Dr. Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa | Healing, Opportunity, Patients, Empowerment

In 1987, at the age of 19, Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa literally jumped the border fence between Mexico and Baja California in order to find work as a migrant worker. Today, he is a world-renowned neurosurgeon who works to change the world by building bridges within institutions and countries through education, patient care and research. The values he learned as a boy in Mexicali—those of hard work, resilience, and perseverance in the face of long odds—are the same principles that inform his work as a brain surgeon, scientist, professor, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. In his talk, “Dr. Q” shares his personal story, as well as his conviction that anything you can imagine can be achieved as long as you believe in yourself and your ability to make a difference.

Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa, MD, is chair of the Department of Neurologic Surgery at Mayo Clinic in Florida, where he holds the William J. and Charles H. Mayo Professorship. Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa earned his B.A. in psychology at the University of California–Berkeley and his MD at Harvard Medical School. He completed a residency in neurosurgery and a postdoctoral fellowship in developmental and stem cell biology at the University of California, San Francisco. His clinical interests are surgical treatment of primary and metastatic brain tumors; he also leads NIH-funded research to cure brain cancer. He has written numerous peer-reviewed papers and book chapters, edited neurosurgical texts and published his memoir, “Becoming Dr. Q.” Recently, Disney announced that this inspirational life story about his journey from migrant farm worker to neurosurgeon is going to be featured in a movie. Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa has received countless awards, honors, and honorary degrees. In 2015, Forbes Magazine recognized him as one of Mexico’s most brilliant minds. In addition to his research and clinical practice, Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa is co-founder and president of the non-profit foundation, Mission: BRAIN, Bridging Resources and Advancing International Neurosurgery.