Nojarova Lecture
ABOUT THE NOJAROVA LECTURE
The Nojarova Lecture, founded by Dr. Blair Rogers, may represent the first lectureship devoted to the contributions of women plastic surgeons. It is held on a biennial basis and funded by her husband, Dr. Haskell Ellis. Paula Nojarova, MD was born in 1914 in Bulgaria and was fluent in French, German, Croatian, Bulgarian, Czech, Russian and English, and conversational in Spanish and Italian. In 1940 she went to Prague and became a member of Dr. Franstisek Burian’s group which was the largest plastic surgery clinic in Eastern Europe at the time. Though unhappy with the Communist philosophy, she was ordered to return back to Bulgaria but surreptitiously was able to get off at the wrong railroad station in Zagreb, Yugoslavia. From there she obtained safe passage to Venezuela. Paula came to the United States and worked with Dr. John M. Converse and Dr. Blair Rogers at the Institute for Reconstructive Plastic Surgery at NYU, where she had a special interest in facial disfigurement. She published numerous articles in cleft lip and cleft palate and facial reconstruction. Dr. Nojarova passed away in May 1986 at the age of 72. Nojarova Lecturers
NOJAROVA LECTURERS
1998 JULIA K. TERZIS, MD
2000 MARTHA MACGUFFIE, MD
2002 VICTORIA VITALE LEWIS, MD
2005 ELIZABETH FINDLAY-HALL, MD
2006 SUSAN E. DOWNEY, MD
2009 MARIA SIEMIONOW, MD
2012 MARY MCGRATH, MD
2014 MICHELLE SHERMAK, MD
2016 LAURIE A. CASAS, MD
2018 HEATHER FURNAS, MD
2020 ANDREA PUSIC, MD
2022 GAYLE GORDILLO, MD
2024 DEBRA JOHNSON, MD
The Nojarova Lecture, founded by Dr. Blair Rogers, may represent the first lectureship devoted to the contributions of women plastic surgeons. It is held on a biennial basis and funded by her husband, Dr. Haskell Ellis. Paula Nojarova, MD was born in 1914 in Bulgaria and was fluent in French, German, Croatian, Bulgarian, Czech, Russian and English, and conversational in Spanish and Italian. In 1940 she went to Prague and became a member of Dr. Franstisek Burian’s group which was the largest plastic surgery clinic in Eastern Europe at the time. Though unhappy with the Communist philosophy, she was ordered to return back to Bulgaria but surreptitiously was able to get off at the wrong railroad station in Zagreb, Yugoslavia. From there she obtained safe passage to Venezuela. Paula came to the United States and worked with Dr. John M. Converse and Dr. Blair Rogers at the Institute for Reconstructive Plastic Surgery at NYU, where she had a special interest in facial disfigurement. She published numerous articles in cleft lip and cleft palate and facial reconstruction. Dr. Nojarova passed away in May 1986 at the age of 72. Nojarova Lecturers
NOJAROVA LECTURERS
1998 JULIA K. TERZIS, MD
2000 MARTHA MACGUFFIE, MD
2002 VICTORIA VITALE LEWIS, MD
2005 ELIZABETH FINDLAY-HALL, MD
2006 SUSAN E. DOWNEY, MD
2009 MARIA SIEMIONOW, MD
2012 MARY MCGRATH, MD
2014 MICHELLE SHERMAK, MD
2016 LAURIE A. CASAS, MD
2018 HEATHER FURNAS, MD
2020 ANDREA PUSIC, MD
2022 GAYLE GORDILLO, MD
2024 DEBRA JOHNSON, MD