Neurosurgical Oncology Fellowship

The Department of Neurosurgery at Houston Methodist Hospital offers a Neurosurgical Oncology Fellowship Program accredited by CAST (The Committee on Advanced Subspecialty Training) and under the directorship of David S. Baskin, MD.

The Neurosurgical Oncology Fellowship Program is 12-24 months in duration and is offered to those who have completed neurosurgery residency training. Twelve months (Year 1) will be clinical with an opportunity to participate in a second full year of research (Year 2), working in the laboratories at the Kenneth R. Peak Brain and Pituitary Tumor Center.
 
This program is designed to develop highly skilled neurosurgeons that have expertise in the complete management of central nervous system tumor patients.
 
The Cranial Program has nine neurosurgical operating rooms running five days a week with a dedicated 36 bed Neurosurgical ICU. We have cranial and spinal robots, two Surgical Theater set ups, a 3 Tesla intraoperative MRI scanner, integrated suites with 4K endoscopic capabilities, and a robust neurosurgical oncology program with a number of ongoing clinical trials.  There is also a highly robust basic research program with two well established brain tumor laboratories with scientists and Federal and philanthropic funding.  
 
Our unique surgical expertise allows us to offer fellows exposure to all aspects of neurosurgical oncology, including:

 

1. The surgery of primary and metastatic brain tumors
2. Surgery of primary and metastatic spinal tumors and reconstruction
3. Transsphenoidal surgery
4. Minimally invasive endonasal skull base surgery for tumors in the anterior, middle, and posterior fossa
5. Open Skull base surgery with complex approaches including petroclival tumors and posterior fossa skull base tumors
6. Advanced brain mapping techniques
7. Intraoperative MRI
8. Brain (Gamma Knife and True Beam) and Spinal Stereotactic Radiosurgery

Clinical and Basic Research
The Department of Neurosurgery has developed a world-class clinical research program to manage all aspects of neurosurgical oncology, including complex brain and skull-base tumors, spinal tumors, and an extensive program in metabolomics of glial and pituitary tumors and novel treatments for brain tumors moving from the bench to the bedside. Our basic and applied research programs are also regarded as premier programs with expert faculty that work closely with physician-scientists to integrate laboratory discoveries with clinical observations.