George Jallo, M.D., an internationally respected pediatric neurosurgeon, joined All Children’s Hospital Johns Hopkins Medicine in St. Petersburg, Florida on September 1 as director of the newly established Johns Hopkins All Children’s Institute for Brain Protection Sciences. 
 
He comes to St. Petersburg after more than a decade at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where he is professor of neurosurgery, pediatrics and oncology and succeeded Benjamin Carson, M.D., as head of the division of pediatric neurosurgery.
 
Jallo’s surgical expertise has benefited patients from around the world, and he is a pioneer in the use of minimally invasive keyhole surgery on children—reaching the brain to perform surgery by entering through the nose or eyebrow with extremely small openings. “It has been very successful and I’m pleased to be able to offer the procedure in the Tampa Bay area,” he notes. He is an expert in the surgical treatment of rare brain stem and spinal cord tumors as well as epilepsy. “I also hope to advance surgical treatment for children with refractory seizures disorders that don’t respond to medications.”
 
All Children’s Hospital joined the Johns Hopkins Health System in 2011 and is enhancing its clinical, research and teaching programs to become the preeminent academic medical center for children from across Florida and beyond. Jallo is pleased to now call St. Petersburg home and have the opportunity to build a collaborative and comprehensive program.
 
“It’s exciting to be part of leading and developing the institute into one of the best—if not the world’s leading—center of neurosciences and brain protection,” he says. “All Children’s has a solid clinical foundation with the desire to develop the basic science and research portion for the institute. It would have been comfortable to finish my career at Hopkins in Baltimore, but I believe I can be more effective and have a larger impact in Florida. The real beauty is the collaboration and the opportunity to move forward together.”
 
“Dr. Jallo will expand clinical and research programs in the neurosciences as he leads our newly established Institute for Brain Protection Sciences,” says Jonathan Ellen, M.D., president and physician-in-chief of All Children’s Hospital and vice dean and professor of pediatrics with Johns Hopkins University. “He will create a unique center that integrates neurology, neurosurgery, psychiatry and neuropsychiatry and other disciplines to promote optimal neurodevelopment early in life and also give children who have illnesses or injuries that can affect the brain.”
 
International patients who previously had surgery or enrolled in clinical trials with Jallo will find a welcoming presence in All Children’s Hospital Johns Hopkins Medicine growing international patient program. He hopes to accelerate the program in St. Petersburg to meet the needs of patients from many different cultures. “My goal is for the international patients and families to feel that this is the best hospital in the world to get their care,” says Jallo.
 
Philanthropy will play a key role in the growth of the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Institute for Brain Protection Sciences. “To have all of the neurosciences under one umbrella, both clinical and research, will take time and money, but we hope to make it the best clinical facility and the most cutting-edge research program for pediatric neurosciences and brain protection in Florida and in the United States,” says Jallo. “An investment in the institute is money well spent for children with brain health issues.