Biography of James E. Boggan, M.D.
James E. Boggan is Emeritus Julian R. Youmans Endowed Chair and Professor of Neurological Surgery at the University of California, Davis. He was born on the southeast side of Chicago, Illinois in 1949. Growing up in his dad’s electronics repair shop, he always wanted to be a scientist. The shop was his first laboratory and he found that he loved using his hands to fix things. He attended Hyde Park High School where he excelled academically and in his senior year was captain of their Blue Division City Champions basketball team.
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He went on to Columbia University in New York City, also played on the basketball team, and then became involved in the student demonstrations against the Vietnam War and University’s planned encroachment into Harlem. With these disruptions to his college routine, he lost certainty about his career direction. After his sophomore year, he was advised to spend a year away to plan/decide his future. He worked as a licensed employment agent helping others make career decisions which forced him to reflect on his own interests and what direction his studies should take.
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When he returned to Columbia in 1970, he was committed to becoming a neurosurgeon. He felt that understanding how the brain functioned would be a great challenge. In his words, he considered it “the biggest black box and scientific unknown” in the world. Surgery gave him the familiar pleasure of using his hands and he felt medicine would allow him make a real contribution to the world. With an undergraduate degree in cell biology, he went back home to attend the University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine. He also pursued his interest in research. He was awarded the Catherine Dobson Award for medical student research for his project on spinal cord injury. In addition, he had the opportunity to present his research findings at an American Medical Student Association Research forum and at the 1976 Society for Neuroscience meeting, and this cemented his interest in pursuing an academic medical career.
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After medical school, he stayed at the University of Chicago for his surgery internship and to continue his research. In 1977, he was accepted for residency training in neurological surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. He joined a legendary group of residents who trained in that era. After residency, he was appointed Clinical Instructor in 1982 and Assistant Clinical Professor in 1983. He left UCSF to join the faculty at the University of California, Davis in March 1985. At Davis, he focused his surgical practice on pediatrics, skull base and primary brain tumors, and the treatment of pain. Dr. Boggan was promoted to Professor in 1993 and appointed the Julian R. Youmans Professor and Endowed Chair in Neurological Surgery in 2013.
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He became well known for decades of research and surgical practice in pediatrics, skull base and primary brain tumors and the treatment of pain. He impressed upon his residents the importance of dedication, compassion, and singular devotion to patients. He retired from clinical practice in June 2020.
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During his career he was principal or co-investigator on a number of multidisciplinary research projects funded by extramural agencies such as the Department of Energy, National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health. He served on multiple scientific review groups primarily for the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and National Cancer Institute. He was most proud of his long tenure on Neurological Science Training Review Committees. He truly enjoyed his role as a teacher of future neurosurgeons.
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To his trainees, Dr. Boggan emphasized the honor of providing surgical care to patients and the accompanying obligation to pursue excellence in one’s clinical endeavors. Accordingly, he was very demanding of his residents, but always respectful of the great sacrifices each of them made to become a neurosurgeon. Like him, many supported their undergraduate and medical educations by a combination of scholarships, loans, various jobs and family support. The transition from medical school to residency for training in neurological surgery is a momentous one that should be happily remembered. However, beginning training for that career can also be financially difficult. Dr. Boggan is pleased to be honored by the Future Neurosurgeons Foundation with their goal to ease the financial burdens of newly matched residents and thus allow them to better celebrate and enjoy this special occasion.
