ZIYA L. GOKASLAN, MD, FAANS, FACS, is the Julius Stoll, MD Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. He serves as the Neurosurgeon-in-Chief at Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital. Dr. Gokaslan is also the Clinical Director of the Norman Prince Neurosciences Institute. Furthermore, he leads the Norman Prince Spine Institute at Brown University Health and is the Director of the Complex Spinal Surgery Fellowship at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
Dr. Gokaslan was recruited to Department of Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins as Donlin M. Long Professor, Professor of Neurosurgery, Orthopaedic Surgery and Oncology, Vice – Chair and the Director of Spinal Surgery Program where he served on the faculty for 13 years and established one of the most respected academic spine programs. A mentor of Dr. Bydon, Dr. Gokaslan facilitated his fellowship as a spine instructor. At the end of his fellowship, Dr. Gokaslan was so impressed with Dr. Bydon, that he offered him a position on faculty as an assistant professor of neurosurgery on July 1, 2007.
Held by Ali Bydon
ALI BYDON, MD, is the inaugural Ziya Gokaslan Professor in Neurosurgery at the JohnsHopkins School of Medicine. He serves as the Vice Chair for Strategic Planning for the Department of Neurosurgery. His busy clinical practice focuses on degenerative disorders of the spine, spinal tumors, and complex reconstruction and restoration of the spine, with over 5000 operations performed. Dr. Bydon is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.
Dr. Ali Bydon earned his medical degree from the University of Michigan School of Medicine in Ann Arbor in 1999. He completed residency training in Neurological Surgery at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, where he graduated with distinction in 2006. He also completed a fellowship in Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery at Henry Ford, as well as a fellowship at Louisiana State University on the Surgical Treatment of Peripheral Nerves. Dr. Bydon then completed a one-year instructorship in Spinal Oncology and Complex Reconstructive Spinal Surgery in the Department of Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins in 2007.
Dr. Ali Bydon’s research focuses on spinal biomechanics and surgical outcomes. He has co-authored over 265 peer-reviewed manuscripts and numerous book chapters. Dr. Bydon co-authored one of the largest series in the literature evaluating the optimal surgical management of spinal synovial cysts. His work has led to key insights related to outcomes of patients with bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP), cervical myelopathy, cervical radiculopathy, ossified posterior longitudinal ligament, minimally invasive discectomy, lumbar spondylolisthesis, and fusion techniques. His work has led to over 200 presentations at national and international scientific meetings.
Dr. Bydon serves as an editorial board member of JNS case reports and serves as a reviewer for a dozen scientific publications.
Dr. Bydon is an educator who has helped train over 60 practicing neurosurgeons. He is the recipient of the prestigious Richard Otenasak Faculty Teaching Award and the Chairman’s Neurosurgical Teacher of the Year Award. Dr. Bydon has served on the Johns Hopkins Department of Neurosurgery Residency Review Committee and the Patient Access Committee. He completed a year long term as the neurosurgical representative on the Johns Hopkins Faculty Senate. He served previously as the “Medical Director” with Johns Hopkins Medicine International, overseeing the clinical, educational, teaching, and research activities at Clemenceau Medical Center in Beirut, Lebanon and Hospital Moinhos De Vento in Porto Alegre, Brazil.