Mark Elwood Linskey, born in Oak Park, Illinois, is son of an Irish chemical engineer & a 1st generation Swedish-American & is the first member of his family to attend a graduate school. An Eagle Scout, he was valedictorian of his high school class in NJ before he entered Dartmouth College on a National merit Scholarship. At Dartmouth, he majored in Philosophy, graduating junior Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude, with highest honors in moral philosophy. He then entered Columbia University, College of Physicians & Surgeons on a US Navy Health Professions Scholarship (HPSP). He was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha his junior year, graduated second in his class, & earned the Admiral David Willard Lyons Award for academic excellence. Residency training was completed at the University of Pittsburgh under Peter Jannetta where he developed interests in skull base microsurgery, stereotactic radiosurgery (SR), & cranial nerve (CN) disorders including trigeminal neuralgia & hemifacial spasm. He won both the Preuss Award for Brain Tumor Research & the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) van Wagenen Fellowship in 1993. He completed two post-doctoral research fellowships in neuro-oncology at the Pittsburgh Cancer Institute & the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in London. After Fellowship, he served 4 years active duty with the US Navy serving as Chief of Neurosurgery at Naval Medical Center San Diego 1996-8. Military decorations, include the Navy Achievement Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, & Armed Forces Reserve Medal with bronze hour glass. He was recruited to the University of Arkansas in 1998 to lead their Gamma Knife SR & Neuro-Oncology Programs. In 2004, he was recruited to be the Chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery at UC Irvine (UCI). There, he rebuilt the department & re-established the neurosurgery residency training program; serving as Chairman from 2004-2009 & Program Director from 2008 - 2012. He was promoted to Full Professor with tenure in 2012. He established, & served as 1st Director of, the multi-disciplinary Neuro-Oncology Program at the UCI Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. He has been honored with the Distinguished Service Award form the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), the Leibrock Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of State Neurosurgical Societies (CSNS), the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation UCI Chapter, the National Eagle Scout Association (NESA) Outstanding Eagle Scout Award from the Orange County NESA Chapter, & the 1st Special Service Award from the Young Patients Committee of the Facial Pain Association. Research interests include brain tumor molecular epidemiology and biomarkers, developmental glial biology, brain tumor radiobiology, brain tumor clinical trials, & clinical outcomes studies including CN disorders. He has published more than 126 peer-reviewed articles, 33 book chapters, & 1 book. He has delivered 167 professional scientific abstracts & more than 203 invited lectures or instructional course presentations. Dr. Linskey has served as Chair of the CSNS, President-Elect of the CA Association of Neurological Surgeons (CANS), President of the San Diego Academy of Neurological Surgeons, 9 years on the Executive committee of the CNS, 15 years on the Executive Council of the AANS/CNS Joint Tumor Section, 6 years as a voting member of the AANS/CNS Washington Committee, 2 years on the AANS Board of Directors & the Board of the Neurosurgery PAC. He is the Western Regional Director of the Medical Advisory Board of the national Facial Pain Association. He is a founding member of both the North American Skull Base Society & the International Stereotactic radiosurgery Society. He organized & wrote the by-laws for the Neurosurgery Executive Resource Value and Education Society (NERVES). He has been Chairman of the AANS/CNS Guidelines Committee, the AANS Publications & van Wagenen Selection Committees, & a member of the AANS Nominating Committee, Chairman of the CSNS Medical Practices Committee, & Chairman of the Joint Tumor Section Guidelines, Clinical Trials, Outcomes, & Extra-Mural Education Committees. He is Head of the SNS PORTAL Editorial Board for Tumor. He is on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Neuro-Oncology. He is married to JoAnne Louise Linskey (nee - Bambrick) of Saratoga, CA. Together they live in Newport Beach, CA. Outside interests include sailing, history, and travel.