Nashville’s best and brightest: Four industry leaders speak at Vanderbilt
Dr. Reid Thompson, Chair of Neurosurgery and ViSE affiliate, was recently showcased among other industry speakers at a Vanderbilt symposium. “What really brought me to Nashville was the recognition that this was an unbelievably creative place, and I’ve had the privilege of working with some amazingly talented engineers,” Thompson said. “One of the nice things about Vanderbilt is that the medical campus is embedded in the main campus. These guys who are engineers, their offices are four minutes from mine. As a result of that, we’re developing all of these cool technologies.”
Thomson also shared how a passion for the brain led him to a career in neurosurgery. He recalled how touching a patient’s brain for the first time during surgery inspired him to devote his life to the field. Thompson then shared the story of a Nashville singer-songwriter who suddenly had difficulties fusing the words of lyrics to her music. Based on these symptoms, a small tumor that was impairing this function was eventually discovered in her brain. Thompson said that following surgery his patient almost immediately began setting lyrics to music again with no problem.
Thompson also noted how Nashville’s creative vibe translates into the scientific field, especially with work being done at Vanderbilt. Read more: http://www.insidevandy.com/news/campus_events/article_8e062cb0-2606-11e3-89d7-001a4bcf6878.html