BIO

Anthony M. Avellino is a highly regarded pediatric neurosurgeon, experienced healthcare administrator, and endurance ultra-runner who has battled with stuttering, obsessive-compulsive tendencies, depression, and suicide as long as he can remember. In October 2019 and January 2021, Avellino was fortunate to be a deckhand on the F/V Saga, a commercial crab fishing boat, profiled on the Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch. The communication and teamwork lessons he learned on these expeditions were surprisingly translatable to healthcare and inspired his commitment to help others achieve a healthier, more purposeful life with optimum performance in mind, body, and spirit. He has built his career caring for young people and their families, including a deliberate focus on creating support systems that emphasize performance, health, wellness, and safety. He started his pediatric neurosurgery career at Johns Hopkins University Hospital, where he was privileged to be Dr. Ben Carson’s partner. He is currently the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the University of Arizona College of Medicine / Banner University Medical Center and Group - Tucson. He was the Michigan State University assistant vice president for health sciences, chief clinical and medical officer, and interim director of athletic medicine from 2018 to 2021. Prior to joining MSU in 2018, he served as chief executive officer for OSF HealthCare Illinois Neurological Institute from 2014 to 2018. Under his leadership, the Illinois Neurological Institute rankings, net revenue, contribution margin, outpatient visits, and hospital encounters significantly increased. In 2009, he was the first director of the UW Medicine Neurosciences Institute for the University of Washington Medicine and was also appointed chief of neurological surgery at the University of Washington Medical Center in 2011. He is a former NCAA student-athlete at Cornell University. He completed his medical education at Columbia University, his neurosurgery residency at the University of Washington, including a year as a specialist registrar at Atkinson Morley’s Hospital in Wimbledon, England, and a pediatric neurosurgery fellowship at Seattle Children’s Hospital.