Logo for University of Iowa Health Care This logo represents the University of Iowa Health Care

Chair and Department Executive Officer

Welcome!

The overarching mission of our Department of Neurosurgery is to provide our residents the finest academic neurosurgery training experience possible. It is our goal to identify and train graduating medical students who have the greatest potential to be the future leaders of academic neurosurgery. We are committed to providing these select individuals the highest quality surgical and scientific training available anywhere.

We have all the resources needed to achieve this objective. Our clinical service is large, growing, and well balanced. We have an outstanding faculty with internationally recognized clinical leaders in the major subspecialties of neurosurgery. The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics is superbly equipped with leading edge technologies, including extensive experimental instrumentation. Patients travel to our institution from throughout the region, elsewhere in the U.S., and around the world to receive their neurosurgical care. This provides an ideal patient population for residency training.

The University of Iowa College of Medicine is consistently ranked in the top ten nationally in NIH funding per faculty member, and this institutional research strength is particularly strong in areas critical to the future of neurosurgery. Trainees are integrated into the research planning and training regime immediately upon acceptance into our program. Each resident is integrated into a continuous scientific mentoring process. During the internship and first two years of neurosurgery residency, we explore a wide range of research opportunities. Each resident then chooses an internationally renowned research laboratory in which to spend two years of protected time dedicated to research training. The scope of research opportunities includes leading research laboratories throughout the United States and overseas. This unique experience provides the critical scientific foundation necessary to launch the trainee’s career in academic neurosurgery.

Iowa City is a wonderful place to work and live. It is the ideal environment for residents who wish to pursue their professional ambitions at the highest level, while at the same time enjoying the many benefits of living in a safe, affordable, and culturally rich university town.

Medical students with outstanding academic credentials, who are committed to becoming leaders in the field of academic neurosurgery, are welcome to visit our program, meet the residents and faculty, and apply for the residency program. Please see the institution’s GME home page for more information about Graduate Medical Education at the University of Iowa.

Matthew A. Howard, III, MD

Chair and Department Executive Officer