Ayub K. Ommaya

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Ayub Khan Ommaya

Born	1930 Pakistan
Occupation	Surgeon
Known for	Innovative Surgeon

Ayub Khan Ommaya, MD, ScD, FRCS, FACS (born 1930) is a neurosurgeon and the inventor of the Ommaya reservoir. The reservoir is used to provide chemotherapy directly to the tumor site for brain tumors.

[edit] Professional history

Ommaya received his M.D. from King Edward Medical College in Pakistan in 1953 and completed his graduate work in Physiology, Psychology, and Biochemistry at the University of Oxford (Balliol College) as a Rhodes Scholar (M.A.) in 1961.

From 1961 to 1980, he joined the staff of the National Institute of Health and became chief of neurosurgery, studying the biomechanics and mechanisms of brain injury and memory. He has also served as Chief Medical Advisor to the Department of Transportation (NHTSA).

He has patents in devices for drug delivery to the brain, protective systems for neck and head injuries and an artificial organ for replacement of hormonal deficiencies.

He is a Hunterian Professor of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and is currently in active neurosurgical practice. Ommaya also serves as clinical professor of neurosurgery at George Washington University Medical Center and as president of the Neuroscience Foundation in Bethesda, Maryland.^[1]

Ommaya has published over 300 articles, chapters, and books. His research focused on cancer treatment, traumatic brain injury, a CSF artificial organ, and philosophy of mind. Through discussions with Cong. William Lehman from Florida, he developed CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, which as part of its mission focuses on Traumatic Brain Injury. As part of this effort Ommaya commissioned the IOM report Injury in America. The report called for the creation of the CDC center.

Ommaya has also acted as expert witness in court cases^[2].