Dr. Rafael Rodríguez Mercado, was born in 1961 in Ponce.
He obtained a bachelor's degree in Chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), Río Piedras Campus, and a doctorate in Medicine from the School of Medicine of the University of Puerto Rico in the Medical Sciences Campus (1988). He completed his residency in Neurosurgery at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine (1988-1995) and a Fellowship in Endovascular Neurosurgery at the State University of New York at Buffalo (1995-1997) under the tutelage of the pioneer in the USA in this specialty Dr. Leo N. Hopkins.
Since 1997 he has been a professor of neurosurgery at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine. He is a pioneer on the island and the Caribbean in the discipline of Endovascular Neurosurgery since 1997. He is also director of the Neuro-endovascular Surgery program at the same institution, together with Dr. Caleb Feliciano and Dr. Juan M. Ramos are in charge of the training program of endovascular neurosurgeons where there are graduates from Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela.
Dr. Rodríguez has performed over 6,000 Neuro Endovascular procedures in 24 years of experience and belongs to 15 prestigious international medical societies. He has given over 140 oral presentations at local, national and international medical conferences as well as publications in medical journals.
He has been a colonel in the United States Army Reserve since 1988 holding positions of Reserve Command Surgeon in the 1st Mission Support Command and in September 2017, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Surgery at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences of the Armed Forces of the United States.
In 2009 he served as Rector of the Medical Sciences Campus, a position that ended in 2013. He continues his clinical and academic work until January 2017, where he is appointed by Governor Ricardo Rosselló Nevárez as Secretary of Health of Puerto Rico, a position that ended in March 2020.
Since 1997 he has been a professor of neurosurgery at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine. He is a pioneer on the island and the Caribbean in the discipline of Endovascular Neurosurgery since 1997. He is also director of the Neuro-endovascular Surgery program at the same institution, together with Dr. Caleb Feliciano and Dr. Juan M. Ramos are in charge of the training program of endovascular neurosurgeons where there are graduates from Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela.
Dr. Rodríguez has performed over 6,000 Neuro Endovascular procedures in 24 years of experience and belongs to 15 prestigious international medical societies. He has given over 140 oral presentations at local, national and international medical conferences as well as publications in medical journals.
He has been a colonel in the United States Army Reserve since 1988 holding positions of Reserve Command Surgeon in the 1st Mission Support Command and in September 2017, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Surgery at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences of the Armed Forces of the United States.
In 2009 he served as Rector of the Medical Sciences Campus, a position that ended in 2013. He continues his clinical and academic work until January 2017, where he is appointed by Governor Ricardo Rosselló Nevárez as Secretary of Health of Puerto Rico, a position that ended in March 2020.
Dr. Caleb Feliciano
Dr. Caleb E. Feliciano completed a B.S. in Natural Sciences with a major in General Chemistry at the University of Puerto Rico in 1996. He later continued his studies in Medicine followed by a specialty in Neurosurgery which he completed in 2008. Due to a deep interest in the areas of endovascular and cerebrovascular neurosurgery, and taking into account the need for this service in Puerto Rico, he completed a subspecialty in endovascular neurosurgery under the mentorship of Dr. Rafael Rodríguez-Mercado in 2008 as well as cerebrovascular and skull base surgery at the University of Texas, Southwestern, Dallas in 2010. In addition, he is engaged in clinical research primarily in the area of neurovascular conditions, and has been invited to edit and review numerous scientific journal articles, as well as participate in research collaborations with other centers of excellence, assisting in the expansion of knowledge and application of neurovascular therapy. He has shown great interest in the overall health and well-being of his patients, making the best use of the therapeutic tools available, and thus achieving the best possible results-without neglecting the human touch that is needed to provide complete andcomprehensive care to his patients.
Dr. Juan Ramos
Among its objectives are:
- The early prevention of strokes to the population, through education.
- Conducting prevention and follow-up clinics on the fourth floor of the University Hospital.
- Training health professionals in the early treatment of strokes.
- Early treatment of ischemic strokes with Alteplase (TPA).
Articles of interest
