Where are they now? - Rajiv Midha

Rajiv Midha MD, MSc, FRCS(C), FAANS, FCAHS

Raj Midha was born in India in 1962 and came to North America in 1972. He attended medical school at the University of Toronto, where he won several awards and scholarships, graduating in 1987. Raj then did a Comprehensive Surgery Internship at Queen’s University, and then returned to the University of Toronto for neurosurgical training, which he completed in 1995. During those years of postgraduate training, Raj earned at MSc at the Institute of Medical Science at U of T, under the supervision of Drs Susan Mackinnon and Alan Hudson. Raj won a number of research awards during that time. He did clinical fellowships in peripheral nerve surgery at St Michael’s Hospital in Toronto and at Louisiana State University in New Orleans, to complete preparation for his dominant career clinical and research interest in peripheral nerve work. 

Raj joined the Division of Neurosurgery at Sunnybrook and Women’s College Health Sciences Centre in 1995, and was promoted to associate professor in 2000, before moving to the University of Calgary in 2004. He served as Head of the Division of Neurosurgery at the University of Calgary from 2004 to 2012. Since then, Raj has been Professor and Head of the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Calgary. This accomplished academic department has 95 faculty members, and includes the Divisions of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Translational Neurosciences. 

Raj runs a basic science laboratory, investigating nerve regeneration, and is a Neuroscientist in the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI) at the University of Calgary. He was a founding member of the Institute, has brought in very significant funding over the years, and plays a role in the governance of the HBI. Raj has established an innovative multidisciplinary peripheral nerve program, which integrates patient-centric care, education and research activities. He has directed numerous nerve courses in Canada and the U.S. Raj has been president of the two foremost international surgical peripheral nerve societies, the American Society for Peripheral Nerves and the Sunderland Society.

In addition to publishing 125 peer-reviewed papers, mainly on peripheral nerve topics, Raj has co-edited two textbooks on peripheral nerve surgery and has written dozens of book chapters. He has delivered 250 invited lectures and visiting professorships nationally and internationally. Raj serves on the editorial boards of three prominent neurosurgery publications, Journal of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery and World Neurosurgery.

Raj and his wife Vandy have two children, a daughter Nisha who is 24 and a son Rishi who is 21 years old. The family enjoy travelling together, and a recent highlight was a trip to the Galapagos. Raj is an avid tennis player, and enjoys the outdoors, hiking and cycling in summer and skiing in winter.

By Bill Tucker