Department of Neurological Surgery

Surya Gangavarapu, MD, resident in Neurological Surgery, meets with local researchers at a VUMC partner site in West Africa.
September 26, 2025

Medical students lead and learn in the Global Neurosurgery program

They go beyond their own community to represent Vanderbilt University and VUMC in support of research and education efforts abroad.

By Evan Dorian
Michael Dewan, MD, assistant professor of Neurological Surgery, works with surgeons during a procedure in Monrovia, Liberia.
September 26, 2025

VUMC’s global neurosurgery program provides education, training and impact through collaborations with partners across continents 

The program seeks to both share and learn in its mission to enhance the neurological health of populations in low resourced settings.

By Evan Dorian
September 2, 2025

NFL webinar to address player health and safety for all ages

The webinar will bring together a group of experts from the youth, high school and college levels — including Alex Diamond, DO, MPH, director of the Vanderbilt Youth Sports Health Center.

By Craig Boerner
Lainey Mathis. (photo by Erin O. Smith)
August 25, 2025

‘I didn’t know that I’d been living my life in pain’: Patient’s remarkable recovery after crossing paths with a compassionate neurosurgeon

Exhausted from a multiyear journey navigating a debilitating illness, Lainey Mathis received life-changing care from Ryan Lee, MD, whose new cerebrospinal fluid disorders center is already making a massive impact on patients.

By Evan Dorian
Douglas Terry, PhD. (photo by Donn Jones)
April 2, 2025

Douglas Terry recognized with Sports Neuropsychology Society award 

It is granted annually to an individual who has impacted the field of neuropsychology through service and research within 10 years of receiving their doctoral degree. 

By Evan Dorian
Olivia Leow. (photo by Erin O. Smith)
January 15, 2025

Glioma Warriors — Alliance takes on brain cancer

Glioma is a cancer that afflicts people of all ages, including children. It is the deadliest pediatric cancer, and it’s also perplexing, evading the advances made in recent decades for other cancers.

By Tom Wilemon
September 25, 2024

Vanderbilt’s Douglas Terry named Senior Director of Research for the National Football League

The role will concentrate on several initiatives meant to enhance the health and safety of NFL players and is an extension of Terry’s expertise and work on sport-related concussion and cumulative head impacts.
By Holly Fletcher
September 23, 2024

New study reveals common belief of CTE, link to mental health among former professional NFL players

“Understanding the proportion of former players who think they have CTE — and identifying the common symptoms in those who believe they have CTE — is an important step for helping these individuals receive medical and mental health treatment,” said Douglas Terry, PhD, assistant professor and clinical neuropsychologist in the Department of Neurological Surgery and co-director of the Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center.
By Holly Fletcher
August 28, 2024

For former NFL players, football before age 12 not linked to worse health later in life: study

Data from 4,189 former NFL athletes who spanned the ages of 24-89 show no evidence playing organized football younger than age 12 led to more cognitive, mood, sleep, cardiovascular or other health issues later in life. These results, which are published in Sports Medicine, contrast with previous small studies from a decade ago.
By Holly Fletcher
July 23, 2024

VUMC set to debut focused ultrasound treatment for tremors, Parkinson’s disease

Focused ultrasound treatment is a minimally invasive procedure for the treatment of tremors or Parkinson’s disease performed in an outpatient clinic with MRI as the navigation tool.
By Holly Fletcher
April 26, 2024

VUH adopts enhanced recovery for spine surgery

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is launching an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) pathway for the nearly 1,000 adult patients who undergo elective spine surgery each year at Vanderbilt University Hospital and Belle Meade Surgery Center.
By Paul Govern
March 29, 2024

A gunshot to the head. A long recovery. Then a wedding.

Special Agent Adam Daniels celebrates ongoing recovery after gunshot causes traumatic brain injury; family’s gift will support care of others with similar injuries
By Jill Clendening
March 6, 2024

Jay Wellons elected president of the American Society of Pediatric Neurosurgeons

Vanderbilt's John "Jay" Wellons III, MD, MSPH, has been elected as the 2024-2025 president of the American Society of Pediatric Neurosurgeons.
By Christina Echegaray
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