• Center for Brain Injury and Repair
• Center for Functional and Restorative Neurosurgery
• Cerebral Ischemia
• Neuro Oncology
• Neurosurgery Clinical Research Division
  • NCRD Staff
  • Frequently Asked Questions
• Research Training

The research opportunities through the department and the university are substantial. The University of Pennsylvania is ranked #2 nationally in NIH funding. The department receives over $3 million annually in NIH support in addition to other external grant sources.

Research efforts include the renowned Center for Brain Injury and Repair as well as the Center for Functional and Restorative Neurosurgery and the Neurosurgery Clinical Research Division. Individual efforts cover neuro-oncology, stroke, peripheral nerve, spinal cord injury, and cranial base surgery. Funded research opportunities at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia include projects in molecular neuro-oncology, fetal surgery, and biomechanics of head injury.

The Neurosurgery Sharpe Spinal Biomechanics Laboratory is housed at Pennsylvania Hospital. Its research focus centers around quantifying the kinematics of the cervical spine and cervicothoracic junction. The lab is operated under the direction of Beth Winkelstein, Ph.D. in the department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania in conjunction with the Spine Pain Research Laboratory.

Primary interests of the Smith Neurotrauma Laboratory include mechanisms of brain trauma and the progressive degenerative damage that occurs.  Specific concentration is given to the fate of axons, nerve fibers in the brain, that appear exquisitively vulnerable to trauma.  Attention is also given to spinal cord and peripheral nerve injuries, specifically repair strategies and the development of a novel mechanism of 'stretch-induced' axon growth that can be exploited
to produce transplant materials to bridge extensive damage in the nervous system.