It is a great honor to introduce you to the Department of Neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. This is an exciting time in which to practice Neurosurgery, and at Hopkins we are evolving to meet the growing demands of the current medical environment. We are embracing the challenges of providing the finest neurosurgical education and patient care while complying with the new regulations governing clinical training programs. Our residents receive comprehensive training in a framework that still leaves time for didactic conferences and self-study, as well as for other important aspects of their lives. This commitment to residency education, the collegial atmosphere, an expansive clinical volume, and access to world class research programs makes our residency unique.

Our department is dedicated to the idea that it is possible to be an active clinician and an active scientist at the same time. Neurosurgeons at Johns Hopkins specialize their clinical interests and maintain parallel and complementary research programs.

The clinical service is large and varied. There is no area of neurosurgery which is not represented abundantly.

Major areas for clinical research are:

• treatment of brain tumors
• treatment of hydrocephalus
• treatment of spinal tumors
• chronic pain
• treatment of cerebrovascular disease
• functional organization of the thalamus

The major areas for basic research are:

• mechanisms of pain production, transmission, and perception
• genetic alterations which control growth of brain tumors
• new drug delivery systems for brain and spinal tumors
• the molecular basis of cerebral vasospasm and vascular malformations
• applications of technology to neurosurgical practice

Our goal for residency training is to produce well-rounded neurosurgeons who will become academic leaders in their field. We want residents who are interested in becoming outstanding clinicians and surgeons, and who are also interested in making significant contributions to new knowledge in the future. To this end, in addition to performing approximately 5,700 surgeries per year, our department provides an educational program that includes Neurosurgery Grand Rounds, Neuroncology, Vascular, and Spine conferences, and Journal Club. There are multiple interdisciplinary specialty conferences in both the clinical and basic neurosciences, and at last count, there were more than 30 weekly neuroscience conferences available to enrich the didactic landscape.

The clinical requirements are demanding, but the rewards are high. We expect outstanding performance from every resident and in return we are committed to an equally outstanding educational experience for our residents. We are looking for young men and women willing to make a commitment to training that will make them the best in the field. Our goal in the residency program is to produce a group of people who will lead neurosurgery into the future.

Yours sincerely,
Henry Brem, M.D.
Harvey Cushing Professor of Neurosurgery, Ophthalmology, and Oncology
Director, Department of Neurosurgery
Director, Hunterian Neurosurgical Laboratory
Neurosurgeon-in-Chief