UICOMP Awards Shelly Timmons, MD, with 2022 UICOMP Distinguished Alumni Award
The University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria (UICOMP) awarded Shelly Timmons, MD, with its 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award. She becomes the 18th graduate (among more than 2,000 medical school alumni) to receive this honor in the College’s 52-year history. Shelly D. Timmons, MD, PhD, is chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery at Indiana University School of Medicine. She is the first woman to lead the IU department and only the fourth woman to serve as chair of a neurosurgical department at a U.S. medical school.
A member of the UICOMP Class of 1991, Timmons served as president of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons in April 2019. She is a specialist in neurotrauma and neurocritical care with a focus on traumatic brain injury. As a prolific scholar and researcher, she has authored 25 book chapters, 57 peer-reviewed articles, 35 published abstracts, oral and poster presentations, and more. She is a highly regarded and sought after lecturer and presenter, having completed well over 100 invited lectures and visiting professorships. Additionally, she has led or co-led numerous funded clinical research studies sponsored by NIH and industry partners.
Dr. Timmons has previously held administrative, clinical and academic appointments at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Geisinger Health System in Danville, Penn., and University of Tennessee Health Science Center–Memphis. She completed residency training at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center–Memphis in 1997 and earned a PhD in anatomy and neurobiology there in 2002.
“The University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria is proud of its role as part of the pipeline educating and training physicians for important work in their chosen disciplines and careers. This year we are honored to recognize the outstanding efforts of Dr. Timmons for excelling in her field with accomplishments that span research, education and clinical medicine as well as public policy and national leadership,” says Meenakshy Aiyer, MD, UICOMP regional dean. “Her work illustrates the impact UICOMP alumni are having within their respective disciplines, within their organizations as leaders, and within their healthcare systems and communities.”
The UICOMP Distinguished Alumni Award is annually presented by the University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria Alumni Council. Selection for the honor is reserved for those who are highly distinguished in their chosen field and who, in deed or in action, reflect the importance of their education at UICOMP. Nomination criteria and forms may be found on the UICOMP website. Nominations are currently open for the 2023 award.