69th Stritch Dinner Celebrates Neurosurgeon and Scholarship Recipient’s Inspiring Journey 

Nearly 600 guests gathered at the Hilton Chicago last Saturday to celebrate the accomplishments of Stritch medalist Douglas Anderson, MD, professor and chair of Neurological Surgery, for his dedication to research, education, and patient care. Guests also heard the inspiring story of a fourth-year medical student and learned about the Stritch Junior Service League’s summer service projects. View photos from the event.

Since joining the faculty in 1983, Dr. Anderson has trained generations of neurosurgeons and helped establish Loyola Medicine as an internationally known center for neurosurgery excellence.  He manages a multidisciplinary neurosurgery team that performs more than 1,500 cranial and spinal surgeries annually. At Loyola, he also pioneered the practice of deep brain stimulation, which can quell or eliminate tremors in Parkinson’s and other brain disorders such as dystonia. 

“I am honored and humbled to receive this award,” said Dr. Anderson.  “I have been fortunate to have a career — or more broadly a calling — that I love and I am grateful to leadership at Loyola University Chicago and to my fellow Stritch faculty members for this award, to Loyola Medicine, and of course to the Stritch students, residents, and to my patients who have enriched my work,” he said. 

When he is not in the O.R., teaching, or mentoring students and colleagues, Dr. Anderson sings professionally and specializes in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. He’s also an avid sailor.    

Deborah Rose, a fourth-year medical student, shared some personal reflections and her experience as a Stritch student.   

“I am blessed to be part of such a supportive community of students, faculty, and staff, and to have received much-needed financial aid,” she Rose. “I would not be where I am and would not be able to continue in my academic pursuits if it weren’t for the generosity of the many who invest in students like me.” 

The daughter of two immigrant parents, Rose grew up in financial insecurity alongside two brothers with varying degrees of mental illness. Yet, she graduated from Cornell University and pursued research at the National Institute of Mental Health. Rose said the challenges throughout her life sparked her passion for medicine. 

“I have a deep desire to help people in their moments of desperation and vulnerability,” she said. “Often, when I look at patients, I see my own family. I am reminded to employ not just skill and professionalism, but also compassion when I treat patients,” said Rose.  

Thank you to Stritch donors for their generosity and congratulations to 2019 Stritch Medalist Dr. Douglas Anderson.