Department of Neurosurgery

Ziya L. Gokaslan, MD, FAANS, FACS, is the Julius Stoll, MD Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. He serves as the Neurosurgeon-in-Chief at Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital. Dr. Gokaslan is also the Clinical Director of the Norman Prince Neurosciences Institute. Furthermore, he leads the Norman Prince Spine Institute at Brown University Health and is the Director of the Complex Spinal Surgery Fellowship at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. 

Dr. Gokaslan earned his medical degree from the University of Istanbul in Turkey. He completed an internship in general surgery, a fellowship in neurotraumatology, a residency in neurosurgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and a fellowship in clinical spinal surgery at New York University Medical Center. He then returned to Houston and joined the faculty at UT MD Anderson Cancer where he later established the Spinal Oncology Program and became its first Director and Deputy Chair in the Department of Neurosurgery. Dr. Gokaslan was then recruited to Department of Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins as Donlin M. Long Professor, Professor of Neurosurgery, Orthopaedic Surgery and Oncology, Vice – Chair and the Director of Spinal Surgery Program where he served on the faculty for 13 years and established one of the most respected academic spine programs before joining The Warren Alpert School of Brown University and Brown University Health.

In 2025, Johns Hopkins University established the Ziya L. Gokaslan, MD Endowed Professorship in Neurosurgery—the highest form of recognition for a faculty member’s achievements. This prestigious honor celebrates Dr. Gokaslan’s enduring legacy and his transformative contributions to the spine program in clinical care, research, and education, as well as his pioneering work in spinal oncology. One of his former trainees, Dr. Ali Bydon, a distinguished spine surgeon at Johns Hopkins, was named the inaugural recipient of the Ziya L. Gokaslan, MD Endowed Professorship in Neurosurgery. A recording of the chair dedication ceremony can be viewed Here and photos of the ceremony can be viewed Here.

Dr. Gokaslan is also a recipient of numerous other prestigious awards, including the Leon Wiltse Award to recognize his excellence in leadership and clinical research in spine care by North American Spine Society (NASS), and is also an active member of many professional societies, including the American Academy of Neurosurgeons, World Academy of Neurosurgeons, and The Society of Neurological Surgeons. He also served as Chairman of AANS/CNS Joint Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves. Furthermore, he currently serves on the Board of Directors of Brown University Health. His CV contains more than 500 peer reviewed publications, six books and numerous book chapters. His practice focuses on complex spinal reconstruction and radical surgical treatment of both primary and metastatic spinal tumors, sacral neoplasms, and spinal cord tumors, and he is regarded as the World’s foremost expert in these areas (spinal neoplasms and spinal cord neoplasms).

Chief of Neurosurgery, Rhode Island and The Miriam Hospital
Norman Prince Spine Institute

Degrees
1977-1983
M.D., Istanbul Faculty of Medicine
University of Istanbul, Turkey

Residencies
1985-1986
Internship, General Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine Houston, TX

1988-1993
Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

Fellowships
1984-1985
Post-Doctoral Clinical Research Fellow
Department of Psychiatry, Sleep Disorders & Research Center
Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

1986-1988
Clinical Research Fellow, Neurotraumatology
Department of Neurosurgery
Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

1993-1994
Clinical Spinal Surgery, New York University Medical Center, New York, NY

Board Certifications
American Board of Neurological Surgery, 1997

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Book Publications