Biographical sketch: Nosrat Ollah Ameli, MB, ChB (Hons), ChM (Birm), FICS, FRCS (Eng).

Nosrat Ollah Ameli (1913-2010) was one of the pioneers in Iranian neurosurgery. After training in England in the 1950s, Ameli returned to his country to found the Darioush Kabir Hospital, where he started the first neurosurgical ward in collaboration with Prof. E. Samiy. Here he applied his genius and innovation to develop unique approaches to the management of challenging neurosurgical techniques, in the context of limited resource available at that time. He started the training of neurosurgeons in Iran. He was internationally recognised being elected as a vice president of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS). His efforts extended beyond neurosurgery to many other fields. He published extensively in international peer reviewed medical journals around the world and contributed to the foundation of Acta Medica Iranica journal, the first scientific medical journal in English published by Tehran University of Medical Sciences. His efforts to improve medical education in Iran continued even through his years of retirement. This article recounts Nosrat Ollah Ameli's many contributions to Iran's medical education as well as his achievements as a neurosurgeon.