Healthcare Transformation > Persistence Pays Off

Persistence Pays Off

Neurosurgery leader's journey of discovery leads to Mayo Clinic

By Colin Fly Photography by Matt Meyer

Gelareh Zadeh, M.D., Ph.D.’s medical career almost ended before it even began. That’s because she went home for lunch during the two-part Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) convinced there was no need to return for the second half of the six-hour-plus exam.

“I told my mom I probably failed. There’s no point in going back,” recalls Dr. Zadeh, the chair of Mayo Clinic’s Department of Neurosurgery in Rochester. “The exam was a lot of new material to me because I had been studying mathematics in college to become an actuary — I had not studied biology or related courses.

“And my mom said, ‘We paid a lot of money for you to try. You should go back for the writing portion.’ Somehow, she convinced me.”

The lesson in persistence proved prescient. Dr. Zadeh, who was recently named the David C. and Flora C. Pratt Distinguished Chief Medical Officer for Mayo Clinic Platform, not only scored well on the MCAT, but also her efforts set the stage for a career in research science and medicine as a world-renowned neurosurgeon.

SHARED PERSPECTIVES

Persistence was key throughout Dr. Zadeh’s childhood. Her family immigrated to Canada from Iran. Her father, an economist, and her mother, a nuclear chemist, settled in Manitoba.

“I watched my mom study really hard,” Dr. Zadeh says. “My parents inspired me to commit myself to whatever I do. I feel most rewarded — whether a project is successful or not — when we complete it together as a team.”

The varying perspectives of her life also gave her an advantage practicing medicine — her ability to understand others and translate it to servant leadership.

"WE’RE ACTIVELY THINKING ABOUT WHAT IS POSSIBLE FOR OUR PATIENTS AND PURSUING SOLUTIONS."

— Gelareh Zadeh, M.D., Ph.D.

“Having lived through revolution, through war, immigration, I’m able to recognize that we each have a very unique perspective,” Dr. Zadeh says. “By nature, we’re all very distinct, and it’s the way we were designed to be. For me it is important to understand each person’s strengths and experiences.”

Dr. Zadeh treats patients with skull base tumors and brain cancers, leading multidisciplinary teams in specialized programs for brain metastases, pituitary disorders and neurofibromatosis. In her research laboratory, she analyzes the molecular signatures of brain tumors, using computational modeling to predict treatment outcomes and identify new therapeutic targets for difficult-to-treat brain cancers.

JOINING MAYO CLINIC

Mayo Clinic’s Department of Neurosurgery stands as one of the world’s most prestigious neurosurgical programs because of its exceptional patient outcomes, groundbreaking research and innovative surgical techniques that have defined excellence in the field for over a century.

The institution performs thousands of complex neurosurgical procedures annually while maintaining complication rates well below national benchmarks, demonstrating how high volume can coexist with superior quality. This achievement reflects Mayo Clinic’s century-long commitment to subspecialty expertise, multidisciplinary collaboration and continuous innovation.

“Mayo Clinic’s brand has been recognized internationally as top ranked, and having the responsibility of being highly regarded helps motivate us to make the next discoveries that improve outcomes, care and experiences for our patients,” Dr. Zadeh says.

“We have an approach that ensures healthcare is delivered safely and at its highest quality, so when the institution recognizes the value of a new direction and implements a new method in medicine, it gains international recognition.”

Mayo Clinic’s investments in artificial intelligence, Mayo Clinic Platform and other strategic priorities swayed Dr. Zadeh to join the staff in 2024 where she is recognized as a William J. and Charles H. Mayo Professor.

“What we have at Mayo Clinic is a vision for the future. We’re trying to be balanced and realistic — but we’re actively thinking about what is possible for our patients and pursuing solutions,” she says. “I arrived at a time where access to Mayo Clinic Platform was now possible by clinicians, and in a few months, we’ve been able to interrogate the data that’s available, which is an unparalleled resource to ask some key clinical questions.

“This year, we had our first clinical trial born out of Platform, which is a huge success and an exciting step forward.”

FORWARD FOCUS

From that fateful lunch hour, Dr. Zadeh ultimately embarked on a career that has advanced brain tumor research and broken barriers, and she now holds a position leading Mayo Clinic to the forefront of neuroscience innovation.

Her persistence has driven her to unparalleled heights as a servant leader and has earned her numerous awards, such as the Canada Gairdner Momentum Award, William E. Rawls Prize from the Canadian Cancer Society, and American Brain Tumor Translational Research Award.

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Dr. Zadeh also holds leadership roles in international organizations, including the Society of Neuro-Oncology, World Federation of Neurological Societies, and International Consortium on Meningiomas, which she co-founded.

“I always tell people I think a negative outcome is just as important, if not more important, than a positive, because the positive is no mystery. We had a hypothesis, and we proved it,” she says. “In the lab the unexpected negative result is what sparks the next questions and drives further investigations.”

Sometimes the most important discoveries come not from success, but from the persistence to continue when everything seems to be going wrong. As Dr. Zadeh learned from watching her parents, the difference between failure and the next breakthrough can be as simple as asking the next question.