Chairman's Message

Robert Friedlander

It is a great privilege to welcome you to the University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurological Surgery...a department with a great history and tradition…a department that serves as an international leader in both the delivery and the development of neurosurgical care.

The faculty and staff of our department is a group of immensely talented and dedicated individuals working in an extraordinary medical center. Our mission is to deliver the best possible care, to train the next generation of neurosurgical leaders, and to advance our field through innovative and high-impact research.

As clinicians, patient care and recovery is our top priority, but we are also committed to advancing and improving the manner in which neurosurgical care is delivered. Ingenuity, persistence and innovation are traits that are woven into the fabric of our department. One of our strengths is the availability of a broad spectrum of technical approaches, allowing us to precisely tailor treatments to fit individual patient needs.

Our ability to leverage the strengths of the University of Pittsburgh’s biomedical community, uniquely position us to change and improve the way we diagnose and treat neurologic diseases. We are fortunate to be part of an exceedingly supportive medical center where innovative ideas can be turned into transformative therapies. The human capital is extraordinary and the opportunities endless.

We have long been a leader in providing medical breakthroughs and advancing medical knowledge. Over 25 years ago, the first Gamma Knife unit in North America was installed at the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Image-Guided Neurosurgery. This center is now one of the world’s pre-eminent locations for stereotactic treatment and education. In the last 10 years, our Center for Cranial Base Surgery has made major advancements in developing the Expanded Endonasal Approach, a unique minimally invasive method of removing deep-seated brain tumors, affording patients a quick return to normal life.

2015 study published in the Journal of Neurosurgery showed that our department ranked among the top five neurosurgical residency programs in the country in terms of academic publishing output of faculty. Another Journal of Neurosurgery article showed that our department ranked as the most productive residency program in the nation in terms of graduates remaining and contributing in academic neurosurgery. Still another article, published in informaHealthcare, showed that our stereotactic research effort was the most productive in the world. We are well-positioned to improve and develop treatments for patients and to play a transformative role in the development of new therapies for neurologic diseases. Our past is distinguished, our present is unmatched, and the promise of our future boundless.

Sincerely,

Robert M. Friedlander, MD, MA
Walter E. Dandy Distinguished Chair of Neurological Surgery 
University of Pittsburgh