Dr. Joseph A. “Joe” Horton, ’69, is a neurointerventional surgeon, formerly in academic medicine, now trying (partly successfully) to retire in private practice in Louisiana. He’s also an entrepreneur who likes to cook and entertain! After earning his S.B. in Course V, he obtained his medical degree at Tulane University, graduating in 1973. He immediately began a residency at Bridgeport Hospital, CT, until 1976, then did a Neuroradiology fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh from 1976 to 1978.
In 1996 he co-founded a new company, now Micrus Endovascular Corporation. Joe developed the company’s founding technology while chief of Neuroradiology at the Medical University of South Carolina. Micrus Endovascular manufactures and markets both implantable and disposable medical devices. These endovascular systems are used in the treatment of intracranial aneurysms, and for the regional treatment of vascular disorders and regional drug delivery. The device systems are far less invasive than existing methods. Johnson & Johnson bought Micrus in 2010.
As an erstwhile faculty member, Joe recognizes the need for increased graduate student fellowship funding. As a result, he decided in 2007 to establish two Charitable Remainder Trusts to endow two graduate fellowships in Organic Chemistry. He chose to invest the trusts in the MIT endowment, which will increase their potential to grow and deliver a larger benefit to the fellowship recipients. The Department is extremely grateful to him for his foresight and generosity. Graduate fellowships are without a doubt the research engines of MIT.