UPMC Medical Education Program

Program Identity & Fit

Pitt Neurosurgery is a flagship academic, quaternary-care program anchored across UPMC Presbyterian, Shadyside, Mercy, Children's Hospital, and the VA, performing over 9,000 major procedures annually system-wide and ranked among the nation's top clinical and academic training destinations. Research is structurally central: every resident dedicates 18-24 months to dedicated scholarship via one of two formal PGY-5/6 pathways (Clinical Investigator or Surgeon Scientist), with T32 fellowships, PhD opportunities, internal Copeland grant funding, and an expectation of four to six peer-reviewed publications plus national presentations. The program explicitly trains "future leaders" and academic neurosurgeons, with half of recent graduates entering full-time academic faculty roles, while still producing successful private-practice surgeons; distinctive strengths include high-volume complex cerebrovascular/bypass work, CAST-approved enfolded fellowships (spine, endovascular, stereotactic-functional), a dedicated skull base center, and a formal two-week PGY-1 bootcamp. The department values residents who can sustain heavy operative volume (1500+ cases by chief year) alongside rigorous, mentored, publication-driven scholarship.