# John Adler

> John R. Adler Jr., MD is a neurosurgeon, inventor, and serial entrepreneur best known for inventing the CyberKnife robotic radiosurgery system at Stanford University - a device that has treated over two million patients worldwide. Now CEO of ZAP Surgical Systems in San Carlos, California, he leads development of the ZAP-X gyroscopic radiosurgery platform: a self-shielded, vault-free system that brings precision brain radiosurgery to outpatient settings globally. A 2025 inductee into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, Adler is also co-founder and former editor-in-chief of Cureus, an open-access medical journal acquired by Springer Nature. With over 300 peer-reviewed publications and 20+ US patents, he holds the Dorothy and TK Chan Professorship Emeritus at Stanford.

- **Role:** CEO at ZAP Surgical Systems, Inc.
- **Organizations:** ZAP Surgical Systems, Inc., Stanford University (Professor Emeritus), Accuray Inc. (founder), Cureus (co-founder, former editor-in-chief)
- **From:** Yonkers, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** AB, Biochemistry, Harvard College, MD, Harvard Medical School, Neurosurgical Residency, Massachusetts General Hospital / Brigham and Women's Hospital, Radiosurgery Fellowship (under Prof. Lars Leksell), Karolinska Institute, Sweden
- **Known for:** Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, Class of 2025, Invented the CyberKnife stereotactic radiosurgery system - used to treat over 2 million patients worldwide, Co-founded Accuray Inc. (NASDAQ: ARAY), which commercialized CyberKnife globally

## Career timeline

- **1954** — Born in Yonkers, New York; grew up in Hazardville, Connecticut
- **1976** — Graduated Harvard College with degree in Biochemistry
- **1980** — Graduated Harvard Medical School
- **1980-1987** — Neurosurgical residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital
- **1986-1987** — Radiosurgery fellowship at Karolinska Institute under Lars Leksell, inventor of the Gamma Knife
- **1987** — Joined Stanford University School of Medicine faculty as Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Radiation Oncology
- **1990** — Filed patent for CyberKnife stereotactic radiosurgery system
- **1992** — Co-founded Accuray Inc. to commercialize CyberKnife technology
- **1993** — CyberKnife patent granted
- **1994** — First CyberKnife clinical treatment performed at Stanford University
- **2007** — Appointed Dorothy and TK Chan Professor of Neurosurgery and Radiation Oncology at Stanford
- **2009** — Co-founded Cureus (originally peerEmed.com), open-access peer-reviewed medical journal
- **2014** — Founded ZAP Surgical Systems to develop vault-free gyroscopic radiosurgery
- **2017** — ZAP-X receives FDA clearance (September 2017)
- **2022** — Cureus acquired by Springer Nature; received American Radium Society Janeway Medal for Lifetime Achievement
- **2024** — ZAP Surgical closes $78M Series E funding round (November 2024)
- **2025** — Inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame (Class of 2025, May ceremony in Washington D.C.)
- **2025** — ZAP-X celebrates 5,000th patient treated globally

## Achievements

- Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, Class of 2025
- Invented the CyberKnife stereotactic radiosurgery system - used to treat over 2 million patients worldwide
- Co-founded Accuray Inc. (NASDAQ: ARAY), which commercialized CyberKnife globally
- Founded ZAP Surgical Systems and invented the ZAP-X gyroscopic radiosurgery platform
- ZAP-X is the world's first self-shielded gyroscopic radiosurgery system, eliminating need for radiation vault
- American Radium Society Janeway Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Radiosurgery (2022)
- AANS Cushing Award for Technical Excellence and Innovation in Neurosurgery
- Gamma Knife Society's Lars Leksell Lecturer Award
- Dorothy and TK Chan Professor of Neurosurgery Emeritus, Stanford University
- Over 300 peer-reviewed publications and 20+ US patents
- Co-founded Cureus open-access medical journal, later acquired by Springer Nature in 2022
- Pioneered image-guided radiation therapy - tracking tumors in real time without skeletal fixation
- Stanford University Ideals of Entrepreneurship Award
- Eagle Scout

## Latest updates

- **2025-05** — Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, Class of 2025, at a ceremony in Washington D.C., recognized for inventing the CyberKnife stereotactic radiosurgery system
- **2025-05** — ZAP Surgical presented at ESTRO 2025 in Vienna, showcasing ZAP-X to European radiation oncology community; Institut Gustave Roussy (Paris) announced ZAP-X installation
- **2025-02** — ZAP Surgical announced landmark clinical collaboration for radiomodulation therapy for treatment-resistant depression using ZAP-X (Beijing Anding Hospital and Chinese PLA General Hospital)
- **2024-11** — ZAP Surgical closed $78M Series E funding round to accelerate global expansion
- **2022-05** — Received American Radium Society Janeway Medal for Lifetime Achievement, recognized for pioneering radiosurgical brain tumor therapy

## Links

- Website: https://zapsurgical.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/john-adler-1875b95
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/zapsurgical
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/zapsurgical

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/john-adler
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-26