Alumni

Spotlight: Donlin Long, MD, PhD (1960 to 1965) – Bringing a Legacy of Excellence from Minnesota to Johns Hopkins

Upon completion of a year-long internship in the University of Minnesota Department of Surgery, Donlin Long, MD, PhD, decided on a scientific career in neurosurgery. From 1960 to 1964, he completed both his residency in neurosurgery and his PhD in neuroanatomy, also at the U. Dr. Long then completed a chief residency (fellowship) in pediatric neurosurgery at the Children's Hospital Medical Center in Boston, MA, in 1965.

Moving to Johns Hopkins
After serving in the U.S. Public Health Service as a clinical associate at the National Institutes of Health's branch of surgical neurology, Dr. Long was appointed chief of neurosurgery in 1967 at the Minneapolis Veterans Administration Hospital. In 1973, he was recruited by Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, MD, to succeed A. Earl Walker, MD, as director of the Department of Neurosurgery, when the division was made an independent section outside the umbrella of the department of surgery. He led his department to become one of the best of its kind, responsible for major contributions to the understanding of brain systems, brain tumor therapy, and pain treatment. Twenty-three of his trainees went on to head neurosurgery departments or divisions in hospitals and medical schools all over the world.

As department director, Dr. Long developed an infrastructure for neurosurgical patient care at Johns Hopkins while advancing the standards for pain care around the world. During his tenure as director, he also held appointments at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and in the Applied Physics Laboratory at The Johns Hopkins University. He held this post until 2000, when he stepped down to devote his time to research, education, and patient care.

Electrostimulation pioneer
According to the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions Portrait Collection, Dr. Long’s areas of interest included pediatric neurosurgery, skull base tumors, and the nature and treatment of spinal pain. He was one of the pioneers of the use of electrostimulation for the treatment of back pain and was instrumental in developing transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TENS) for clinical practice. He also designed an implantable peripheral nerve stimulator to aid patients with severe spinal pain.

Dr. Long founded the Johns Hopkins Blaustein Chronic Pain Clinic, which was funded by former patient Dr. Morton Blaustein. In 2001, he was appointed a Distinguished Service Professor at Johns Hopkins.

In 2010, Dr. Long retired from Johns Hopkins and opened a private clinical practice in Lutherville, MD, with emphasis on diagnosing spinal problems and treating them with non-operative measures. He also consulted on issues of legal liability, product development and liability, medical education issues, neuroscience centers, and operating room design.

Distinguished career
The author or co-author of 276 academic articles, 116 book chapters, and 16 books, Dr. Long also served on 15 editorial boards, and was a founding editor for Spine and Neurosurgery Quarterly. Additionally, he was a founding member of the Cervical Spine Research Society, International Association for the Study of Pain, and International Collaboration for Competency Based Medical Education.

His legacy lives on in the Donlin M. Long Award, which honors those who have served the Johns Hopkins community in advancing the standards of pain care and embody the institution’s dedication to alleviating suffering and pain (the latest award given was in 2018). In addition, the Donlin M. Long Professorship in Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine was established in 1999 by patients, colleagues, and friends in his honor.

Dr. Long is married to Harriett Page Long, has three children and four grandchildren.