Internationally recognized neurosurgeon Dr. Uzma Samadani joins Hennepin County Medical Center

MINNEAPOLIS, June 29, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Dr. Uzma Samadani, whose research on concussion recently made headlines around the world, is joining the Department of Neurosurgery at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC), a nationally recognized Level I Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota that specializes in the treatment of traumatic brain injuries. She will serve as the Rockswold Kaplan Chair for Traumatic Brain Injury Research, and also be appointed an Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Minnesota. 

Earlier this year, Dr. Samadani published research that describes a method for assessing the severity of traumatic brain injury (TBI) by measuring eye movements. In a talk at the North American Brain Injury Society meeting this May she showed data demonstrating that this technology is sensitive for detecting concussion. She has had more than 1.5 million dollars in research funding from the Department of Veterans Affairs, National Space and Biomedical Research Institute and the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation as well as other sources.

"Her remarkable work in this specialized area of neurotrauma and neuro-ophthalmology will greatly enhance our comprehensive therapies for brain-injured patients at HCMC," explains Dr. Thomas Bergman, HCMC's Chief of Neurosurgery.

After obtaining her PhD and graduating from medical school at the University of Illinois in Chicago, Dr. Samadani completed her residency training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and a Van Wagenen Fellowship in Goettingen, Germany. She currently is Chief Neurosurgeon at Manhattan Veterans Hospital and Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at New York University as well as Assistant Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry, Physiology, and Neurosciences at New York University School of Medicine. She co-directs the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Center for Veteran Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress at NYU Langone Medical Center. Dr. Samadani has won numerous awards and has over 40 peer-reviewed scientific publications for her work in neurosurgery.

She joins HCMC with extensive experience in her work caring for patients with brain injury at New York Harbor Health Care System/Manhattan Veterans Administration Hospital, and Bellevue Hospital in New York.  

"On behalf of everyone at HCMC – and especially our patients – we are delighted to have Dr. Samadani join us so that we can continue our work as leaders in traumatic brain injury and critical care," said Dr. Bergman.

Go to www.hcmcnews.org for more information.

SOURCE Hennepin County Medical Center