About Us
It is truly a privilege and pleasure to serve as the Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Brown University Health.
Our faculty and staff are a group of exceptionally talented experts in their field. Rhode Island Hospital is a Level I Trauma Center—the only one in the State—and is a state-of-the art medical center with one of the largest emergency rooms in the country. It is an integral part of a greater Health System, Brown University Health, which also includes Hasbro Children’s Hospital, The Miriam Hospital, Newport Hospital, Bradley Hospital, Brown University Health Cancer Institute, as well as other ancillary facilities.
The mission of our Department is to provide the most advanced and compassionate care to our patients, to train future leaders in neurosurgery, and to advance our field through research and innovation. We have outstanding surgical experts in every subspecialty area in neurosurgery, including cerebrovascular and skull base surgery, brain tumors, epilepsy surgery, spinal surgery, peripheral nerve surgery, pituitary tumor surgery, functional neurosurgery, stereotactic radiosurgery, neuro-trauma and critical care, pediatric neurosurgery, minimally invasive endoscopic spine and skull base surgery, and surgery for CSF disorders of the brain and spine. These experts are part of larger multidisciplinary Centers such as Comprehensive Stroke Center, Norman Prince Spine Institute, Comprehensive Brain Tumor Center and Comprehensive Movement Disorders Center to just name a few. Our Department is also privileged to have a dedicated Neuroscience Floor, which houses an 18-bed Neuro-Intensive Care Unit with highly specialized physician and nursing teams. We also have a dedicated Spine Floor, with specialized nursing staff, where we care for our patients with whole spectrum of spinal disorders.
We are also fortunate to be a part of the Norman Prince Neuroscience Institute (NPNI) which was founded in 2010 with $15M gift from Prince Family of Rhode Island. Our Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry are included under its umbrella as well. NPNI, in partnership with Brown University and other leading institutions in Rhode Island, is dedicated to advancing neurosciences and reducing suffering from disorders of the nervous system, with a goal of becoming a leader in applying advanced neuroscience to integrated clinical care.
Brown University is an Ivy League School, one of the leading research universities in the country with focus in neurosciences. Our neurosurgical faculty and residents work closely with the Robert J. & Nancy D. Carney Institute for Brain Science of Brown University, which brings together more than 100 faculty members spanning life and physical sciences, mathematics, engineering, humanities and medicine with a focus in fundamental discovery, brain health and neuro-technology. This is where BrainGate, the neural interface that translates neural signals from the brain to control assistive devices, was developed and successfully used in patients with quadriplegia to operate a computer cursor and a robotic arm.
As Chairman of the Department, my ultimate goal has been—and still is—to establish the best neurosurgery program in North America, with excellence in patient care, research, education and biomedical innovation.
Ziya L. Gokaslan, MD, FAANS, FACS
Julius Stoll, MD Professor and Chair
Department of Neurosurgery
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Neurosurgeon-in-Chief, Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital
Clinical Director, Norman Prince Neurosciences Institute
President, Brown Neurosurgery Foundation
