March 30, 2021
6 min read
This story originally appeared on México Desconocido
Alfredo Quiñones Hinojosa, Popularly, he is, like Dr. Q, a Mexican neurosurgeon whose story can move anyone. He was born in the city of Mexicali, Baja California, in 1968.
At the age of 19, Alfredo did not speak English, so he had to work on a farm in Fresno, California. According to his various testimonies, he lived a very poor life in Mexico, which gave him enough courage to overcome himself and jump the 30-foot wall that separates Mexico and the United States.
‘I have been forced to leave Mexico. I realized how the system was treating my parents. In our countries it is a little more difficult to get ahead if you don’t have financial support, if you don’t know anyone, ”Quiñones calmly recalls.
Image: Brain and Life Magazine via Unknown Mexico
Although he made little money, Alfredo Quiñones saved up to pay for English lessons at a community school. Initially, he spent time alone in the United States to pay for his education at a normal school in Mexico. After graduation, he knew he had to take the next step: study medicine, inspired by his grandmother, who was a healer.
“I ate people’s leftovers, went to restaurants and picked up what people left behind. I was thirsty to get ahead even though I became one homeless“, Keep it up.
In 1991, Quiñones began his education at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, California, and completed his BA in psychology with honors from the University of California. Later he studied medicine at Harvard University, where he also graduated with honors.
Image: Via Mexico Unknown
Dr. Q., a model migrant
“They told me that our people are not accepted at Harvard or Stanford, I often questioned whether I could make my dream come true”, he says in an interview for Channel 22.
During his college years, he also managed to acquire American citizenship. Finally, he completed his professional education with a residency at the University of California, San Francisco, where he collaborated with Mexican physician Arturo Álvarez-Buylla in a research on stem cells.
“I was made in Mexico, but the United States gave me the chance. However, I keep coming back to Mexico to do altruistic work and build bridges between our countries, ”he says delighted.
Image: Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa / Tom via Unknown Mexico
Dr. Q started his career in Johns Hopkins School of Medicine where he worked as a teacher for the subjects Neurosurgery and Oncology, Neurology and Cellular and Molecular Medicine. He also worked as director of the Stem Cell Biology Laboratory for Brain Tumors.
His clinical research focuses on the surgical treatment of primary and metastatic brain tumors. He is also an expert in spinal intradural, brain stem and brain tumors. He also specializes in the treatment of patients with pituitary tumors, as well as in the base of the skull and in the use of radiosurgery.
Since 2016, the now famous Dr. Q as a physician at Mayo Clinic in Florida, but continues his work as an NIH-funded researcher to find a cure for brain cancer. Dr. Q. has contributed to 50 book chapters and has written several texts about his research.
In 2021, actor Brad Pitt announced his intention to end the life of Dr. Q through his production house Plan B, which collaborates with Disney. The production company is the same that filmed 12 years of slavery, Oscar-winning movie. Brad Pitt’s film will no doubt highlight the lives of Mexican migrants and people around the world.
Awards and Recognitions Received by Dr. Alfredo Quiñones
- 986 BA Escuela Normal Urbana Federal Fronteriza, Mexicali, México – Social Sciences and Humanities, Multidisciplinary Teaching License.
- 1991 San Joaquin Delta Community College, Stockton, California – Transfer of core curriculum to University of California.
- 1994 BA from University of California, Berkeley, California – highest award.
- 1999 MD Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts – With Honors.
- 2000 University of California, San Francisco, California (General Surgery) – Award for Most Valuable Intern.
- 2004 University of California, San Francisco, California (Residency – Neurosurgery) – Howard Naffziger Neurological Surgery Award.
- 2006 Howard Hughes Institute – Medical Science Career Award.
- Association of American Medical Colleges – Premio Herbert Nickens.
- 2006 American Society for Clinical Oncology Foundation – Professional Development Award.
- 2006 Johns Hopkins University – Passano Medical Scientist Award.
- 2007 Johns Hopkins Hospital – Department of Neurosurgery – Faculty Teaching Award (Richard J. Otenasek).
- Robert Wood Johnson 2007 premio.
- 2007 Popular Science Magazine – Top 10 Brightest Scientists Award.
- 2007 Baltimore Magazine – EE’s Top Docs. UU.
- 2008 Olender Foundation – Premio America’s Role Model Award.
- Science and Engineering Festival 2010 – Nifty Fifty Scientist.
- 2011 Baltimore Magazine – Baltimore Top Docs.
- 2012 Named as Super Doctor.
- 2012 Winner of the Ohtli Award.
- 2015 VII Ibero-American Cortes de Cádiz Award for Surgery, Spain.
- Forbes 2015, the most creative Mexicans in the world.
- 2018 Honorary Degree from the University of Santander.