I am a pediatric neurosurgeon, certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgeons and the American Board of Pediatric Neurological Surgery. I completed my Pediatric Neurosurgical Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh in 2002 and did my neurosurgery residency at New Jersey Medical School, under the supervision of Dr. Peter Carmel, the President of the AMA in 2011-2012. I served on the Executive Committee of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) and I am an active member of the Executive Committee of the Council of State Neurosurgical Societies (CSNS). I am the Chair of the Medicolegal Committee and just ended my term as Chair of the Ethics Committee of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS). I am on the Morris County Medical Society Board of Directors, and I am active as a Board Member of the Medical Society of New Jersey.
I believe in advocacy, ethics, truth, hard work, transparency, parity, and I have spoken for up physicians as a resident, as a young woman starting my career, and as a senior neurosurgeon, who has been here at Morristown since 2005.
I started the Craniofacial program at Goryeb Children’s Hospital in 2007, the Pediatric Brain and Spine Tumor program in 2009, now called GNOP, and the Spasticity and Movement Disorder Program for Children here at Morristown in 2010. I have demonstrated ability to work with others in inter-disciplinary centers. I have written IRB’s and done both clinical and translational research in the neuroscience field. I am very active in the medicolegal and socioeconomic aspects of medicine.
I have been involved in mentorship, training and education of pre-medical undergraduates, medical school students, and residents. I was the Director of the Division of Pediatric Neurological Surgery from 2005 to January 2019. I served on the Operating Room Committee, Trauma Committee and the Medical Executive Committee. I have published over forty-five peer-reviewed papers, and have been the main author on the AANS/ CNS/ AAP endorsed Pediatric Hydrocephalus Guidelines, Plagiocephaly Guidelines and Spina Bifida Guidelines, published in 2014, 2016 and 2019. I am very proud of my work in evidence –based medicine and have worked with the ACR as a co-author in the Appropriateness of Imaging for Pediatric Head Trauma.
I became a single mother, in college. I met and married my husband of twenty years, as a resident, and together we have four more children: Paul, Joe, Patricia and Rosemary. Dr. Catherine Mazzola has gone on neurosurgical missionary trips to Kenya and is currently planning a mission trip to Guatemala City in January 2020. I am proud of the volunteer work that I do in NJ and abroad.