The Frederick A. Simeone, MD Professorship in Neurosurgery

Frederick Simeone, MD (1936-2022) was a neurosurgeon at Pennsylvania Hospital, a faculty member in Penn Medicine’s Department of Neurosurgery, and the founder of Philadelphia’s Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum. Dr. Simeone, along with his longtime friends and close colleagues, established the Frederick A. Simeone Professorship in Neurosurgery as a tribute to his long-standing career at Penn Medicine.

Dr. Simeone attended Temple University as an undergraduate and earned his medical degree there, then completed residencies at the Mayo Clinic and at the University of Pennsylvania. He next performed research and neurosurgery as a faculty member at Harvard Medical School, and then came to Penn. He initially served as Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery in the Perelman School of Medicine, then was promoted in 1973 to Associate Professor. He eventually became a full professor. His rise to eminence was paralleled at Pennsylvania Hospital, where he eventually became the Chair of Neurosurgery. Dr. Simeone researched cerebral vasospasm and published his findings widely. Moreover, he co-authored The Spine, a seminal textbook on spinal surgery. He joined Penn’s 25 Year Club in 1994 and retired from Penn and Pennsylvania Hospital in 2008. Dr. Simeone served as a Major in the U.S. Army and was knighted (Cavaliere) by the President of the Republic of Italy.

In his leisure time, Dr. Simeone was an avid collector of antique racing cars. Beginning with a collection of four that he inherited from his father, he investigated and procured vehicles he considered works of art, expanding his collection to over 75 vehicles that had been designed for competitions. He established the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in southwest Philadelphia in 2008, donating his collection of racing sports cars and automobile literature for posterity and public display. Bolstered by Dr. Simeone’s philosophy of “restore, not rebuild,” the museum has won awards all over the world, and Dr. Simeone’s book The Stewardship of Historically Important Automobiles was named publication of the year by the international Historic Motoring Awards (2013). He considered the museum his gift to Philadelphia, a sentiment that many commentators and racecar enthusiasts have echoed.

Current Chairholder

Willian C. Welch, MD, FACS, FAANS, FICS, FAANOS

Dr. William C. Welch is the Frederick A. Simeone, MD Professor of Neurosurgery, Vice Chair of Academic and Faculty Affairs, and Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Pennsylvania Hospital. He also co-directs the Sharpe Biomechanics Laboratory (with Beth Winkelstein, PhD) and directs the Penn Spine Center at Pennsylvania Hospital. He completed fellowships in neuro-oncology and spinal surgery and was recruited to the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in 2007 in the Department of Neurosurgery.

An active spinal surgeon, investigator and educator, Dr. Welch is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, the Perelman School of Medicine Academy of Master Clinicians, and the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Academy of Master Surgeon Educators^®. He also is a reviewer/editor for over 30 journals, served or currently serves in a multitude of organized neurosurgery leadership positions, and has over 150 peer-reviewed publications.