Scientists sometimes call the human brain a “three-pound universe.” In the case of Dr. Frederick Boop, it’s a universe where he is still blazing trails, discovering marvels and extracting secrets.
Boop is on staff at the Semmes Murphey Clinic PC, a professor and chair of neurosurgery at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and chief of pediatric neurosurgery at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
His current research is focused on the study of molecular genetic events that cause brain tumors, and of the molecular genetics of epilepsy, and he is also involved in multi-center clinical trials of brain tumor treatments.
“There are times,” he said, “when genetics plays a big role in what we do, and we’re learning more about that by the day . . . so quickly that our textbooks are out of date by the time they get into print. In my lifetime, we’ve gone from a 30 percent survival rate for most of our children with brain tumors to an 80 percent survival rate; and to be able to see that difference over your professional career is heartwarming.”
Boop applauds the neuroscientists at St. Jude to whom he sends tumor tissue samples. “They deserve all the credit for the molecular research," he said.
“That program is so forward-thinking,” he added. “In their latest treatment paradigms, the kids not only get the molecular genetics of their tumor looked at, but they get their whole human genome sampled. Over 1,200 children, now, have had every bit of DNA in their whole body looked at — and what they’re learning from that is just incredible.”
One of four Semmes Murphey pediatric neurosurgeons who handle all brain tumor cases between Nashville and Jackson, Mississippi, Boop was recruited 16 years ago by Dr. Robert Sanford, a Semmes Murphey doctor who was then director of pediatric neurosurgery at St. Jude, and who trained Boop to fill his position.
Boop’s father, Dr. Warren Boop, was also a neurosurgeon. A Knoxville native, Warren at age 19 brought his bride to Memphis, where he attended UT Medical School and studied under the same Dr. Eustace Semmes who had founded the Semmes Murphey Clinic in 1912.
Years later, son Frederick graduated with honors in English from the University of Arkansas. Besides his jobs delivering newspapers and painting houses, his third job — monitoring a machine that measured brain waves during surgery at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital — allowed him to watch the surgeons at work, and inspired him to pursue a career in pediatric neurosurgery.
Although his father suggested there were better jobs, Boop earned his MD from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and completed his internship and neurosurgical residency at the University of Texas Health Science Center.
Neurosurgery is not a job, but a lifestyle, he said. “Your day doesn’t end at 5 or 9 or midnight. Particularly taking care of children, there are days when you lay awake at night; you can’t sleep and it rips your heart out.”
But the years have brought balance, in the form of graduation invitations, wedding announcements and baby pictures from his former surgical patients.
“I’m at a point now,” he said, “where I can look at a lot of pictures on a wall in my office – and those kids give me strength.”
A source of untapped potential and qualities beyond quantification, the brain still fascinates. Advances in neuro-radiology have been helpful, he said: “In our lifetime we’ve gone from CAT scans to MRIs to sophisticated neuroimaging studies where we can now have a kid move his hand, and the hand area of his brain will light up on the scan — or talk, and the speech area will light up.
“We’re starting to understand some of the complicated molecular pathways; drug companies and other researchers are developing targeted therapies that can disrupt those pathways. Tumors are starting to respond and go away, without all the sickness that comes with standard chemotherapy. By the time I die, a lot of these kids won’t have to have surgery anymore; they’ll be treated with a pill or a shot.”
Some of his greatest challenges involve reining in healthcare costs and the increasing regulation — and decisions by insurance company on whether to let a child come to them for surgery.
Regulators would prefer that every doctor perform every procedure exactly the same way, so it’s easy to measure and monitor, he observed. “But all of the things that advance the field come through innovation and change. If everybody does everything the same way ... we never get any better than we are right now.”
As president-elect of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Boop looks forward to taking over leadership next April and running its 2017 meeting in Los Angeles — an event that attracts surgeons internationally.
“It’s an interesting time in our field,” he said. “I can do a surgery today, record it on high definition 3D and send it free of charge to another surgeon in another country, so he can see how we do it here before he operates on a similar problem.”
He points to resources like the Rhoton Collection® -- 60,000 3D slides of neuroanatomy under the microscope, with accompanying lectures, freely accessible online. He promotes the sharing of knowledge through medical missions to Bosnia, and participates in an exchange program that recently brought a dozen medical students from Croatia to learn at Semmes Murphey.
Boop is proud to be affiliated with the “really special” Memphis medical community and all it has to offer that much larger cities can’t match — including programs for the poor and uninsured.
His greatest source of pride, however, is his marriage and children, who are continuing the family medical tradition. Boop’s daughter is working toward her Master’s degree in public health; his son started medical school this fall and may become the third "Dr. Boop, Nnurosurgeon."
“I told him to keep his options open,” Boop said with a laugh.
RELATED LINKS:
https://www.semmes-murphey.com/
(http://neurocirurgiabr.com/the-rhoton-collection-3d-itunes-u/)
http://www.aans.org/en/Education%20and%20Meetings/The%20Rhoton%20Collection.aspx
http://www.aans.org
