Rate My Professor Susan Mackinnon

Dr. Mackinnon’s research specializes in peripheral nerve injury and regeneration, nerve allografts, nerve transfers, and the role of senescent Schwann cells in nerve repair. She directs an NIH-funded laboratory investigating nerve allotransplantation for traumatic injuries and the effects of Glial Cell-Derived Neurotrophic Factor on regeneration, and she established the Center for Nerve Injury and Paralysis and the Peripheral Nerve Surgical Research Laboratory at Washington University. Having performed the world’s first donor nerve transplant, her innovations have transformed clinical treatments for nerve injuries. Key publications include her textbook Nerve Surgery (Thieme, 2015) and recent articles such as “An Updated Evaluation of the Management of Nerve Gaps: Autografts, Allografts, and Nerve Transfers” (2025), “Compression of the Ulnar Nerve by the Arcade of Struthers: Look and You Shall Find” (2025), and “Brachial Gunshot Wounds: Injury Patterns and Considerations for Managing the Abnormal Neurological Examination” (2025). Her contributions have earned awards including the Trustee Award from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (2022), American Association for Hand Surgery Honorary Award, Jacobson Innovation Award (2013), Castle Connolly Clinical Excellence Award (2012), election to the Institute of Medicine (2007), and 2020 Distinguished Faculty Award.