H. Richard Winn was born in Chester, Pennsylvania on March 30, 1942 to Dorothy and Charles Winn. His father practiced otolaryngology for 40 years in this mid-sized city in Southeastern Pennsylvania on the Delaware River. Dick was the second of three boys and grew up in Wallingford, Pennsylvania where he attended local schools until 10th grade. He was graduated from Haverford School in 1960. Following in the footsteps of his older brother Sam, he received his A.B. from Princeton University in 1964 and his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968. Planning a career in general surgery, he completed his internship and one year of general surgery at Case Western Reserve University. It was at the latter institution where he met John Jane and Martin Weiss, whose influence resulted in a career change into neurological surgery.

In 1970, he began his residency at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, moving with John Jane from Cleveland. As part of his residency training he spent a year at Freedom Fields in Plymouth, England and had the opportunity to initiate clinical research on the natural history of cerebral aneurysms at Atkinson Morley Hospital (AMH), Wimbledon, England. There he worked with Alan Richardson, FRCS, and began long-term outcome studies initiated by Sir Wylie McKissock. With Dr. Winn as PI, these studies documented decades of patients randomized to bedrest following SAH and were funded by the American Heart Association and Wellcome Trust .

Following military service (US Army) at the 2nd General Hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, Dick returned to Charlottesville where he continued basic science training in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular physiology under the direction of Robert M. Berne, Professor of Physiology. It was in this laboratory setting that Dick began his studies on the role of adenosine and cerebral blood flow (CBF) regulation. He was continuously funded as a PI by the NIH from1974 through 2010 for this ongoing effort by a series of RO-1s (including a Jacob Javits Neuroscience Award) and Program Projects. Other research activity was focused on head trauma, post traumatic epilepsy, efficacy of carotid endarterectomy (VA Trial) and development of animal models (brain abscess and craniosynostosis), all of which federally funded.

He held faculty positions in the Departments of Neurosurgery and Physiology at the University of Virginia, rising to full Professor and Vice Chairman of Neurosurgery until 1983 when he moved to University of Washington as the Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery with joint Professorship in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics. His clinical interests were centered on cerebrovascular disease, trauma and oncology.

During his tenure as Chair at the University of Washington, the Department’s clinical and research scope and activity expanded substantially. The Department became the number one recipient of NIH funding for more than a decade. A dedicated teacher, the residency under his leadership as program director emphasized both research and clinical training. His faculty, residents and students became chairs and section chiefs at multiple universities around the US. He was officially recognized during his tenure as Chair for his excellence in teaching by the UW medical school.

In 2003, he became a tenured Professor of Neurosurgery and Neuroscience and the Director of Research for the Department of Neurosurgery under Kalmon Post at Mount Sinai Medical School in NYC where continued his NIH funded adenosine laboratory. He also was appointed as an adjunct Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Iowa where he engaged in research and teaching. In 2010, he was appointed Director of Neurosurgery at Lenox Hill Hospital (NYC) and in 2013 returned to Mount Sinai with appointments in Neurosurgery (Joshua Bederson) and Neuroscience..

Besides the Jacob Javits Neuroscience Award from the NIH, a partial list of Dr. Winn’s honors include being selected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1992) "for studies in cerebral metabolism and for pioneering investigations defining the physiologic regulation of brain blood flow;" the Wakeman Award for Research in the Neurosciences (1990, for studies related to spinal cord injury); the Sir Wylie McKissock Neuroscience Prize (1992) from St. Georges Medical School, London; and the Grass Foundation Award (1999) from the Society of Neurological Surgery "for excellence in research contributions in the areas of science and academic neurosurgery.” He was elected into DANA Alliance (1992), to honorary membership (1993) in the British Society of Neurological Surgeons (SBNS) and received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Haverford School (2000). While at Mount Sinai, he was one of two clinicians (and the first neurosurgeon) to be elected by all four classes as a Distinguish Teacher (2009). Also in 2009 in recognition of Dr. Winn’s teaching, the University of Iowa and The Department of Neurosurgery under the leadership of the Chair, Matt Howard (one of Dr. Winn’s first UW residents) established The H. Richard Winn Lectureship in Cerebrovascular Physiology and Surgery.

His journal editorial board responsibilities included: Neurosurgery Clinics of North America (Founding and Consulting Editor, 1988–2003), Surgical Forum (1985–1991), Neurosurgery (1979–1984) Journal of the American College of Surgeons (1995–2000), American Journal of Physiology: Heart and Circulatory Physiology (1995-2000), Journal of Neurosurgery (1995–2001) as Chair of the Editorial Board (2001–2002) and J.Exp Stroke Transl Med (Editor-n-Chief, 2008-2013)

In 1997, he assumed the position of Editor-in Chief of the Youmans/Winn, Textbook of Neurological Surgery for the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th editions (2003; 2010; 2016 and 2021). This four volume textbook has been characterized by the JAMA as the “Bible of Neurosurgery.”

The Society of Neuro