1. Specialties
     Volumes    Innovation at the Institute    Education    Research    Telemedicine    Mischer Neuroscience Associates    Directors  

2. References

3. External links

The Mischer Neuroscience Institute^[1] at Memorial Hermann–Texas Medical Center is the academic teaching hospital for the Vivian L. Smith Department of Neurosurgery and the Department of Neurology at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth.^[2] Located in Houston, the Institute draws patients from around the world for specialized treatment of diseases of the brain^[1] and spine.^[3] It was the first center in Texas and one of only a few institutions in the country to fully integrate neurology, neurosurgery, neuroradiology and neurorehabilitation.

Specialties

As the first stroke program in Texas to meet The Joint Commission’s rigorous standards for Comprehensive Stroke Center certification, the Institute stands among an elite group of providers focused on complex stroke care. This comprehensive, integrated approach led to the creation of the Southwest’s leading epilepsy program, a highly ranked neurotrauma program, a cerebrovascular center where affiliated physicians treat more aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations than any other center in the region, an established pediatric neurosurgery program in collaboration with Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, an unmatched spinal neurosurgery and reconstructive peripheral nerve surgery program and a Brain Tumor Center where physicians diagnose and treat hundreds of new tumor patients each year. Affiliated physicians are also innovators in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, movement disorders, neurocognitive disorders, memory disorders and dementia, neuromuscular disorders, chronic pain and traumatic brain injury.

Volumes

More than 4,600 procedures are performed in Mischer Neurosciences surgical suites annually. Among them are innovative techniques for the repair of arteriovenous malformations to prevent life-threatening brain hemorrhage, the use of laser ablation that allows patients with epilepsy to lead productive lives, endovascular thrombectomies to remove blood clots that caused a stroke, and Leksell Gamma Knife® radiosurgery for safer, quick, effective and painless treatment of certain brain tumors.

Innovation at the Institute

Mischer Neuroscience Institute has a strong history of firsts:

• The first center to discover a genetic mutation linked to intracranial aneurysms.
• The first stroke program in Texas and the only one in the region to meet The Joint Commission’s rigorous standards for Comprehensive Stroke Center certification. In 2018, the Stroke Center at Memorial Hermann-TMC became the first Comprehensive Stroke Center-Integrated System, a new certification created by The Joint Commission specifically for Memorial Hermann.
• Site of the first single-center clinical trial for recurrent medulloblastoma, ependymoma and atypical teratoid-rhabdoid tumors using the direct infusion of chemotherapy into the fourth ventricle; the first trial of infusion of 5-AZA into the fourth ventricle or resection cavity in children with recurrent posterior fossa ependymoma; and the first trial of combination intraventricular chemotherapy (methotrexate and etoposide) infusions into the fourth ventricle or resection cavity in children with recurrent posterior fossa brain tumors.
• The first neurosurgery center to offer all advanced modalities of treatment for complex lesions: expert microsurgery, interventional neuroradiology/endovascular surgery and Gamma Knife® radiosurgery.
• The first hospital in the south-central United States and one of only a few in the country offering intra-arterial chemotherapy for retinoblastoma, the most modern treatment for the disease.
• The first in Texas to use robotic stereoencephalography (SEEG) for 3-D mapping of epileptic seizures.
• The first in Houston to offer amyloid imaging, a diagnostic tool that enables physicians to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease.
• The North American leader in studies of primary progressive multiple sclerosis and the most active center in Texas in the conduct of organized clinical trials of new therapies for MS.
• The first facility in Houston and one of the first in the United States to test the clot- dissolving drug tPA for acute stroke.
• One of the first centers in the nation to offer MR-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (MRgLITT) using the Visualase™ system for the treatment of well-delineated focal epilepsies.
• The first center in the region to use the NeuroPace® RNS® System, an FDA-approved technique for responsive neurostimulation to treat adults with medication-resistant epilepsy.
• The first in the region to inject human central nervous system stem cells into the spines of spinal cord injury patients.

Education

Through its affiliation with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, Mischer Neuroscience Institute offers both neurosurgery and neurology residencies and fellowships. Residents and fellows benefit from participation in cutting-edge research and caring for patients with a broad range of neurological disorders in the nation’s largest medical center.

The Neurosurgery Residency Program is a seven-year program that accepts three PGY residents per year. Residents are individually mentored, evaluated and promoted, and are also regularly asked to evaluate the program and participate in its continual improvement. The program offers one of the largest neurosurgical caseloads in the United States, with more than 4,600 surgical cases per year. Neurosurgical fellowships include cerebrovascular/skull base, neurocritical care, neuroendovascular surgery, stroke and interventional stroke track, multiple sclerosis, movement disorders, neuro-oncology, neuromuscular, epilepsy and spinal and peripheral nerve surgery.

The Department of Neurology provides medical education opportunities in clinical neurology at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels of training. The Neurology Residency Training Program prepares physicians for the independent practice of neurology. Neurological fellowships are available in clinical neurophysiology (EEG, EEG/video monitoring, EMG, and evoked potentials), vascular neurology, epilepsy, movement disorders, multiple sclerosis/neurovirology, neuroimmunology and neuropsychology.

Research

Physicians affiliated with Mischer Neuroscience Institute and McGovern Medical School are engaged in a broad and intensive research program focused on the mechanisms, treatment and cure of neurological disease and injury. They use diverse approaches – molecular, transgenic and electrophysiological techniques – in biomedical studies, translational research, clinical trials and technology development and assessment. Research is supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Vivian L. Smith Foundation for Neurologic Disease, the American Stroke Association and other granting agencies. Investigations cover all major areas of neurological disease.

Telemedicine

The goal of the UTHealth Telemedicine Program is to build a collaborative network of hospitals working together to deliver comprehensive neurological and neurosurgical care to communities across Texas. At the Mischer Neuroscience Institute hub, physicians provide 24/7 stroke consultations, as well as consults for other conditions, for hospitals in the network. The program helps avoid unnecessary transfers and keeps patients close to home for treatment.

Mischer Neuroscience Associates

Mischer Neuroscience Institute extends its capabilities outside the Texas Medical Center through Mischer Neuroscience Associates (MNA). MNA’s outpatient clinics are located both in the Texas Medical Center and throughout the Greater Houston area. The clinics provide 24/7 neuroscience coverage to the highly populated city of Houston and outlying suburbs and communities. With support from Memorial Hermann and McGovern Medical School, MNA’s intrastructure includes more than 130 affiliated subspecialty providers. This collaboration provides patients with access to top-quality care close to home, including tertiary spine and intracranial medicine.

Directors

Neurosurgeon Dong Kim, MD,^[4] is director of Mischer Neuroscience Institute and professor and chair of the Vivian L. Smith Department of Neurosurgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth. Dr. Kim is a graduate of Stanford University and the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine (UCSF). His internship at Harvard University was followed by residency at UCSF and fellowship in cerebrovascular surgery and skull base tumors at the University of Florida. He has been honored with numerous awards and was named to U.S. News & World Report Top Doctors, America's Best Doctors, America’s Top Surgeons, Marquis Who’s Who and Who’s Who in America. He is the recipient of grants from the National Institutes of Health and the American Stroke Association and has authored studies published in peer-reviewed journals.

Louise McCullough, MD, PhD,^[5] is co-director of Mischer Neuroscience Institute. Dr. McCullough received her Bachelor of Arts in psychology, Master of Arts in experimental psychology and PhD in neuroscience at the University of Connecticut at Storrs. After receiving her medical degree at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine in Farmington, she completed neurology training at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, where she was chief neurology resident. She completed a fellowship in cerebrovascular disease/neurology and anesthesiology at the same institution. Dr. McCullough is a physician-scientist with a longstanding interest in vascular physiology, neuro-inflammation, cerebrovascular disease, sex differences in stroke and aging. A practicing vascular neurologist, she has clinical expertise in stroke prevention, acute stroke treatment, sex differences in stroke and outcome assessment. Recognized with numerous awards during her clinical and academic career and named to Best Doctors® continuously since 2007, she is professor and chair of the Department of Neurology and heads the Cerebrovascular Research Group at McGovern Medical School.

References

External links

• Mischer Neuroscience Institute Staff Directory
• Mischer Neuroscience Institute
• [https://med.uth.edu/neurosurgery/ Vivian L. Smith Department of Neurosurgery], UTHealth Medical School

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