Paul C. Liu, MD, JD

Dr. Daniel Fulkerson, M.D., had a lightbulb moment in his third year of medical school when he realized that he wanted to be a neurosurgeon. He finds neurosurgery to be interesting and rewarding, and the specialty where he's most comfortable. Dr. Fulkerson is a pediatric neurosurgeon at Beacon Medical Group. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame with Bachelor's degrees in Government and Aerospace Engineering before graduating from the Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Fulkerson went on to serve an internship in General Surgery at Wright State University before joining the United States Air Force. He achieved the rank of Captain before leaving in 2003. After leaving the Air Force, he was a resident in Neurological Surgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine from 2003-2009. He followed up his residency with a fellowship in Pediatric Neurosurgery at the Texas Children's Hospital at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Dr. Fulkerson then returned to the IU School of Medicine as an Associate Professor, earning multiple Faculty Teaching Awards, while serving as a Neurosurgeon at Goodman Campbell Brain and Spine in Indianapolis from 2010-2018. He also was appointed to five hospitals, including the James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children, during that time. Dr. Fulkerson joined Beacon Medical Group in 2018 as a pediatric neurosurgeon. He has also held dozens of lectures and has published more than 60 articles, multiple book chapters and his own book, "Nothing Good Happens at the Baby Hospital." Teamwork is an important aspect of his practice. It takes many different people to treat a complex patient, and he know lives are saved every day by collaboration. CapabilitiesAdult neurosurgical carePediatric (children) neurosurgical careSpecialties include but not limited to: Minimally invasive spine surgeryDeformity spine surgeryBrain and spine tumorsHydrocephalusNeuroendoscopySpina bifidaChairi malformationsCongenital disorders of the nervous system

Everything fell into place for Dr. Howard Wiarda in college. He had always enjoyed anatomy classes, and one day it just clicked that he was meant to be a physician. This love of understanding the human body transferred well to his specialty field, where he now uses interventional radiology to help patients live a better life. "The most important part of my work is knowing that I take good care of my patients," Dr. Wiarda said. "I want my patients to know that they're important to me." Of course, Dr. Wiarda likes to have fun, too. He believes that when you like what you do and you like the people you work with, everything else works itself out. His personal motto is related to this. "If you keep the patient at the forefront, and make the right decisions with the patient in mind, everything else will settle," he says. Home Life: When Dr. Wiarda is not working, he can most likely be found outside biking, running, swimming, or spending time with his family.