Why this role matters:
·      Lead a multidisciplinary team delivering advanced adult and pediatric neurosurgical care.
·      Strengthen a department with a strong research portfolio and commitment to education.
·      Join a top public research university with outstanding benefits and a vibrant academic community.

Learn more any apply: UNC-Chapel Hill Employment Opportunities | Distinguished Professor and Chair – Neurosurgery

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Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgeon – Open Rank This position offers the opportunity to join a growing program focused on advanced neuromodulation, functional neurosurgery, and multidisciplinary collaboration across clinical care, research and education. Learn more and apply: https://unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/311385

Cerebrovascular Neurosurgeon – Open Rank This role supports a comprehensive cerebrovascular program with opportunities in complex aneurysm, AVM and stroke care, alongside academic engagement in research, teaching and clinical innovation. Learn more and apply: https://unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/311384

Both positions are based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, within a collaborative academic medical center committed to excellence in patient care, education and discovery.

Please visit the Careers at Carolina website to view available neurosurgery job listings within the School of Medicine including research, faculty, and staff opportunities.

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Dr. Oyesiku joined the UNC Department of Neurosurgery as chair in 2021. He also served in the department as Van L. Weatherspoon, Jr., Eminent Distinguished Professor.

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“He slept in a room with 25 other kids, and he’d most likely been having seizures his entire life,” Jenn Huon says. “Because his nighttime seizures weren’t loud or violent, no one realized.”

Today, Bohao is 14 and loves riding his scooter, being outside, meeting new people and traveling with his parents to Cambodia, where they live part-time as missionaries. A few years ago, that’s not a future his parents could have imagined for him, as doctors worked to find a way to address his ever-increasing seizures.

The post Deep Brain Stimulation Stops a Child’s Round-the-Clock Seizures appeared first on Department of Neurosurgery.

“I would hum and rock back and forth,” she says. “I would go blank and be out of it for 30 seconds or a minute, but afterward, I’d just move on to the next thing.”

When she talked to doctors about the episodes, they told her she had anxiety and needed to relax. She was prescribed “a laundry list” of medications, none of which stopped the episodes. Around the time the COVID-19 pandemic started, the episodes increased, going from once a month to several a day.

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Photo: Kurt Nolen, SOC

In this role, Dr. Upadhyaya will collaborate with supply chain leadership to provide strategic guidance and clinical insight across key initiatives, including the Value Analysis Program, procurement strategies, and other essential areas within the supply chain.

Dr. Upadhyaya brings more than 15 years of clinical experience in neurosurgery, with a focus on complex and minimally invasive surgical spine care, and over a decade of leadership in both academic and non-academic settings. He has led the development of value analysis teams, supported spine surgery certifications across health systems, and worked extensively to align clinical quality with financial stewardship.

Dr. Upadhyaya earned his MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, and completed certificates in Business Analytics and Sustainability.

Dr. Upadhyaya has practiced in a wide range of healthcare environments and is well positioned to bridge clinical and operational priorities. In this role, he will partner with physician stakeholders across UNC Health and engage with industry collaborators to identify, evaluate, and implement opportunities that enhance quality, improve efficiency, and support evidence-based decision-making related to clinical products and services.

In addition to this leadership role, Dr. Upadhyaya will continue his clinical practice in Chapel Hill.

About Dr. Cheerag Upadhyaya
Dr. Upadhyaya is a board-certified neurosurgeon specializing in minimally invasive spine surgery. He is Vice Chair of Business Innovation and Strategy and Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at UNC Health. He is passionate about research to improve patient outcomes by determining new, minimally invasive treatments and conducting research to improve access to patient care.

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TSMISS is a professional organization in Taiwan dedicated to the advancement of minimally invasive spinal surgery and improving patient care. The conference featured presentations and discussions on minimally invasive spinal surgery. Presenters were invited from all over the world. Dr. Upadhyaya presented on advancing lumbar fusion outcomes.

In addition to his presentation at the TSMISS conference, Dr. Upadhyaya also presented to surgical faculty and residents at the China Medical University on key considerations for building a comprehensive culture of surgical safety. “I’m incredibly thankful for the opportunity to learn from colleagues in Taiwan during my visit with the Taiwan Society of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery and the surgical faculty at China Medical University,” said Dr. Upadhyaya. “I’m especially grateful for the generous hospitality and thoughtful conversations shared throughout my time there.”

As a guest speaker, Dr. Upadhyaya was presented with a piece of art featuring a ram.

About Dr. Cheerag Upadhyaya
Dr. Upadhyaya is a board-certified neurosurgeon specializing in minimally invasive spine surgery. He is Vice Chair of Business Innovation and Strategy and Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at UNC Health. He is passionate about research to improve patient outcomes by determining new, minimally invasive treatments and conducting research to improve access to patient care.

Written by Makenzie Hardy, Marketing Coordinator, Department of Neurosurgery

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Photo: Kurt Nolen, SOC

 In November 2024, David left his house to go collect political signs that he had set out around town for a friend. At one of the stops, five miles from his home in Rocky Mount, David struggled to pull the sign out of the ground. When the sign finally came up, David lost his balance and fell face first onto the side walk. He heard something pop, and thought he had broken his glasses.

David never lost consciousness and was able to clean up the blood on his face before climbing into his truck to drive the five miles home. When his wife, Susan, saw his face, she insisted they drive to the emergency room to make sure that he did not have a concussion. “I was still in denial that it was serious,” recalled David.

Susan drove him to the emergency room in Rocky Mount. He was immediately ushered back to a room and ordered an x-ray. “I could hear the technicians talking as they were doing the x-ray,” said David. “One said, ‘we’ve got to get a collar on him.’”

During the fall, David had also dislocated two fingers on his left hand. An x-ray showed that his fingers were not broken, and he was given a metal splint.

X-rays confirmed that during the fall, David had broken his C2 vertebrae in his neck, and required immediate surgery. He was told that he needed to be transferred to a trauma center, and Susan insisted that they go to UNC Chapel Hill.

“I was lucky that I was not paralyzed. The vertebrae was so close to the spinal cord.”

David’s x-rays were sent to Chapel Hill, and the UNC helicopter was dispatched to Rocky Mount to safely transport him. When he arrived in Chapel Hill, David was immediately transported to the ICU. “I was still aware and conscious and I knew what was going on,” recalled David. “I kept telling my wife that I felt like I couldn’t breathe and that I would suffocate. A nurse from UNC saw me and said ‘his esophagus is closing up, incubate him immediately.’”

A rapid response team was called and David was then heavily medicated and a tube was placed to help him breathe. On a Sunday morning, while David was sedated by medication, his wife met spinal neurosurgeon Dr. Cheerag Upadhyaya. “My wife was amazed by him,” said David. “The nurses told my wife that I had the top guy to do this surgery. That made her feel great. Dr. Upadhyaya knew his stuff.”

Dr. Upadhyaya had a halo placed on David and a 10-pound weight on the back to help lift his C2 vertebrae since it was completely off set and hanging by a shard, digging into David’s spine. This was done to stabilize David for surgery the following day. “I was lucky that I was not paralyzed,” said David. “The vertebrae was so close to the spinal cord.”

The first time David was conscious and able to meet Dr. Upadhyaya was two days after his surgery. “When he saw how I had recovered, he was grinning,” said David. “We gave each other a fist bump and I thanked him for pulling me through all of that.”

“Three months later, I am walking around doing everything I could do before.”

After surgery, David spent 10 days in the hospital before being transferred to UNC Hillsborough’s rehabilitation center. While in the hospital and rehab center, David was determined to be released as quickly as possible to go home, so he pushed himself during his physical therapy exercises. David spent five days in the Hillsborough rehabilitation center before being discharged. “I wanted to move along as quickly as I could so that I would be able to be released.”

Now, David is back to doing everything that he could do before surgery. He notes that he is discouraged from getting on a ladder, a direction that is easy for him to follow due to his dislike of heights. He goes to UNC Nash near his home in Rocky Mount twice a week for physical therapy and is trying to strengthen his back and posture. “That’s going well and working as it should,” said David.

He notes that the injury to his hand may require surgery since he is still unable to move his two fingers. Despite the slow recovery of his hand, David is pleased with the outcome. “Three months later, I am walking around doing everything I could do before,” said David. “Most people would not know that I had had an accident at this point because I am doing everything that I have always done.”

David is grateful for the care he received at UNC Health, and even more grateful to Susan for insisting they go to the emergency room after his fall. “Had she not been there, or had I been home when I couldn’t breathe, the outcome would be far different. She was watching over me.”

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Skull base meningioma. Illustration by Xian Boles, MFA, CMI

Lisa, a mother of four in her late 40’s, experienced occasional sinus headaches and migraines. However, in the summer of 2022, she began having a different type of headache. These new pulsating headaches came on in the mornings, but were mild and only lasted a few seconds. Since she only had one brief headache with mild pain each day and since the headaches did not interfere with daily living, she did not seek medical attention.

One morning, about six months after the daily headaches started, Lisa woke from sleep to a pulsing headache. This time, the headache took longer to resolve and left her feeling “dazed” and sensitive to light for several hours. She felt better as the day went on, but was concerned about her health.

The following morning, Lisa had a similar headache, but more painful. She could not drive because of the pain, so she had her husband take her to urgent care. “The doctor said it looked like my nasal passages were inflamed and I likely had allergies that triggered migraines,” Lisa recalled, “So, she prescribed a nasal spray and Imitrex and sent me home.”

Lisa went to sleep that night, but two hours after lying down, she woke up with what she described as the worst headache of her life. “The pulses were excruciating and relentless, and nothing relieved the pain,” said Lisa. “It continued for hours, and I knew I couldn’t endure another night like that. I still wince when I think of that night.”

Her husband drove her to the emergency room at UNC Rex in Raleigh where she received IV pain medication and steroids to manage her pain. A scan showed that Lisa had a large brain tumor causing a buildup of fluid, causing her daily headaches. Lisa was told that the tumor had likely been growing for a while, and her emergency room physicians were surprised that she had not experienced more symptoms. “Things moved pretty quickly at that point,” she recalled.

Lisa was told that she would need to have surgery to remove the tumor. “The ER doc told us that Dr. Carlos David would be our neurosurgeon. “He raved about him,” said Lisa. “My husband looked him up and was very impressed. Knowing this eased our anxiety and shock of having just heard the words ‘brain tumor’ and ‘surgery.’”

Lisa was transported by ambulance to UNC Health in Chapel Hill and immediately taken to the neuro ICU. While in the ICU, Lisa and her husband met cerebrovascular and skull base neurosurgeon, Dr. Carlos David. “When I met him, I felt like I was in good hands,” said Lisa. “I felt very confident that he was more than capable of performing this surgery, and I was grateful to have such a highly-skilled surgeon available when I needed one.”

Dr. David told Lisa that she had a large skull base meningioma, a benign brain tumor, compressing her cerebellum and causing obstructive hydrocephalus. “The normal fluid paths were blocked by the huge tumor and resulted in a buildup of cerebrospinal fluid, raising her intracranial pressure,” explained Dr. David. “This was in addition to the tumor compressing the cerebellum itself resulting in coordination and balance issues.”

When Lisa was admitted to the hospital, she also tested positive for Covid, further complicating her hospital stay. “My husband had to suit up when he came in to see me,” Lisa said.

Despite needing to dress in personal protective equipment due to her Covid test results, Lisa noted that her care team still went out of their way to ensure that she had everything she needed. “They treated me as a person, not just as a patient,” said Lisa. “Even when they had to gown up, they were still very delightful. I really felt at peace the whole time that I was there.”

Lisa underwent a retrosigmoid craniotomy to remove the tumor. The complex surgery required meticulous microsurgery to separate the tumor from the brain and critical nerves for swallowing, hearing, and facial movement. In addition to the complexity from the size and structures involved around the tumor, Lisa had significant swelling in her brain from the obstruction of cerebral spinal fluid.

Three days after surgery, Lisa was discharged. She struggled with her balance, and used a walker for a couple of weeks while she recovered. “The pain was very mild,” recalled Lisa.

“It still amazes me that Dr. David was able to drill into my skull and remove this huge life-threatening brain tumor.”

After a few months, Lisa was feeling back to normal and was able to drive again. Looking back, Lisa says that she is still shocked that she had a brain tumor. “I remember sitting in the hospital thinking of all the things I was able to do, like learning to wake surf, unaware that a large tumor was growing in my brain,” said Lisa.

Lisa is back to doing everything she did before her brain tumor, without struggling with daily headaches. She goes in once a year for scans to make sure that her brain tumor does not grow back. Lisa is two years out from surgery and there are no signs of reoccurrence. “I’m so grateful for the top-notch care I received,” said Lisa. “It still amazes me that Dr. David was able to drill into my skull and remove this huge life-threatening brain tumor. I have my life back thanks to him. He’s my favorite neurosurgeon.”

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