Dr. Patrick Kelly has stepped down as chairman of neurosurgery to more actively pursue his clinical, teaching, and research interests at NYU and Bellevue. Dr. Jafar Jafar has been appointed the acting chairman of the department. Dr. Jafar has been a faculty member at NYU since 1989 and is a professor of neurosurgery with expertise in microsurgery for brain aneurysms, hemorrhagic stroke, and skull base tumors.

A recent book published by Stephen Russell MD, assistant professor of neurosurgery at NYU school of medicine, titled "Examination of peripheral nerve injures: an anatomical approach" (Thieme, 2006) was recently nominated, along with two others, for the "Best clinical neurology book of 2007" by the British Medical Association.

The Department of Neurosurgery at NYU welcomes a 4th Van Wagenen fellow to our faculty: Dr. Uzma Samadani, who will be an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery. The Van Wagenen fellowship is a highly competitive traveling grant awarded to one graduating neurosurgeon in North America each year. Other recipients include: Dr. Stephen Russell, Dr. Howard Weiner, and our chairman, Dr. Patrick Kelly.

Nicholas Post MD, who graduated from the NYU neurosurgery program in 2007, was recently appointed as an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at the SUNY Downstate School of Medicine where he will specialize in the surgical treatment of complex spine disorders.