Dear Section Members, Tae Sung Park, MD, passed away unexpectedly on August 31, 2024, at the age of 77 years. Dr. Park was a pioneering pediatric neurosurgeon and an inspiration to generations of trainees. Dr. Park’s commitment to caring for children with neurological disorders at the highest level is evident through his training, extensive–even for a neurosurgeon. He graduated from Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, Korea, and then completed neurosurgery residency training at Yonsei. He completed a second residency at the University of Virginia under Dr. John Jane, whom he adored. Dr. Park also completed fellowships in Pediatric Surgery (Columbus Children’s Hospital), Neuropathology (Massachusetts General Hospital), and Pediatric Neurosurgery (Hospital for Sick Children). After joining the faculty at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, he returned to the University of Virginia in 1983 as the first full-time pediatric neurosurgeon. In 1989, he joined his friend and colleague, Dr. Ralph Dacey, at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Park served as the Shi H. Huang Professor, and later the Margery Campbell Fort Professor, and Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery and Neurosurgeon-in-Chief at St. Louis Children’s Hospital until 2016. Under Dr. Park’s leadership, the division thrived and attained national prominence as a destination for complex pediatric neurosurgical care and training. Dr. Park has trained >80 neurosurgery residents and nearly 30 pediatric neurosurgery fellows, many of whom have gone on to lead programs themselves. For >20 years, Dr. Park ran an NIH-funded laboratory focused on microvascular injury in the neonatal brain. His work was recognized with the prestigious Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award from the NIH (1999) and the Winn Prize from the Society of Neurological Surgeons (2008). Over the past 10 years, Dr. Park’s research efforts have centered on Chiari I malformation and syringomyelia through his namesake, the Park-Reeves Syringomyelia Research Consortium, and on the technique and outcomes of selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR). Dr. Park was active on both the American Board of Pediatric Neurological Surgery and the American Board of Neurological Surgery, where he served as Chair, and the American Board of Medical Specialties, where he served as Director-at-Large of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Health and Public Policy Taske Force. He also served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Neurosurgery, Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics and Childs Nervous System. Without hyperbole, Dr. Park was a surgical virtuoso and innovator. He was widely known for his technical proficiency and welcomed the most difficult surgical challenges. He is best known as the as the preeminent leader in the field of selective dorsal rhizotomy for the treatment of spastic cerebral palsy. After developing substantial expertise, he pioneered a minimally invasive SDR technique, which is now adopted as the standard worldwide. Remarkably, he performed SDR on >5,300 patients from 80 countries; it is not an overstatement to say that the Park procedure and his own practice had an immeasurable impact on children worldwide. Aside from his many contributions to neurosurgery, Dr. Park was also an avid golfer, playing frequently with his friends in pediatric neurosurgery, and a nationally competitive ballroom dancer. He is survived by his wife, Meeaeng, children Tom and Mina, and their families. T.S. was a one-of-a-kind individual and surgeon, and we—and the field more broadly—will miss him dearly. Sincerely, David Limbrick, MD, PhD Matthew D. Smyth, MD AANS/CNS Joint Section for Pediatric Neurosurgery | 
