About us

Our research aims to inform, enable, and accelerate the translation of advances from basic science research, clinical research and data innovation to routine care for patients with neurosurgical conditions. Scientific disciplines that our academic neurosurgeons work in include computational biology, epidemiology, machine learning, cancer cell biology, and clinical trials. We have a strong collaborative culture working with colleagues locally, nationally, and internationally. Our network within The University of Edinburgh includes the Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, Usher Institute, the Institute of Genetics and Cancer, Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) Veterinary School, the Bayes Centre, the School of Informatics, and Edinburgh Futures Institute. The academic environment within our unit attracts trainees with interests in research from across the UK, and 75% of trainees complete a doctoral degree during their training. There are currently three academic neurosurgical trainees with clinical lectureships. Our neurosurgeons supervise undergraduate and postgraduate students for degree dissertations.

Neurosurgery is uniquely placed to interface between patients and scientific discovery. Patient data and tissue are critical to better modelling and understanding neurosurgical conditions that impact patients’ lives. This increases the likelihood that discovery science will translate effectively to the clinic and accelerates patient access to novel therapies.

In Edinburgh our team of neurosurgeon scientists bring diverse research expertise. We are uniquely placed to deliver real impact for patients with our Translational Neurosurgery research groups.

Dr Paul Brennan