From Student to Leader

By Katherine Pflieger

Ron Riesenburger, A97, M01, a proud triple Jumbo who completed his undergraduate and medical education at Tufts University, as well as his residency training at Tufts Medical Center, has dedicated his career to the Tufts community. Now, he begins a new chapter of leadership as interim chair of neurosurgery for the School of Medicine and Tufts Medical Center. A highly skilled physician, educator, and mentor, Riesenburger guides students and residents by building a culture of innovation and exceptional care in the department where he, too, was once a student. His achievements span from earning the TUSM Dean's Outstanding Mentor Award in 2023 to being recognized as a "Top Doctor" by Boston Magazine each year since 2017. A valued and respected member of the Tufts community, Riesenburger recently shared insights into his journey, the transformative impact of mentorship, and his vision for the future of neurosurgery at Tufts.

What drew you to continue your studies at Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) and Tufts Medical Center, and what has motivated you to stay?

"My time at Tufts has been a transformative experience. My high school did not offer a rigorous curriculum and I had a lot of catching up to do during my freshman year. I worked extremely hard and was accepted into the TUSM Early Assurance MD Program at the end of sophomore year. Tufts was one of the first universities in the country to offer this program, in which qualified sophomores are guaranteed admission to the MD program as long as they keep a good GPA through to graduation. It allowed me the freedom to take more classes and perform lab work during my last two years of college instead of spending time studying for the MCAT and applying to other medical schools.

I received exceptional support from great professors and mentors as an undergraduate and as a medical student. For me, great mentorship has been a very meaningful part of my experience, and I am indebted to so many of my professors. At the School of Medicine, I quickly found out that our neurosurgery department was among the best in the country. I felt like I found the place where I belong and knew this was the place where I wanted to train and learn neurosurgery. I was fortunate to match and complete my neurosurgery residency at Tufts Medical Center.

For the past 20 years, Dr, Carl Heilman served as Tufts neurosurgery department chair and has provided me, and all my colleagues, with exceptional leadership and support. I was honored when he hired me to join the team as an attending in 2008, and now, stepping into the role of interim chair, I’m deeply committed to building on his legacy. I haven't wanted to go anywhere else. Tufts is my home and I need to do everything in my power to assure we are successful."

You have mentored many Tufts students and residents, co-authored papers with them, and earned the 2023 TUSM Dean's Outstanding Mentor Award. What is your favorite aspect of working with students, and how do you see the future of medical education, especially in neurosurgery, evolving?

"The students at Tufts University School of Medicine are exceptional—hard-working, bright, and carry a deep sense of purpose. Many are very determined to become good physicians and really help the patients in our community who need it. I’ve worked on numerous research projects with them, and there have been times where they've had ideas about the research that I had not considered. There have been moments when a student’s keen insight or subtle observation has been the key to moving a stalled project forward, transforming it into a success. That's extremely rewarding to see. The mentorship that I received throughout my career has been priceless, and it's very important to me that I try to pay that forward. I mentor several students each year who are considering neurosurgery, providing research opportunities and supporting their professional development, so that if they decide to pursue neurosurgery, they are in a position to excel in the field."

Of the many surgeries you have performed, are there any cases that stand out over the years?

"I took care of a 16-year-old who, unfortunately, dove into shallow water, not realizing it was shallow, and broke his neck, causing paralysis of his arms and legs. I performed a lengthy reconstructive operation through the front of the neck and the back of the neck to get the fracture fragments out and take the pressure off his injured spinal cord. After several months of rehabilitation, he made a near-perfect recovery. He is now in his late 20s, can walk and run, has a great job, and recently got married. That's one very memorable patient. Outcomes like that make my job extremely rewarding."

What drew you to specialize in neurosurgery?

"Neuroscience was the most interesting subject for me in medical school. I loved learning about how the nervous system works how it allows us to communicate, to walk, to perform tasks. In neurosurgery, we take care of some of the sickest patients in the hospital. While we can't help them all, there are some for whom we are able to make a significant positive impact and prevent them from death or prevent them from living a life with major disabilities. The fact that it's impactful is very important to me, I also felt like neurosurgery was the department that I belonged to during my medical school rotations. When I started in neurosurgery, I felt connected to a group of like-minded individuals who were very serious about acquiring knowledge, being experts, and providing excellent care. I felt they were a group of people who really enjoyed pushing themselves to their personal limits to be the best they could be. I found their mentality very inspiring and energizing. It’s a great culture for me to be a part of, I excel and am happy when I am surrounded by these types of people. While I believe this culture of pushing yourself to your limits is not uncommon across many departments in medicine, it is certainly the culture of my department. I love coming to work and being surrounded by these types of colleagues."

What have been the most rewarding aspects of your career as a neurosurgeon?

"It’s very rewarding to take care of a grateful patient who had surgery that changed their life for the better. That's the biggest reward I am privileged to be part of on a daily or weekly basis. It’s also extremely rewarding to help our trainees progress and achieve their goals. That's really very important to me and to our department. Guiding a student from day one of medical school to ultimately become a fully trained attending neurosurgeon is an awesome experience. One example that has been on my mind a lot lately is my colleague, Dan Herrick. Dan was a top-notch MD/PhD student at Tufts, and I served as a mentor and research advisor to him during medical school. I continued to mentor him periodically during his time as a resident out at Stanford, and recently had many conversations with him during his job search during his chief resident year. He recently decided to join the Maine Medical Center neurosurgery group and will start there when he graduates residency later this year. Serving as a mentor for Dan and other students and residents is very rewarding."

What are your goals and vision for the future of the Department of Neurosurgery at Tufts?

"The number one goal is to take great care of our patients. I know it's obvious, but that's something I never want to change. Without that, not much else matters. It's my goal to preserve and grow our reputation as a place patients seek out because they know the neurosurgery care we offer is excellent. I hope to grow and get the word out on programs that offer treatments that no one else offers in the area. For example, in 2024 our surgeons performed their 700th awake spine surgery. I’m not aware of any other program in the area that routinely offers that type of cutting-edge approach to spine neurosurgery, which draws patients from hundreds of miles away. The neurosurgeons in our department are second to none in the area and people deserve access to them. I am currently working to make it as easy as possible for doctors from community hospitals in the area to transfer patients who need tertiary care to my team at Tufts. I want Tufts to be the easiest center in Boston to transfer patients who need neurosurgery expertise.

It's very important for us to provide top-notch education and mentorship for our trainees. We put a lot of time and energy into the education of the Tufts residents and students. Another goal is to keep the neurosurgery team properly staffed 24/7/365—that is more challenging than people may realize in our post-pandemic world and requires constant thought and planning. Of course, supporting research and innovation in our department is also important to me. We have some of the best, most innovative minds in the country in our department- they have pioneered new ways of thinking about and treating conditions like hydrocephalus, epilepsy, and spinal stenosis."

What advice would you give to current medical students, particularly those interested in pursuing neurosurgery?

"Medical students should strive to gain as much information as possible about what it means to practice in their field. The field should be of interest to them and ideally be a good cultural fit so that you feel like you are aligned with the other people in that field. It's also important to be realistic about your strengths and weaknesses and know they match up with the requirements of the field. It's also crucial to understand the lifestyle associated with the field because some specialties are structured very differently than others. We don't want anyone to find themselves 10 to 15 years into their career struggling to achieve their ideal work-life balance. It’s an important topic that we need to address openly—pretending it’s not a factor would be a disservice; it should be a significant consideration for any student."