A Message from the Chair...

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to the University of Chicago Department of Neurological Surgery. We are located on the campus of one of the finest academic institutions in the world and, as such, have the great opportunity to set standards of care and service for our community, the greater Midwest region, and the nation as a whole. It is a privilege and gives me a great sense of pride to continue the work of the many stellar individuals who laid the foundations to enable neurosurgery at the University of Chicago to attain full departmental status as of January 1, 2021.

Our overall mission is to harness the knowledge, technical expertise and compassion of our faculty, nurses, trainees and staff to address the entire spectrum of neurosurgical disease and, in so doing, improve the health of our patients. As an integral part of delivering the highest quality care, we believe it is essential to nurture and train the future neurosurgeons of the nation. As such, our training program makes up the second pillar of our enterprise. We individually select and mentor the brightest trainees from around the country through an all-encompassing apprenticeship and foster them to not only continue our philosophy but ultimately enrich and expand upon it. To accomplish these goals, neurosurgery at The University of Chicago has been a national leader of biomedical research. For decades, our faculty and trainees have been on the frontline of innovation and their accomplishments have propelled the field of neurosurgery to new heights, always striving to advance the understanding and management not only of rare diseases but also of the most common neurological problems.

Delivering the highest quality clinical care remains our top goal, and to this end, over the past 5 to 10 years, we have assembled a highly-skilled faculty of sub-specialized neurosurgeons who bring expertise from around the country to manage the increasingly complex spectrum of neurological disease. Despite this expertise, it is evident that for many disorders, the skill of the surgeon is only part of the solution and that effective patient care requires a well-coordinated multidisciplinary team. Importantly, the successful running of such interdisciplinary teams requires their seamless integration into the fabric of the institution. In this regard, over the past several years, UC Medicine has developed several closely aligned Service-lines that integrate the expertise of neurosurgery with other specialties to enhance the care of patients with epilepsy, neurovascular anomalies, brain tumors and spinal pathology. In addition, through our growing partnership with Advocate Children’s Hospital and NorthShore University HealthSystem, the Chicagoland Children’s Health Alliance (CCHA) has enabled our top-notch Pediatric Neurosurgery program to expand and carry its exceptional care to an ever-increasing segment of Chicago and the surrounding region.

A critical component of our mission is to provide routine and emergency care to our local community. The opening of the new state-of-the-art Trauma Center at UC Medicine has enabled patients on the south side of Chicago and the surrounding region to receive the same world-class critical neurosurgical care as anyone in the country. Our skilled surgeons and staff provide twenty-four-hour service, and together with other members of the neuro-trauma team, manage one of the busiest traumatic brain and spinal cord injury centers in the country. This ability to provide care to many of the underserved neighborhoods of Chicago represents one of the most rewarding aspects of neurosurgery at UC Medicine. While neurosurgical trauma care has always been considered less technically challenging than other subspecialties, possibly due to the somewhat irreversible nature of CNS injury, the large volume of trauma patients we see provides the opportunity to leverage the scientific expertise and innovation of our team to change the historically accepted outcomes of brain injury and set new standards for the rest of the country.

As mentioned, the scientific tradition at the University of Chicago is reflected by the ongoing basic and translational research being conducted in the department. Our faculty, scientists and staff continually strive to expand the understanding of neurological diseases with scientific rigor and meticulous attention to detail. Extramural funding in neurosurgery from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other agencies has been and remains one of the highest amounts per capita among neurosurgical departments and encompasses a spectrum of diseases, including neurovascular anomalies and tumor biology to more esoteric endeavors such as a brain-machine interface. In addition to having one of the best-funded Neurosurgery Principal Investigators in the country, our faculty also run one of the only programs dedicated to the study of CNS congenital anomalies. In line with these activities, our residents are afforded two dedicated years of elective time during which they can broaden their research horizons and identify areas that may become their calling for future discovery and innovation.

In sum, I have tried to provide an overall picture of what neurosurgery at the University of Chicago represents. While surgical expertise and attention to detail are cornerstones of our department and essential to maintaining excellent patient outcomes, I hope to have conveyed the understanding that modern management of neurological disease requires more, including the collaboration of a diverse multidisciplinary team. Also, while our expertise in neurosurgical pathology means that patients from around the country come for second opinions and care, our commitment to the South-side of Chicago and the local community remains an essential component of our daily operation. I would like to give you a warm welcome to the Department of Neurological Surgery and hope you will leave this website with a taste of our ideals, compassion and persistent desire to deliver exceptional care.

Sincerely,