Categories: Leadership | Medicine, Science & Health Care | Motivation
Travels from Jacksonville, Florida, USA
Dr. Alfredo Quiñones, also known as Dr. Q, is a prominent Mexican neurosurgeon, co-founder and president of Mission: BRAIN, Bridging Resources and Advancing International Neurosurgery, and a member of the board of directors of Voices Against Brain Cancer.
Dr. Alfredo Quiñones is currently the Neurosurgeon-in-Chief, Professor, and Physician-Scientist in the Department of Neurosurgery at Mayo Clinic in Florida. Dr. Q is recognized with the distinction of being the William J. and Charles H. Mayo Professor at the Mayo Clinic.
Dr. Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa — just call him Dr. Q — was an impoverished teenager living in a rural Mexican village before he hopped an 18-foot fence into California and found his way through hope, hard work and perseverance into the loftiest heights of the American Dream.
Dr. Alfredo Quiñones became a gifted student at Berkeley before transferring to Harvard, where he received his medical degree and became a naturalized U.S. citizen, all before the age of 30. Dr. Q completed his residency at the University of California, San Francisco, where he also obtained a postdoctoral fellowship in developmental and stem cell biology and was funded by the National Institute of Health for his pioneer work.
Dr. Alfredo Quiñones became a Professor of Neurosurgery and Oncology, Neuroscience and Cellular and Molecular Medicine at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. In less than 6 years after starting there as a faculty member—a meteoric rise in academia. Dr. Q is widely regarded as one of the world's finest surgeons and scientists, operating on some 250 brain tumors every year and leading cutting-edge federally-funded research to cure brain cancer.
At Johns Hopkins, and now at the Mayo Clinic Florida, Dr. Alfredo Quiñones leads the Brain Tumor Stem Cell Laboratory, focusing on the surgical treatment of primary and metastatic brain tumors. He is also the Chair and Professor of Neurosurgery at the College of Medicine. He is currently working on a method to use human fat cells engineered with nanoparticles and viruses to cure brain cancer.
In 2011, Dr. Alfredo Quiñones co-founded Mission:BRAIN, a nonprofit organization providing neurosurgical resources to patients, caregivers and healthcare providers in underserved areas around the world. Recently, he started up two companies, Obex Theranostics and Dome Therapeutics. He was also appointed International-Vice Chair (Central & South America) for the AANS and CNS Tumor Section 2020-2022.
In 2012, Dr. Alfredo Quiñones published his autobiography: Becoming Dr. Q: My Journey from Migrant Farm Worker to Brain Surgeon. The best-selling book details his astonishing journey from the tomato fields of central California to the highest echelons of medicine in the U.S. and around the world.
Dr. Alfredo Quiñones has appeared on television in the award-winning ABC series Hopkins as well as on NOVA, CBS News with Katie Couric and NBC's The Today Show. Dr. Q is regularly listed as one of the best surgeons in America and delivers motivational addresses to the graduating classes of the nation's top universities.
Dr. Alfredo Quiñones has also delivered keynote speeches to a variety of audiences including students, medical organizations and business groups. He is a mentor to young people and an ardent champion of STEM education, encouraging students to pursue careers in science, technology, education and math.
