Our Physicians

UNC Health Department of Neurosurgery Faculty

Neurosurgeons

Nelson Oyesiku, MD, PhD, FACS
Department Chair | Van L. Weatherspoon, Jr. Eminent Distinguished Professor

Dr. Nelson Oyesiku is Chair of the UNC Department of Neurosurgery, joining the faculty in March, 2021. His clinical and research focus is the surgical treatment and molecular biology of pituitary tumors. Dr. Oyesiku has performed more than 4,000 surgeries for pituitary tumors and has been featured in news and TV specials discussing his expertise in pituitary tumor treatment. More –>

Vibhor Krishna, MD, SM, FACS
Vice Chair, Inpatient Operations | Service Line Leader | Associate Professor

Dr. Vibhor Krishna, Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Inpatient Operations in the UNC Department of Neurosurgery, is a board-certified functional neurosurgeon and NIH-funded surgeon-scientist specializing in the treatment of movement disorders, chronic pain, and epilepsy. More –>

Matthew Ewend, MD
Chief Clinical Officer, UNC Health | President, UNC Physicians | Kay M. and Van L. Weatherspoon Distinguished Professor of Neurosurgery

Dr. Matthew Ewend is the Chief Clinical Officer of UNC Health, President of UNC Physicians, and the first Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery (2010-2018). He joined the faculty in 1997 after completing medical school, neurosurgery residency, and a brain tumor fellowship at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. More –>

Eldad Hadar, MD
Vice Chair, Faculty Affairs | Section Chief of Functional Neurosurgery | Professor

Dr. Eldad J. Hadar is a professor and the Residency Program Director in the Department of Neurosurgery, joining UNC Healthcare in August 2001. Since arriving at UNC, Dr. Hadar has been an active member of the neurosurgical service. In addition to his general neurosurgery practice, he serves as director of both the Epilepsy Surgery and Functional Neurosurgery programs and has been a member of the UNC Spine Center since 2002. More –>

Carlos David, MD
Vice Chair, Education, Clinical Skills Lab | Division Chief, Cerebrovascular | Residency Program Director | Professor

Dr. Carlos David is a Professor of Neurosurgery in the Department of Neurological surgery at UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine. His range of expertise includes all skull base and complex brain tumors, endoscopic skull base surgery and all aspects of cerebrovascular surgery, including bypass surgery. More –>

Scott Elton, MD, FAANS, FAA
Professor, Division Chief and Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery | Children’s Hospital Operating Room Medical Director, Surgeon-in-Chief

Dr. Scott Elton, pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Scott W. Elton joined the Department of Neurosurgery in January 2013, to develop the Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery where he now serves as Division Chief and Director. Dr. Elton has worked in both community and academic hospitals in a wide variety of practices–private, academic, and corporate–in both Ohio and Arizona. Dr. Elton is interested in teaching residents and medical students, evaluating cost containment, and creating pragmatism in care. More –>

Cheerag Upadhyaya, MD, MBA, MSc, FAANS, FACS
Vice Chair, Business Innovation and Strategy | Chief Transformation and Business Development Officer | Clinical Professor | Medical Director of Supply Chain, UNC Health

Dr. Cheerag Upadhyaya is a board-certified neurosurgeon specializing in minimally invasive spine surgery. Dr. Upadhyaya grew up in a small town in Florida and attended college at Emory University. He then attended medical school at the University of Florida. More –>

Edward Yap, MD
Assistant Professor | Trauma Liaison

Dr. Edward Yap joined the UNC Neurosurgery faculty in late December of 2019 as an Assistant Professor. After Dr. Yap’s completion of his neurosurgery residency with UNC Neurosurgery in 2018, he completed a fellowship in neuroendovascular surgery at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. His Interests include vascular and endovascular neurosurgery and skull-base pathologies. More –>

Michael Galgano, MD, FAANS
Vice Chair, Hillsborough Operations | Chief Quality Officer | Clinical Associate Professor

Dr. Galgano’s clinical and academic focus is on spinal oncology and deformity surgery. He treats patients with intrinsic spinal cord tumors, primary and metastatic vertebral column tumors, scoliosis, and kyphosis. More –>

Mark Attiah, MD, MPH, MS, MBE
Director of Peripheral Nerve Surgery | Assistant Professor | Vice Chair for Ambulatory Operations

Dr. Mark Attiah’s surgical training is in the treatment of spine and peripheral nerve disorders. His residency and fellowships included specialized training in treating spine conditions such as herniated discs, trauma, fractures, and tumors, along with minimally invasive approaches. More –>

Kimberly M. Hamilton, MD
Assistant Professor

Dr. Hamilton is a board-certified pediatric neurosurgeon and Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at UNC Health. Her clinical interests include caring for kids with brain tumors, utilizing endoscopic surgical techniques in the management of hydrocephalus, and building a peripheral nerve and brachial plexus program at UNC. More –>

Neuro-Oncology

Dominique Higgins, MD, PhD
Director, Adult Neurosurgical Oncology | Assistant Professor

Dr. Dominique Higgins is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery specializing in neurosurgical oncology and the treatment of brain tumors. The Higgins lab in the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center focuses on the treatment of malignant brain tumors, including glioblastoma. Dr. Higgins also leads several brain tumor clinical trials on campus.

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Jeremy Rich, MD, MHS, MBA
Deputy Director for Research & Chief Scientific Officer at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center | Nominated Professor of Neurology

Dr. Jeremy Rich

Dr. Jeremy Rich is Deputy Director for Research and Chief Scientific Officer of the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Professor of Neurology at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Dr. Rich’s Laboratory identifies novel therapeutic paradigms in the treatment of advanced cancers, primarily malignant brain tumors, through the prism of stem cell biology to identify core regulatory pathways amenable to pharmacologic targeting.. More –>

Yasmeen Rauf, MD
Assistant Professor of Neurology & Neurosurgery

Dr. Yasmeen Rauf, UNC Neurosurgery Dr. Yasmeen Rauf’s primary area of interest is glioblastoma. Her clinical and research interests include clinical trials for newly diagnosed and recurrent glioblastoma, brain tumor micro-environment, brain tumor imaging, immunotherapy for brain tumors and CAR- T for recurrent glioblastoma. More –>

David Kram, MD, MCR
Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics

Dr. David Kram is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics. His specialty is Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. More –>

Endocrinology

Atil Kargi, MD
Co-Director of the UNC Pituitary Tumor Clinic | Clinical Endocrinologist | Professor

Dr. Atil Kargi is a clinical endocrinologist specializing in diseases of the pituitary gland including pituitary tumors, hypopituitarism, Cushing’s disease, Acromegaly, Prolactinoma, Adult Growth Hormone deficiency, and vasopressin deficiency (AVP-D), formerly known as diabetes insipidus. He is the Co-Director of the UNC Pituitary Tumor Center and a Professor of Neurosurgery and Medicine.. More –>

Physiatrist

Kevin Carneiro, DO
Associate Professor of Neurosurgery and Physical Medicine Rehabilitation

Dr. Kevin Carneiro is a board-certified physiatrist in physical medicine and rehabilitation as well as sports medicine. He has conducted research and written book chapters and journal articles on musculoskeletal, sports and occupational rehabilitation medicine, most recently on exercise for low back pain. More –>

Neurosurgery Research

Amol Yadav, Ph.D., MS
Assistant Professor

Amol Yadav, PhD, MS Dr. Amol Yadav’s research lies at the intersection of Neuroscience and Engineering, and his lab specializes in spinal cord stimulation, high-density neural recording, computational modeling, behavioral experimentation in rodents and human clinical trials with invasive technologies. More –>

Kerry C. Roby Jr., Ph.D.
Project Manager

Dr. Kerry Roby is a cancer biologist and is a project manager in the SoDa Lab. His primary research focus is on the tumor microenvironment and on understanding the molecular and functional properties of perivascular astrocyte and their contributions to blood brain barrier development and in cancer progression.. More –>

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