Nicholas Bambakidis, MD

• Vice President and Director, Neurological Institute, University Hospitals
• Chair, Department of Neurological Surgery, UH Cleveland Medical Center
• The Harvey Huntington Brown, Jr., Professor and Chair in Neurological Surgery

Nicholas C. Bambakidis, MD, is board-certified in neurological surgery. His special interests include cerebrovascular surgery, cervical spine surgery, endovascular surgery and skull base surgery.

Dr. Bambakidis served as President of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons in 2022 and is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Society of Neurointerventional Surgery, and Society of Neurological Surgeons. He has authored or coauthored more than 100 articles, invited reviews, and editorials in peer-reviewed journals, and has contributed dozens of chapters to neurosurgical textbooks. He is the editor of four esteemed neurosurgical textbooks and a reviewer on six leading journals in neurosurgery.

He graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in physics from Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio. He earned his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, where he was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. Dr. Bambakidis served his neurosurgery residency at UH Cleveland Medical Center, followed by fellowships in spinal neurosurgery and skull base and cerebrovascular surgery at Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix.

After completing his fellowships, Dr. Bambakidis served as Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurosurgery at the University of Arizona School of Medicine and an attending neurosurgeon at Barrow Neurological Institute for three years. He came to UH Cleveland Medical Center in 2008 as a fellow in endovascular neurointerventional surgery and was named to the UH staff in 2011.

A dedicated researcher as well as a clinician, Dr. Bambakidis has led multicenter clinical trials related to advanced neurosurgical techniques and technology. He has lectured, served as Course Director, and delivered presentations at numerous national and international neurosurgery conferences, speaking on topics such as challenging neurosurgical cases, management of brain tumors, and new skull base surgery techniques.

Honors and Achievements

Basic Science Research Award, Ohio State Neurosurgical Association, 2004
Teacher of the Year, Barrow Neurological Institute, Division of Neurosurgery, 2007 – 2008
Teacher of the Year, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix, Ariz., 2007 – 2008
Anspach Research Award in Cerebral Protection/Cerebral Ischemia, 2009 – 2010
Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society
Congress of Neurological Surgeons 2018 Educator of the Year

Expertise

• Aneurysm
• Brain Trauma Surgery
• Cerebrovascular Surgery
• Cervical Spine Surgery
• Endovascular Surgery
• Neuro-Oncology
• Skull Base Surgery
• Spinal Cord Tumors
• Spine Surgery