Research Opportunities

The department continues to be heavily involved in clinical research and education. Each resident is required to publish annually in order to progress from one year to the next. Dr. Paul Klimo, MD, MPH, is our Director of Resident Research.

Semmes-Murphey Clinic (SMC)  is also involved in the development of a national neurosurgery database, N2QOD, funded through individual practice groups but monitored by the AANS which will prospectively study outcomes in spine surgery. We were one of three initial sites to begin enrolling patients, with a full-time coordinator maintaining the database.

Through the Medical Education and Research Institute (MERI), SMC has also run a number of national courses each year (skull base neurosurgery, pediatric neurosurgery, endovascular neurosurgery, minimally invasive spine surgery) with funding through the AANS to allow neurosurgery residents from around the country to participate at no expense to their programs. These have been very successful.

Dr. Arnautovic continues to direct two Bosnian-Herzegovinian American Academy of Arts and Sciences courses in Sarajevo and Zenica, Bosnia-Hercegovina annually, and is the Director of the Semmes-Murphey Clinic International Neurosurgery Fellowship.

Dr. Jeffrey Sorenson has collaborated with Dr. Albert Rhoton to produce The Rhoton Collection, an on-line interactive database of anatomical teaching materials.