Neuropsychiatric Institute

The University established the Neuropsychiatric Institute (NPI), dedicated to the study of the neurosciences, in 1939. It was the first institute of its kind in the United States and promoted many advances in the fields of Neurosurgery, Neurology, and Psychiatry. The Department of Neurosurgery has included such illustrious figures as Dr. Eric Oldberg (the first Department Head), Dr. Paul Bucy, and Dr. Percival Bailey.

The NPI, completely renovated in 1995, houses the Neurosurgery administrative offices and research laboratories, as well as the Departments of Neurology & Rehabilitation and Psychiatry. The building also includes state-of-the-art microsurgical and neuropathology laboratories, closed-circuit television connections to the hospital operating rooms, a neuroscience library, and a well-equipped auditorium (converted from an original operating room amphitheater). The interventional neuroradiologists have offices in the building, as well as a reading room for review of imaging studies.

The University of Illinois College of Medicine

The University of Illinois College of Medicine is located on the west side of the city, near Chicago’s “Loop” and within easy reach of all of Chicago’s cultural, educational, and entertainment attractions. It is one of three campuses of the University of Illinois (the other two are in Springfield and Champaign-Urbana). The medical school at the University of Illinois is the largest in the United States, graduating nearly 180 students each year at the Chicago campus alone and more at other campuses across the state. Research is a primary focus, with significant funding from the National Institutes of Health as well as from other sources. The University of Illinois Medical School is widely regarded as a leader in producing educators, medical practitioners, and scientific investigators.

University of Illinois in Chicago Hospital Health Sciences System

The University Hospital serves as our primary teaching site during the residency program. The Medical Center includes a near-500-bed hospital as well as more than 40 primary care and specialty clinics. Its state-of- the-art facilities include a newly built Outpatient Care Center, a 3-Tesla MRI, two angiographic suites, endovascular hybrid operating room, and a dedicated neurosurgical unit that includes a 22-bed Neurosurgical ICU and a step-down floor. The Medical Center is a major referral center, attracting cases from around the world as well as from the entire U.S. Midwest region.

The Neurosurgery Department, in addition to serving the local community, attracts specialty cases including EC-IC bypass, complex aneurysms, skull base tumors, intractable epilepsy, pain management, and skull base and spinal cord tumors. Many community neurosurgeons throughout the Midwest refer their patients to us for specialized care. Our faculty includes recognized experts in cerebrovascular surgery, neuroendovascular procedures, neuro-oncology, spinal neurosurgery, peripheral nerve surgery, pediatric neurosurgery, pain management and movement disorders. The Department also collaborates with other services  in the medical center to provide multi-disciplinary care for our patients, including stereotactic radiosurgery (Radiation Oncology), craniofacial surgery (The Craniofacial Center), pituitary and skull base tumors (ENT), stroke and critical care (Neurology).

Surgical Innovations and Training Laboratory

The SITL is a brand new 16,000 square foot, $8.8 million facility dedicated for hands-on simulation training. This state of the art facility will be used both among neurosurgery residents and residents of other surgical programs at UIC. There will be a particular emphasis on microsurgery and robotic surgery. We soon anticipate to host several microneurosurgical  and skull-base dissection labs in this facility for our residents. A video of the grand opening of this lab can be found here.

Advocate Christ Medical Center

Advocate Christ Medical Center (ACMC) is a 788-bed teaching hospital with a level one trauma designation and a comprehensive stroke center accreditation . The hospital has more than 105,000 patient visits annually and serves as a major referral center. Located in Oak Lawn, ACMC is a short drive from downtown and has a catchment area which encompasses both blunt trauma from more suburban areas as well as penetrating trauma in the more densely populated urban parts of the city. Residents spent time at ACMC in their intern year on the trauma surgery service and during the junior residency focusing on neurosurgical trauma.

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago

Lurie Children’s hospital serves as a training site for junior residents at UIC as well as residents of other Chicago programs. Ranked the number one children’s hospital in Illinois by US News and World Report, Lurie’s has 360 beds and caters to a wide variety of patients locally, regionally and internationally. Trainees are exposed  to a wide variety of pediatric neurosurgical pathology.