Mischer Neuroscience Institute

Mischer Neuroscience Institute has a strong history of firsts:

• The first center to discover a genetic mutation linked to intracranial aneurysms.
• The first stroke program in Texas and the only one in the region to meet The Joint Commission's rigorous standards for Comprehensive Stroke Center certification. In 2018, the Stroke Center at Memorial Hermann-TMC became the first Comprehensive Stroke Center-Integrated System, a new certification created by The Joint Commission specifically for Memorial Hermann.
• Site of the first single-center clinical trial for recurrent medulloblastoma, ependymoma and atypical teratoid-rhabdoid tumors using the direct infusion of chemotherapy into the fourth ventricle; the first trial of infusion of 5-AZA into the fourth ventricle or resection cavity in children with recurrent posterior fossa ependymoma; and the first trial of combination intraventricular chemotherapy (methotrexate and etoposide) infusions into the fourth ventricle or resection cavity in children with recurrent posterior fossa brain tumors.
• The first neurosurgery center to offer all advanced modalities of treatment for complex lesions: expert microsurgery, interventional neuroradiology/endovascular surgery and Gamma Knife® radiosurgery.
• The first hospital in the south-central United States and one of only a few in the country offering intra-arterial chemotherapy for retinoblastoma, the most modern treatment for the disease.
• The first in Texas to use robotic stereoencephalography (SEEG) for 3-D mapping of epileptic seizures.
• The first in Houston to offer amyloid imaging, a diagnostic tool that enables physicians to diagnose Alzheimer's disease.
• The North American leader in studies of primary progressive multiple sclerosis and the most active center in Texas in the conduct of organized clinical trials of new therapies for MS.
• The first facility in Houston and one of the first in the United States to test the clot- dissolving drug tPA for acute stroke.
• One of the first centers in the nation to offer MR-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (MRgLITT) using the Visualase™ system for the treatment of well-delineated focal epilepsies.
• The first center in the region to use the NeuroPace® RNS® System, an FDA-approved technique for responsive neurostimulation to treat adults with medication-resistant epilepsy.
• The first in the region to inject human central nervous system stem cells into the spines of spinal cord injury patients.

Through its affiliation with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, Mischer Neuroscience Institute offers both neurosurgery and neurology residencies and fellowships. Residents and fellows benefit from participation in cutting-edge research and caring for patients with a broad range of neurological disorders in the nation's largest medical center.

The Neurosurgery Residency Program is a seven-year program that accepts three PGY residents per year. Residents are individually mentored, evaluated and promoted, and are also regularly asked to evaluate the program and participate in its continual improvement. The program offers one of the largest neurosurgical caseloads in the United States, with more than 4,600 surgical cases per year. Neurosurgical fellowships include cerebrovascular/skull base, neurocritical care, neuroendovascular surgery, stroke and interventional stroke track, multiple sclerosis, movement disorders, neuro-oncology, neuromuscular, epilepsy and spinal and peripheral nerve surgery.

The Department of Neurology provides medical education opportunities in clinical neurology at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels of training. The Neurology Residency Training Program prepares physicians for the independent practice of neurology. Neurological fellowships are available in clinical neurophysiology (EEG, EEG/video monitoring, EMG, and evoked potentials), vascular neurology, epilepsy, movement disorders, multiple sclerosis/neurovirology, neuroimmunology and neuropsychology.

Physicians affiliated with Mischer Neuroscience Institute and McGovern Medical School are engaged in research program focused on the mechanisms, treatment and cure of neurological disease and injury. Research is supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Vivian L. Smith Foundation for Neurologic Disease, the American Stroke Association and other granting agencies. Investigations cover all major areas of neurological disease.

The UTHealth Telemedicine Program joins a network of hospitals working together to deliver comprehensive neurological and neurosurgical care to communities across Texas. At the Mischer Neuroscience Institute hub, physicians provide 24/7 stroke consultations, as well as consults for other conditions, for hospitals in the network.

UTHealth Neurosciences outpatient clinics are located both in the Texas Medical Center and throughout the Greater Houston area. The clinics provide 24/7 neuroscience coverage to the city of Houston and outlying suburbs and communities. Clinics are located in the Texas Medical Center, Cypress, Houston's Greater Heights, Humble, Katy, Memorial City, Pearland, Southeast Houston, Southwest Houston and Sugar Land.

Neurosurgeon Dong Kim[2] is director of Mischer Neuroscience Institute and professor and chair of the Vivian L. Smith Department of Neurosurgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth. Kim is a graduate of Stanford University and the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine (UCSF). His internship at Harvard University was followed by residency at UCSF and fellowship in cerebrovascular surgery and skull base tumors at the University of Florida. He has been honored with numerous awards and was named to U.S. News & World Report Top Doctors, America's Best Doctors, America's Top Surgeons, Marquis Who's Who and Who's Who in America. He is the recipient of grants from the National Institutes of Health and the American Stroke Association and has authored studies published in peer-reviewed journals.

Louise McCullough[3] is co-director of Mischer Neuroscience Institute. McCullough received her Bachelor of Arts in psychology, Master of Arts in experimental psychology and PhD in neuroscience at the University of Connecticut at Storrs. After receiving her medical degree at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine in Farmington, she completed neurology training at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, where she was chief neurology resident. She completed a fellowship in cerebrovascular disease/neurology and anesthesiology at the same institution. McCullough is a physician-scientist with a longstanding interest in vascular physiology, neuro-inflammation, cerebrovascular disease, sex differences in stroke and aging. A practicing vascular neurologist, she has clinical expertise in stroke prevention, acute stroke treatment, sex differences in stroke and outcome assessment. Recognized with numerous awards during her clinical and academic career and named to Best Doctors® continuously since 2007, she is professor and chair of the Department of Neurology and heads the Cerebrovascular Research Group at McGovern Medical School.