Thank you for your interest in the Neurosurgery Residency at the University of Texas Medical Branch. Our mission is to train outstanding, compassionate neurosurgeons who pair technical excellence with intellectual curiosity, teamwork, and a deep commitment to patients. Our training program is based in Galveston and South Houston, offering a steady mix of high-acuity and elective experiences.
Our home base is the Jennie Sealy Hospital in Galveston, a level one trauma center and high-acuity tertiary care center providing services to patients from across the Gulf Coast. Hospital Galveston, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) hospital located on the UTMB campus in Galveston, provides acute neurosurgical care to patients within the TDCJ across the state of Texas. UTMB Clear Lake provides a complementary setting in South Houston with robust elective subspecialty practices. Across these sites, residents work in a collegial environment with close faculty mentorship allowing our residents to build sound operative judgment across spine, vascular, neuro-oncology, functional, peripheral nerve and trauma subspecialties.
In addition to the rich clinical experiences at UTMB, PGY-2 residents spend the year in Houston rotating in six-month blocks at the MD Anderson Cancer Center and Texas Children’s Hospital, two internationally recognized subspecialty hospitals in the Texas Medical Center. This dedicated year broadens exposure to complex neuro-oncology, skull base, and cranial/spine oncology at MD Anderson, and to high-volume, multidisciplinary subspecialty pediatric neurosurgery at Texas Children’s Hospital. The result is early, high-impact experience that complements and accelerates your UTMB training.
A PGY-4 research year gives residents time and infrastructure to pursue basic, translational, or clinical projects to foster intellectual curiosity. Residents have access to labs within the Department of Neurosurgery or within UTMB’s expanding neuroscience ecosystem anchored by the Moody Brain Health Institute. Residents also have the option of pursuing funded external research experiences in this year. The goal is momentum: high-impact research experiences that translate into concrete deliverables, grants, and manuscripts that carry into your career.
Residents serve as chief resident during the PGY-6 year and transition toward independent practice during PGY-7. The PGY-7 elective/junior-attending year allows residents to tailor their training for the career path of their choice, choosing between an enfolded subspecialty fellowship or a transition-to-practice “junior faculty” role.
We care deeply about how you train. We choose residents who work hard, seek intellectual and academic excellence, elevate their teammates, communicate clearly, and welcome feedback. Explore our site, learn about our residents and faculty, and reach out with questions. We look forward to helping you become not just an excellent neurosurgeon, but the kind of colleague people are proud to stand next to.
Warmly,
Patrick J. Karas, MD
Program Director Neurosurgery Residency
Director of Epilepsy & Functional Neurosurgery
Kliefoth Family Professorship of Neurosurgery