KEITH L. BLACK (1957– ) is a renowned neurosurgeon and scientist who is the Director of the Neurosurgical Institute and holds the Ruth and Lawrence Harvey Chair in Neurosciences at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Dr. Black is also Chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of California, Irvine. At age 17 Dr. Black published his first scientific paper, which earned the Westinghouse Science Award. He completed an accelerated college program at the University of Michigan and earned both his undergraduate and medical degrees in six years. He completed his internship in general surgery and residency in neurological surgery at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor. Dr. Black has pioneered research on designing ways to open the blood-brain barrier, enabling chemotherapeutic drugs to be delivered directly into the tumor.