As conference hosts, the UT Southwestern Department of Neurological Surgery was proud to share the above video at the annual meeting of The Society of Neurological Surgeons – the pre-eminent neurosurgical society focused on education and research. This meeting serves as a platform for sharing the latest advances in neurosurgical education and emerging trends in neurosurgery that will affect practice, education, and research.
Topics discussed included integrating culture and diversity into neurosurgery, the emerging role of artificial intelligence, and changes in expectations for resident training. Special guest Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, sat down with Professor and Chair Nader Pouratian, M.D., Ph.D., and Jonathan White, M.D., to discuss his vision for the future of the pharmaceutical industry and for creating an equitable future for health care. UT Southwestern and the Department of Neurological Surgery were prominently featured with the following speakers taking part:
Daniel K. Podolsky, M.D., President of UT Southwestern Medical Center
William Dauer, M.D., Professor and Director of the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute
Nader Pouratian, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery
Toral Patel, M.D., Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery
Carlos Bagley, M.D., Professor of Neurological Surgery
Bradley Weprin, M.D., Professor of Neurological Surgery
Babu G. Welch, M.D., Professor of Neurological Surgery
Bradley Lega, M.D., Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery
Samuel Barnett, M.D., Professor of Neurological Surgery
Alex Valadka, M.D., Professor of Neurological Surgery
Hunt Batjer, M.D., Professor Emeritus of Neurological Surgery
Remi Wilson, M.D., PGY-3 Resident, Neurological Surgery
The Grossman Award, which is given to a basic science researcher for groundbreaking work, was awarded to Michael Rosen, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of UT Southwestern’s Department of Biophysics. The Rosen lab at UT Southwestern seeks to understand the formation, regulation, functions and internal structures of membraneless cellular compartments termed biomolecular condensates.
Our primary mission in the Department of Neurological Surgery at U T Southwestern Medical Center is to deliver the best possible patient care. Clinical work is our foundation and upon that foundation, we are building an outstanding academic program to develop the future therapies that enhance the lives of the patients that we take care of. That really means partnering with basic scientists, with translational neuroscientists and with an array of people that are supported through our o'donnell Brain Institute to be innovative and provide breakthrough technologies. U T Southwestern is the sole academic medical center in a metropolitan area of almost 7.5 million people. Has a long standing reputation for excellence and basic medical science. And a recent dedication to excellence in the provision of clinical care. It has four outstanding hospitals, Clemens University Hospital, and then the massive Parkland Hospital Children's Medical Center, which is internationally known and then Dallas Va Medical Center which is a stable solid va facility. Our programs really develop around a patient centered model. We're really focused on building out those programs with expertise across the different departments. U T Southwestern has a comprehensive brain tumor program that really incorporates excellent clinical care with academic pursuits and education. We have fellowship programs in skull based surgery as well as in medical neuro oncology and we have an active academic pursuit with respect to research. Our particular academic strengths are in brain tumor metabolism and advanced imaging. The backbone of the U T Southwestern neurosurgery program has always been and likely will always be one of technical excellence, exceptional patient care and treating the operating room with utmost respect. What I've seen evolve and change over the years is an increased emphasis on the quality of patient care and the patient experience and certainly a true expansion in the academic and research pursuits. Beauty Southwestern has always had a very strong research backbone and I think neurosurgery has really tapped into that in the last 10 years and I expect that to increase over the coming decades. This institution is dynamic. It really feels like a place that you could make your mark. Functional neurosurgery sits at a nexus between clinical care, basic science and translational efforts. Functional neurosurgery at U T Southwestern includes epilepsy, surgery, movement disorders, treatment of pain, and then more emerging indications like deep brain stimulation for affective disorders and brain computer interface devices for motor restoration. The first thing that drew me to E T Southwestern is of course the top notch reputation for clinical excellence among the surgeons who work here and also in training the next generation of neurosurgeons. Another unique aspect is our partnership with Parkland Hospital. So Parkland is an Indigent care County health System here in Dallas and our surgeons work in partnership with the neurology doctors who cover both hospitals to make sure that those patients have access to the same types of therapies. I've certainly seen a lot of important investments made by the institution to augment functional neurosurgery. One good example is the make program and that's really been a boon to our epilepsy surgical program and also a nice tool for translational research. With the investment in the o'donnell Brain Institute. There's been a concerted effort to develop expertise and assistance in more complicated regulatory matters and that's an important factor that helps augment the kind of new therapies that can come out of the functional division here. As of 2014, we became a much more integral part of the U T Southwestern neurosurgical group and we now are a total of six pediatric neurosurgeons. I came down for the fellowship. They offered me a position to stay and all of this positive environment with the innovative technologies that we have available to us as well as the diversity. Just made it an opportunity that I had to take. We have a large population that we serve with very diverse neurosurgical pediatric problems that we're able to treat. There is such a team collaboration. We discuss the cases for the next day, we support each other. There's so much innovation that is going on and with the neuromodulation in the past 10 years, we've seen laser ablation come in and I'm able to treat small brain tumors. I'm able to treat focal areas of the brain where epilepsy is coming from. And I can help these Children out having A I and being able to understand these networks in a 3d fashion. This is only going to build and grow and we're going to become better as time gets on our spine. Program is a combination of all of the different specialties that take care of spine, patients, neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, physical medicine and rehab, as well as pain management. We work in an integrated multidisciplinary team around the patient to help manage patients with spine related disorders, collaboration and the interdisciplinary approach is really what excites me and really thinking novely about how we manage and treat patients today and what's coming in the future and being a part of that in the last several years at U T Southwestern. It's really been a metamorphosis for our program and really growing in directions that are are new and novel for us, really maintaining that lead position in neurosurgery here in Dallas and also around the country and being a part of a team that's doing really great things, whether it's my colleagues and neurosurgery and oncology or functional or pediatrics, it's really about being a part of a great team. U T Southwestern was one of the first programs to really embrace endovascular aspects of cerebrovascular disease. Since 1995 we've had a dual trained neurosurgeon here. What has really continued to grow is that evolution of not only treating patients surgically but treating patients endovascularly. And with the development of the new facilities that we have at U T Southwestern, we're now even taking surgical approaches to endovascular disease very seriously. We pride ourselves on being able to manage all aspects of cerebral vascular disease, which also includes radio surgery. We also work very closely with the cerebral vaster group, which is radiologists and neurologists that have varying specialties and interests. When we take care of patients, they're both acute emergencies which are stroke but also life altering diagnoses like aneurysms and arterio venous malformations. We've been able to develop a very significant practice in the treatment of moa moa disease. Also what sets us apart at U T Southwestern Medical Center is the spirit and focus on collaboration. We have amazing leaders that are focused on creating synergies that will maximize our impact. We really are working together to create new ideas and pave new paths that will enhance the future of our faculty. Our patients and our trainees, Ut Southwestern and Texas have both been in many ways sleeping giants for a long time. There is an enormous boost in energy and investment and enthusiasm both on the statewide basis in terms of our economy and our population growth, but also at U T Southwestern, in terms of our expansion broadly across all areas of biomedical and clinical science. With the metroplex, there's been a lot of financial support. There's a lot of other types of support that help us thrive and deliver back to the community, the care that they desire. Once you set foot in these buildings, you'll realize what kind of a community. This is one of the best tips I got when I was on the interview trail was that you should look where there's construction and where there's growth and that means they're focused on helping you. And I mean, it's so clear when you look around in Southwestern and the same thing goes with Dallas, it's just booming. The growth of Dallas and the diversity of Dallas is an asset for our program. It makes your head spin how rapidly it's growing, how many new people are moving here, how many diverse people from all around the country and all around the world are moving here and relocating to Dallas? I feel like there's so much variety here in Dallas that you can't get in any other place. I'm never bored here. You know, there's, there's always something to do. I've been up to Fort Worth a couple of times, go to the museums out there or the stock yards are great. Dallas has a lot of restaurants. If you're interested in the nightlife, uptown and Deep Elm are a couple of places to go and they're just within a 15 minute radius. What's so beautiful about Dallas is that there is so much green space. Clyde Park is a great place to get outside. But there's also White Rock Lake where you can go running and walking around. I've been able to really start a life here with my husband. We just bought a house. I think the city is still growing. And of course, like I want his job opportunities to be great too. This is an easy place for a busy surgeon, clinician scientist to find work life balance and a lot of culture with the warmth and friendliness that is unique to Texas. There's a lot of educated people here, young professionals, a lot of people just want to do great things. Dallas is a very cosmopolitan place and it keeps growing. When you come to Dallas, you should expect to see people from all walks of life and see interaction with people from all cultures. So that really makes it a very attractive place to be and practice and care for people. Southwestern has such a low rate of tuition. It's probably one of the lowest in the country. And beyond that, the cost of living in Dallas is so affordable. Our is pretty competitive as graduate students. So I'm able to really enjoy a lot. We've hosted so many barbecues and fish fries and parties at our place. That's why I enjoy most about U T Southwestern. Is that close knit family bond that you are able to create here. This has become home for me and I'm very, very grateful for being here in the city and also being here at this institution, Dallas has been at the forefront of technological innovation for a long time. It creates an opportunity to bring smart people from different disciplines together. And I feel like Dallas is right at that point, one of our key values is to train the future of neurosurgery. What we really want to see in our team are people who are devoted and focus on making sure that our trainees are successful. Part of that success is understanding each trainee and understanding where they wanna go with their career and what questions they wanna ask and how they want to be impactful in their career. We are focused on making sure that our trainees are the most technically gifted and clinically advanced neurosurgeons of the future. Ut Southwestern is an institution in evolution. It's an institution that constantly challenges itself and wants to be dynamic, be better for the end goal of improving human lives, improving patient care U T Southwestern as an institution has punched above its weight for a long time, both on the research side and on the side of clinical care. And now with the rapid growth in the metropolitan area, the support of the institution, things like the o'donnell Brain Institute, Nobel Prize winners and on the side of clinical care, with the excellent reputation we've established, we're building on our strong reputation and the institutional knowledge for exceptional clinical care, resident training and applying that same level of attention to detail and rigor to the sort of research that's coming out of our institution. I expect U T Southwestern will continue to punch above its weight, but it'll just be a much bigger weight to start with. Most people know the Department of Neurosurgery at U T Southwestern Medical Center for its clinical Excellence and Innovation. We're not done innovating. We continue to brainstorm, work together, collaborate and synergize across all areas of medicine, but in particular, within clinical Neurosciences through our o'donnell Brain Institute to create the future, whether it's for our patients, it's for our trainees or for science.
