Menger named vice chair for the Department of Neurosurgery

Richard Menger, M.D., M.P.A., interacts with a pediatric patient in the neurosurgery clinic.

Richard Menger, M.D., M.P.A., associate professor of neurosurgery at the Whiddon College of Medicine, recently was named vice chair for the Department of Neurosurgery.

“It is such an honor to be named vice chair,” Menger said. “This opportunity allows me to assist Dr. Anthony Martino in growing the academic neurosurgery program in south Alabama.”

As vice chair, Menger wants to test and integrate new strategic and tactical initiatives.

Richard Menger, M.D., M.P.A.

“Dr. Menger has been an excellent addition to our department,” said Anthony Martino, M.D., chair of the Department of Neurosurgery and a neurosurgeon at USA Health. “He has been recognized nationally for his work in spinal surgery and on the economic concerns in neurosurgery and medicine. He is recognized locally for his complex surgeries and his efforts with the Early Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) project. I look forward to working closely with him moving the department to greater accomplishments.”

Menger also serves as a lieutenant commander in the United States Navy Reserve, the chief of complex spine surgery at USA Health, and director of the USA Health Spine Institute, a program he initiated to change the culture around the delivery of spine care. His clinical focus is on complex spinal reconstructions for scoliosis and spinal deformities in children and adults.

He is an honors graduate of Cornell University, and he completed medical school with honors at Georgetown University School of Medicine where he received the Barbara Bregman, Ph.D., award as the top graduate in neuroscience. To further his research mission, he earned a Master of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Menger has published more than 50 peer-reviewed scientific papers and presented more than 80 abstracts at national and international meetings. The editor of an academic neurosurgery textbook, his research has been cited more than 500 times in the medical community. He has received grants and numerous awards for his research and was recognized by the North American Spine Society as a “20 under 40” Spine Surgeon in the United States.

He is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), the Council of State Neurological Societies, the North American Spine Society (NASS), and a candidate member of the Scoliosis Research Society.

He was selected for the NASS Spinal Deformity Committee and the AANS/CNS Joint Guidelines Committee responsible for reviewing/creating the guidelines used by other neurosurgeons.