimately become professor of Neurosurgery and developed major interests in pituitary and epilepsy surgery, along with a continuing interest in the metabolism and pathophysiology of primary brain tumors.

In 1978, Dr. Laws became professor and chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at GW, and in 1992, he joined the faculty of the University of Virginia as professor of Neurosurgery and of Medicine, establishing a Neuro-Endocrine Center there. During his surgical career, he has operated on more than 5,000 brain tumors, of which 4,200 have been pituitary lesions.

Dr. Laws has served as president of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, editor of Neurosurgery, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation for International Education in Neurosurgery, director of the American Board of Neurological Surgery, president of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and president of the Pituitary Society. He has authored more than 400 scientific papers and book chapters, and, with Andrew Kaye, is co-editor of the encyclopedic volume, Brain Tumors.

Currently, Dr. Laws in president-elect of the American College of Surgeons, president of the World Federation of Neurological Societies, chairman of the Board of Regents of the American College of Surgeons and is chair of the Residency Review Committee for Neurosurgery. He remains actively involved in brain tumor and neuroendocrine research.

The George Washington University Medical Center is an internationally recognized interdisciplinary academic health center, which has consistently provided high quality medical care in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area since 1825. The Medical Center comprises the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, the 11th oldest medical school in the country; the School of Public Health and Health Services, the only such school in the nation’s capital; GW Hospital, jointly owned and operated by a partnership between The George Washington University and Universal Health Services, Inc.; and GW Medical Faculty Associates, an independent faculty practice plan.