Andrew Freese
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Andrew Freese (July 4, 1959 - June 30, 2021) was a Neurosurgeon. He performed the first gene-therapy in a human being for neurological disease.[1] At the time of his death, he was Chief of Neurosurgery at Brandywine Hospital in Pennsylvania as well as in private practice.
Education and Academic Career[edit]
Freese received his BA from Harvard University in 1981, his MD from Harvard Medical School in 1990, and his PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1992. At the University of Pennsylvania, he held a Surgical Internship from 1990-1991 followed by Neurosurgery Residency and elective fellowships in Epilepsy Surgery and Spinal Surgery from 1991-1997. After completing his training, from 1997-2003 he was Director of Neurosurgery Research at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, as well as Vice Chairman of Neurosurgery from 2000-2003. From 2003-2004 he was Professor of Neurosurgery at Drexel Univ. College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, as well as Director of the Graduate Spine Center. From 2004-2006 he was Professor and Vice Chairman, Department of Neurosurgery and Director of Spinal Neurosurgery at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN. From 2006-2007 he was Chief of Neurosurgery at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC. Subsequently until his death he returned to the Philadelphia area where he opened a private practice as well as was Chief of Neurosurgery at Brandywine Hospital.[citation needed]
Contributions[edit]
Freese contributed to early research on gene therapy in humans, in which healthy genes are surgically implanted to replace defective ones. [2] In 2001, he performed the first successful gene therapy surgery on a 3-year-old boy with Canavan’s disease, a rare and fatal genetic disorder causing deterioration of myelin in the brain.[citation needed]
Freese performed more than 5000 successful neurosurgeries.[citation needed]
Honors[edit]
Freese was repeatedly selected as a top Neurosurgeon, including: Vitals Top 10 Doctors for the State of PA, Health Grades Recognized Physician, Vitals Patients Choice Award, and Compassionate Doctor Recognition Award. His research awards included Physician/Scientist of the Year Award, Canavan Foundation, Illinois, 2004; Strawbridge Research Fund Award, 1999-2000; DeHillebranth Foundation Research Award, 1994; Nemir Research Foundation Award, 1993; and M.D. Honors Thesis, Harvard Medical School, 1990.[citation needed]
Personal life[edit]
Freese was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Ernst Freese and Elisabeth Bautz Freese. From his marriage to Marcia Geary he had four children, including Matt Freese. After a divorce, he married Carolynne Festenstine Freese in 2015. His sister Katherine Freese is Kodosky Professor of Physics at University of Texas in Austin. Actor Anja Freese is his cousin.[citation needed]
References[edit]
- ↑ Russ, Valerie (6 July 2021). "Dr. Andrew Freese, noted neurosurgeon and pioneer of gene therapy, dies at 61". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
- ↑ Janson, C.G.; A. Freese; et al. (2002). "Gene Therapy of Canavan Disease: AAV-2 Vector for Neurosurgical Delivery of Aspartoacylase Gene (ASPA) to the Human Brain". Human Gene Therapy. 13: 1391–1412.
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References[edit]
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