UH Neurological Institute Update | Winter 2023

Innovations in Neurology & Neurosurgery | Winter 2023

With a growing and diverse faculty, pivotal research initiatives and advanced techniques and technologies, University Hospitals Neurological Institute continues to be ranked among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report "Best Hospitals". The recent release of Surgery of the Cerebellopontine Angle, Second Edition, a definitive guide for the surgical treatment of diseases in the cerebellopontine angle (CPA), is another example of the far-reaching impact of UH Neurological Institute’s leaders. 

The gold-standard textbook has been fully revised and expanded for 2023. It is co-written by Cliff Megerian, MD, CEO of University Hospitals and the Jane and Henry Meyer Chief Executive Officer Distinguished Chair, Nicholas C. Bambakidis, MD, Chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery, Director and Vice President of the UH Neurological Institute, and Harvey Huntington Brown Jr. Chair in Neurosurgery at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and Robert F. Spetzler, MD, FACS, emeritus president and CEO, emeritus chair, Department of Neurosurgery of the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix.

Published by Springer, the textbook is an essential resource for specialists in neurosurgery, neurotology, neuroradiology, otolaryngology/head and neck surgery, and endovascular surgery. “This new edition updates our understanding of the CPA and details the dramatic evolution in surgical management of its diseases,” says Dr. Bambakidis. “The book has become the ‘go-to’ resource for tackling the most inaccessible regions of the brain, and it is rewarding that it will contribute to training the next generation of neurosurgeons.”

New Faculty

James Anderson, MD, FACS, will be joining University Hospitals Neurological Institute. “Dr. Anderson has been a neurosurgeon and neurosurgical spine expert in the Cleveland area for decades, and we are fortunate to recruit him to University Hospitals,” says Dr. Bambakidis. “He will join our Westside neurosurgical spine team and the UH Spine Institute, directed by Gabriel Smith, MD, and Assistant Professor at the School of Medicine. ” Dr. Anderson will primarily offer neurosurgical spine services at UH Parma Medical Center. Board-certified in Neurosurgery, Dr. Anderson earned his medical degree at the University of California, Irvine, College of Medicine. He completed his internship at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and a fellowship at Allegheny General Hospital. He comes to University Hospitals from Saint Vincent Charity Medical Center.

Herbert Newton, MD, FAAN, is now leading the medical neuro-oncology program at UH Seidman Cancer Center. “We are thrilled to have Dr. Newton come to Cleveland from the AdventHealth Research Institute in Orlando, Florida,” says Dr. Bambakidis. “As Medical Director of the Brain Tumor Center, Dr. Newton will work closely with Tiffany Hodges, MD, Interim Director of Surgical Neuro-Oncology within the UH Neurologic Institute, as we continue to build our nationally renowned neuro-oncology brain tumor program.” Board-certified in neuro-oncology, Dr. Newton is a graduate of SUNY Buffalo School of Medicine. He trained in neuro-oncology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI, before completing a fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Center in New York City.

Skull Base Fellowship in Neurotology

The Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery Program within the UH Ear, Nose & Throat Institute recently received Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) approval for a skull base fellowship program in neurotology. “The addition of a neurotology fellow speaks to the volume of complex skull base neurosurgery that we do in partnership with our ENT colleagues,” says Dr. Bambakidis. Interviews are under way for interested candidates.

Congress of Neurological Surgeons Courses

This September, the UH Neurological Institute will once again partner with School of Medicine to host two national courses, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons Skull Base Fellows Course and Surgery of the Craniovertebral Junction. Each year, over 50 neurosurgeons come from around the world to learn leading-edge neurosurgical techniques.

2022 Distinguished Physicians and Nurses

Five members of the UH Neurological Institute were named 2022 Distinguished Physicians and Nurses.

The UH Distinguished Physicians recognized for their exceptional clinical skills and dedication to patient care are:

Neurology

Michael DeGeorgia, MD

Anthony J. Furlan, MD

Neurosurgery

Yin Hu, MD

Krystal Tomei, MD, MPH

The inaugural UH Distinguished Nurses Award was presented to Lauren Eyring, clinical nurse coordinator within the UH Neurological Institute's Epilepsy Center. Eyring was one of 22 awardees selected from among the health system’s 8,000 nurses.

Michael DeGeorgia, MD, Named ISSACS Faculty Director

The Institute for Smart, Secure and Connected Systems (ISSACS) named Michael DeGeorgia, MD, director of the Neurocritical Care Center at UH Cleveland Medical Center, as one of two associate faculty directors on its leadership team to expand and coordinate health- and manufacturing-related research activities. The associate faculty directors will be responsible for developing and implementing strategies for ISSACS’ Connected Health and Future Manufacturing.

For more information, contact Dr. Bambakidis at Nicholas.Bambakidis2@UHhospitals.org or 216-844-8758.

Nicholas C. Bambakidis, MD

Nicholas C. Bambakidis, MD
Chair, Department of of Neurological Surgery
Vice President and Director
University Hospitals Neurological Institute
Harvey Huntington Brown, Jr. Chair in Neurosurgery
University Hospitals
Professor of Neurological Surgery
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine