Faria was born in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba. Faria's parents were members of the urban underground Revolutionary Directorate (Directorio Revolucionario Estudiantil; DRE) under
Faure Chomón and
Rolando Cubela that fought against
Fulgencio Batista.[13] Faria (age 13) and his father, also a physician, were prompted to escape from Cuba while under the watch of Cuba's State Security. Their escape through several Caribbean islands is narrated in Faria's book.[14]
Faria entered and completed his undergraduate studies at the
University of South Carolina, receiving a BS degree (Biology and Psychology) and graduating
magna cum laude in 1973.
He then attended the
Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina, and was inducted into
Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society (1975) in his second year. Faria graduated with honors, receiving the Merck's Manual Award for scholastic achievement, and earning his M.D. degree in 1977. He was a friend and classmate of the prominent oncology surgeon,
S. Eva Singletary. Faria completed his surgical internship at Shands Teaching Hospital at the
University of Florida (1977–1978), and his neurosurgical residency at
Emory University (1978–1983).[15][16]
Faria served on the Injury Research Grant Review Committee (later renamed the Initial Review Group [IRG]) of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)[28] from 2002–2005, reviewing grants seeking public funding for scientific and technical merit in the area of injury prevention and control.
During the 1990s, Faria was involved in a
gun control debate regarding the CDC's
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC).[29][30][31][32][33] Faria felt that the NCIPC's program on gun violence was biased against gun owners, promoting "politicized, result-oriented research."[34][35][36][37] In March 1996, Faria testified before the
U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee for Labor, Health, and Human Services to that effect stating, "I have yet to see a published report that has been funded by the NCIPC in which the benefits of firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens have been published even though they are there ... if you don't conclude that guns are bad and that they need to be eradicated because they are a 'public health menace,' they are not published."[9][38] Congress eventually prohibited the CDC from funding gun research and proscribed public health officials from using taxpayer's money in lobbying and participating in politically partisan activities.[33][39]
Humanitarian effort
In March 1990, Faria traveled to
El Salvador as part of a mission sponsored by the politically conservative
Accuracy in Media (AIM). During this trip to
El Salvador, Faria visited hospitals and
orphanages. After his return to the United States, Faria, who was then serving as chief-of-staff at HCA Coliseum Medical Centers in Macon, Georgia, convinced Dr.
Thomas F. Frist, Jr., chief executive officer of
Hospital Corporation of America, to send
humanitarian assistance to El Salvador. As a result of Faria's effort, Salvadoran hospitals received a shipment of medications, beds, wheelchairs and physical therapy equipment.[40][41][42][43]
Publications and editorships
During 1993–1995, Faria was the editor of the Journal of the Medical Association of Georgia, taking that state medical journal to national prominence and controversy, which resulted in pressure on him to resign.[44][45][46] Faria has also described the circumstances surrounding his resignation in correspondence and in his book Medical Warrior.[47][48][49][50][51] In 1996 Faria founded and served as editor-in-chief of the Medical Sentinel of the
Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS). As editor of the Medical Sentinel, Faria called for an "open data, public review policy in peer reviewed medical journalism."[52] He called for other medical journal editors to post research data online thereby allowing investigators to validate scientific conclusions before public policy is implemented, particularly in the area of public health. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that public policy is dictated by sound scientific principles and not by premature assertions or tainted by politics or ideology.[52] Faria left AAPS in 2002 to pursue other interests.[53][54]
From 2004 to 2010, Faria served on the editorial board of Surgical Neurology, an international journal of neurosurgery, formerly the Official International Journal of the Neurosurgical Societies of Belgium, Brazil, China, Romania, Russia, and Taiwan. Surgical Neurology International, its successor publication, was also headed by
James I. Ausman, M.D., editor-in-chief. Faria was one of its editors, along with his colleague, Dr.
Russell Blaylock. In 2003 Faria published a three part history of surgery article, "Violence, Mental Illness, and the Brain – A Brief History of
Psychosurgery."[55][56]
In 2015, a raging debate began between Faria and
Ezekiel Emanuel on the issue of bioethics and longevity, following the latter's publication of an article stating life was not worth living after age 75 and that longevity was not a worthwhile goal in health care policy.[57] This was denied by Faria, who claimed that life could still be fruitful and rewarding after that age, if healthy lifestyles are led. Faria states that longevity is a worthwhile goal and that the
compression of morbidity of James Fries should be upgraded from a hypothesis to a theory.[58][59] This debate also pits traditional individual-based medical ethicists against the utilitarian perspective of the modern bioethics movement.
Faria researched
Soviet communism and expounded on the political crimes committed by the Soviet totalitarian regime, particularly those that took place during the Russian Revolution and subsequently by
Joseph Stalin.[60] Faria propounded a theory of the political spectrum that depends on the degrees of individual liberty as opposed to government control, redefining the political left to include fascism as well as communism.[61]
Faria has also published an intriguing medical history article positing that Stalin's death was due to deliberate poisoning by a cabal of his inner circle, who also delayed medical treatment. His article hinges on the work of previous investigators but is substantiated by clinical reports and autopsy findings, which were published in Pravda contemporaneously but forgotten in the Soviet archives.[62][63][64] Faria has also elaborated on Stalin's infamous Doctors Plot, a developing antisemitic plot, which was only just barely aborted by Stalin's death.[65]
Faria has written or coauthored several chapters in medical textbooks,[66][67][68] and his works are cited and referenced in a number of other books and publications.[9][38][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77] He is the author of three books: Vandals at the Gates of Medicine — Historic Perspectives on the Battle Over Health Care Reform (1995),[78]Medical Warrior: Fighting Corporate Socialized Medicine (1997),[79] and Cuba in Revolution: Escape From a Lost Paradise (2002). [80] Faria's last historical and autobiographical book, Cuba in Revolution – Escape From a Lost Paradise, details his childhood experiences and his family's involvement in the
Cuban Revolution. On October 1, 2019, Faria's book, America, Guns, and Freedom: A Journey Into Politics and the Public Health & Gun Control Movements was released.[81] His most recent books are Controversies in Medicine and Neuroscience: Through the Prism of History, Neurobiology, and Bioethics published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing on March 23, 2023. [82], Cuba’s Eternal Revolution through the Prism of Insurgency, Socialism, and Espionage (June, 2023),[83] and Stalin, Mao, Communism, and the 21st Century Aftermath in Russia and China (2024) [84]
Appointments
Editor of the Journal of the Medical Association of Georgia (1993–1995)
Founder and editor-in-chief of the Medical Sentinel (1996-2003)
Clinical Professor of Surgery (Neurosurgery, ret.) Mercer University School of Medicine
Over 200 medical, scientific, and professional articles as well as letters or editorials published in the medical literature and popular press. More than seventy of these articles are currently listed by NCBI/PubMed.[17] and[18] Citations of Faria's work are searchable under Google Scholar Listings[19] and Google Book Citations[27]
References
^
abFaria, MA Jr; Fleischer AS (February 1980). "Dual cerebral and meningeal supply to giant arteriovenous malformations of the posterior cerebral hemisphere". Journal of Neurosurgery. 52 (2): 153–61.
doi:
10.3171/jns.1980.52.2.0153.
PMID7351554.
^
abFaria MA Jr, Tindall GT. Pathogenesis, diagnosis, and surgical treatment of the Chiari Malformation. Contemporary Neurosurgery 1980 2 (Lesson 9)
^
abFaria, MA Jr; Spector RH, Tindall GT (May 1980). "Downbeat nystagmus as the salient manifestation of the Arnold-Chiari Malformation". Surg Neurol. 13 (5): 333–6.
PMID7384997.
^
abFaria, MA Jr; Tindall GT (January 1982). "Transsphenoidal microsurgery for Prolactin-secreting pituitary adenomas: Results in 100 women with the Amenorrhea-Galactorrhea Syndrome". J Neurosurg. 56 (1): 33–43.
doi:
10.3171/jns.1982.56.1.0033.
PMID7198681.
^Kurland PB, Gunther G, Casper G (2008). Landmark Briefs and Arguments of the Supreme Court of the United States: Constitutional Law, Volume 380. Bethesda, MD: University Publications of America. pp. 881, 886, 893.
^Casper G, Sullivan KM. Landmark Briefs and Arguments of the Supreme Court of the United States: Constitutional Law, Volumes 380–382, Part 1 of District of Columbia V. Heller, 2008 Term Supplement. Lexis/Nexis 2008. pp. 881, 893.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (
link)
^Faria MA Jr; O'Brien MS; Tindall GT (1980). "A technique for the evaluation of ventricular shunts using Amipaque and computerized tomography". J Neurosurg. 53 (1): 92–6.
doi:
10.3171/jns.1980.53.1.0092.
PMID7411213.
S2CID39065080.
^Tindall GT, Moore W, Faria MA Jr. Neurosurgery – The Year in Review (1981). Contemporary Neurosurgery. GT Tindall and D. Long, editors. Volume 3, Lesson 27, 1982.
^Hendrick B, Rochell A. CDC defends its research on guns, AIDS – Foes fault violence studies, estimate of non-gay risk. Atlanta Journal Constitution, 12 May 1996, p. 1A, A12-A13.
^Nesmith J. CDC's violent injury unit criticized. Atlanta Journal Constitution, 7 March 1996, p. A15.
^Associated Press. CDC fights to save gun program. Printed in the Macon Telegraph, 14 July 1996.
^Nesmith J. A debate on guns and health. Conservative lawmakers: Agency spreads anti-firearm propaganda. Atlanta Journal Constitution, 2 May 1996, A13.
^
abRochell, A. "Funding ends for study that drew fire of gun lobby". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 2 May 1996, A13.
^Suter EA, et al. (March 1994). "Guns in the Medical Literature – A Failure of Peer Review". Journal of the Medical Association of Georgia. 83 (3): 133–48.
PMID8201280.
^Suter EA, Waters WC, Murray GB, et al. (June 1995). "Violence in America – Effective Solutions". Journal of the Medical Association of Georgia. 84 (6): 253–63.
PMID7616135.
^
abCarter, GL (2012). Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law (Second ed.). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, LLC. p. 781.
ISBN978-0313386701.
^Givens JR, ed. (1982). Hormone Secreting Pituitary Tumors. Year Book Medical Publishers, Inc. pp. 275–297.
ISBN0-8151-3530-0.
^Fein J, Flamm E, eds. (1985). Cerebrovascular Surgery (Volume III). Springer-Verlag. pp. 785–804.
ISBN0-387-96041-4.
^Matsumoto S, Sato K, Tamaki N, eds. (1985). Annual Review of Hydrocephalus, Volume 3. Tokyo, Japan: Neuron Publishing, Co. pp. 120–121.
ISBN978-4931101210.
^Bennett JT, DiLorenzo TJ. From Pathology to Politics: Public Health in America. Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick, NJ, 2000, p. 57.
ISBN978-0765800237
^Russo G, Molton S. Brothers in Arms: The Kennedys, The Castros, and the Politics of Murder. Bloomsbury USA, New York, NY, 2009, p. 43.
ISBN1596915323
^Savage M. Trickle Up Poverty: Stopping Obama’s Attack on Our Borders, Economy, and Security. William Morrow, New York, NY, 2010, p. 331.
ISBN0062010972
^HRH Princess Michael of Kent. The Serpent and the Moon: Two Rivals for the Love of a Renaissance King. Touchstone, New York, NY, 2005, p. 383.
ISBN978-0743251044
^Lett D. Phoenix Rising: The Rise and Fall of the American Republic. AuthorHouse, Bloomington, IN, 2008, p. 562.
ISBN978-1434364111
^Perez L, and De Aragon U. Cuban Studies 34 (Pittsburgh Cuban Studies). University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, 2004, p. 263.
ISBN978-0822942191
^Pratt LD. On the Firing Line: Essays in the Defense of Liberty. Legacy Publishing, Franklin, TN, 2001, p. 150.
ISBN978-1880692516
^Bijlefeld M. People For and Against Gun Control: A Biographical Reference. Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, 1999, pp. 86–89.
ISBN978-0313306907
^Hyman, DA (1995). "Book Review of Vandals at the Gates of Medicine – Historic Perspectives on the Battle Over Health Care Reform". The New England Journal of Medicine. 332 (8): 542.
doi:
10.1056/NEJM199502233320818.