Michael T. Lawton, MD is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Barrow Neurological Institute, as well as its chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery and the Robert F. Spetzler Endowed Chair in Neurosciences. Additionally, he is the chief of vascular and skull base neurosurgery at Barrow, and he specializes in the surgical treatment of aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, arteriovenous fistulas, cavernous malformations, and cerebral revascularization, including carotid endarterectomy. As the leader of the largest cerebrovascular center in the country, he has experience in surgically treating more than 5,000 brain aneurysms and over 960 AVMs. He also practices skull base tumor surgery and the endovascular treatment of aneurysms.

Dr. Lawton co-directs and conducts his research at the Barrow Aneurysm and AVM Research Center (BAARC), a collaborative research group funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health that investigates the physiology of cerebral circulation and the pathophysiology of vascular malformations. His basic science investigations study the formation, underlying genetics, and rupture of brain AFVMs, as well as the hemodynamics, rupture, and computational modeling of brain aneurysms. His clinical investigations study the anatomy of microsurgical approaches to vascular lesions and the outcomes of aneurysm, AVM, and bypass surgery. He is the principle investigator of a NIH U54 grant and program director of the Brain Vascular Malformation Consortium (BVMC), a multicenter group studying malformations associated with Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia, cavernous malformations, and Sturge Weber Syndrome.

He has published over 700 peer-reviewed articles, over 90 book chapters, and 6 textbooks, including Seven AVMs: Tenets and Techniques for Resection, Seven Bypasses: Tenets and Techniques for Revascularization, and Seven Aneurysms: Tenets and Techniques for Clipping, which has won numerous awards and sold more copies than Yasargil’s Microneurosurgery. Dr. Lawton’s awards include the Young Neurosurgeon Award from the World Federation of Neurological Societies, the Harold Rosegay Teaching Award, the Diane Ralston Clinical and Basic Science Teaching Award, and an Impact Award as Exceptional Innovator from the Greater Phoenix Chamber (2019). He has given over 800 invited lectures nationally and internationally, including visiting professorships at over 50 neurosurgical institutions. He has been active in resident teaching, directing the CNS Anatomy Course for Senior Residents, co-directing the AANS Vascular Skills Course, and directing industry-sponsored anatomy courses. He sponsors an observership in vascular neurosurgery that has hosted more the 100 neurosurgeons and residents nationally and internationally. He co-founded Mission:BRAIN, a teaching mission to raise the level of neurosurgery practiced in developing countries, and has conducted 8 missions in Mexico, the Philippines, and Peru.

Clinical

Rabih G. Tawk, M.D., is a neurosurgeon, with subspecialty in cerebrovascular neurosurgery. His clinical practice focuses on the open surgical and endovascular treatment of complex cerebrovascular disorders, with an emphasis on functional outcomes. A primary interest lies in the treatment of patients with skull base tumors using minimally invasive and endoscopic approaches. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Tawk is active in research and education, providing mentorship to residents and fellows. He authors expert content and publishes in high-impact scientific journals. He is a peer reviewer for prominent peer-reviewed journals in the field of cerebrovascular neurosurgery. Dr. Tawk's focus is primarily on treatment of patients with the following disorders:

• Cerebral aneurysms
• Cerebral arteriovenous malformations
• Cavernous malformations
• Arteriovenous fistulae
• Pituitary tumors
• Moyamoya disease
• Skull base endoscopic surgery
• Spine arteriovenous malformations
• Stroke
• Carotid artery disease

Research

• Research focuses on cerebrovascular disorders and functional outcome
• Development of new techniques for cerebral revascularization
• Development of new endoscopic and microsurgical approaches for treatment of vascular and skull base lesions

Conditions treated

• Arteriovenous fistula
• Arteriovenous malformation
• Brain aneurysm
• Brain AVM
• Carotid artery disease
• Cavernous malformations
• Moyamoya disease
• Pituitary tumor
• Spinal arteriovenous malformation
• Stroke

Procedures performed

• EC-IC bypass
• Endoscopic procedure

Interests

• Cerebral aneurysms
• Cerebral arteriovenous malformations
• Cavernous malformations
• Arteriovenous fistulae
• Pituitary tumors
• Moyamoya disease
• Skull base endoscopic surgery
• Spine arteriovenous malformations
• Stroke
• Carotid artery disease

Dr. Ashish Kumar is an Endovascular Neurosurgeon at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Canada. Dr. Kumar's field of expertise is in Cerebrovascular and Endovascular surgery, with open cerebrovascular training at Fujita Health University, Nagoya, Japan, and fellowships at University of Toronto in Neurosurgery and Endovascular Neurosurgery at Sunnybrook and Saint Michael's Hospital respectively. He joined the Division of Neurosurgery as a Surgeon-teacher at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and has a clinical practice centred in open and endovascular care of patients with cerebrovascular diseases.

As a teacher, his main interest is to increase exposure and foster the interest of neurosurgical residents in endovascular neurosurgery through the development of a core curriculum in the specialty, simulation protocols for dual training and optimal cerebrovascular exposure during neurosurgical residency.

Dr. Hugo Andrade Barazarte obtained his medical degree at Universidad Centro-occidental Lisandro Alvarado, Barquisimeto – Venezuela in 2006. In 2012, he completed his training as neurosurgeon becoming staff of the University Hospital Antonio Maria Pineda, in Venezuela.

Dr. Andrade Barazarte joined in February 2013 the University of Helsinki, Neurosurgery department under the direction of Prof. Juha Hernesniemi as cerebrovascular/skull base fellow and PhD student.

After completing his fellowship in Helsinki, Dr. Andrade joined the Toronto Western Hospital as a cerebrovascular clinical fellow to expand his knowledge in vascular and skull base pathologies. In June 2016, Dr. Andrade Barazarte obtained his PhD at the University of Helsinki – Finland. Between 2016-2018, Dr. Andrade Barazarte worked as staff neurosurgeon at the Mannheim University Hospital in Germany. He is currently an Associated Professor at the Juha Hernesniemi International Center, Henan Provincial People's Hospital and co-director of the Moyamoya disease research center and treatment of the Henan Provincial People’s Hospital.

Joanna Schaafsma is a vascular neurologist and clinician investigator at the University of Toronto since 2018. After a Stroke internship in Paris, she completed her Neurology training and her PhD on brain aneurysms in the Netherlands, followed by a Stroke fellowship in Toronto. She focuses her work on decision making and medical imaging in cerebrovascular diseases.

Dr. da Costa received his MD from the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, in 1995 and finished his neurosurgical training in 2000, also in Brazil. He completed four years of fellowship training at the University of Toronto from 2004 to 2008, including 3 years of Cerebrovascular Surgery and Interventional Neuroradiology. He joined the Division of Neurosurgery as an Assistant Professor in September 2008. He currently holds the rank of Associate Professor and works at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, where he holds positions in the Division of Neurosurgery, the Division of Spine Surgery and is cross-appointed to the Department of Medical Imaging. He is the Medical Director of the Center for Neurovascular Intervention at Sunnybrook and current Head of the Division of Spine Surgery at Sunnybrook Health Sciences.

Dr. Krings studied medicine in Aachen, Germany and at Harvard Medical School in Boston. After residency training in Neuroradiology in Aachen with Prof. Armin Thron, he completed a neurointerventional fellowship with Professor Pierre Lasjaunias in Paris, France and subsequently joined the Neuroradiology division of the University of Toronto as a diagnostic and interventional Neuroradiologist in 2008. He is currently cross appointed to Radiology and Neurosurgery at UHN and as an interventional Neuroradiologist at the Hospital for Sick Children. He is a Full Professor of Radiology and Surgery, and Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiologist at the University Health Network, Mount Sinai and Women’s College Hospitals. He holds the David Braley and Nancy Gordon Chair in Interventional Neuroradiology at the University of Toronto and is the Director of the Interventional Neuroradiology Program at TWH.

Focusing his research efforts on Imaging and Treatment of Neurovascular Diseases, Dr. Krings has published more than 450 peer reviewed articles, and approximately 30 book chapters and four books on spinal, pediatric and interventional neuroradiology, and neurovascular anatomy.

His current research focusses on the prediction of brain bleeding from brain vascular malformations using a multidiscplinary approach, development of novel methods to treat these life changing events and estimating the relative effectiveness of treatments to determine the impact on Health Care. To this end he is working with a team of Neuro-imagers, Neurointerventionalists, Computational Scientists, Genetist Biologists and Epidemiologists within the Division of Neuroradiology.

Dr. Krings’s leadership in the field of Neuroradiology is bolstered by his distinguished grants and awards, including the Scientific Award of the European Society of Neuroradiology, the Lucien Appel Prize, and the Founders Award in Interventional Neuroradiology of the ESNR. For the development of the Neuroradiology Program in Toronto he won the Anderson Award of the Wightman-Berris Academy and was granted the Edward Lansdown Award for outstanding teaching in the Residency Program of the University of Toronto.

Dr. Agid is a Neuroradiologist at the Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network. She is an associate Professor of Radiology at the University of Toronto. In 1995 she graduated from the Hadassah Hebrew University medical school in Jerusalem, Israel. She completed her residency in radiology at the Hadassah medical center in Jerusalem. Her fellowship training in diagnostic and interventional Neuroradiology was at the University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 2001-2004 under the tutelage of Dr. Karel terBrugge.

Dr. Agid has published over 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals and presented her work in over 70 scientific meetings. In addition, she has been an invited speaker and a visiting professor in over 60 national and international conferences. She has organized 3 scientific meetings in Tel Aviv focusing on Neuro-Interventional treatments and served as a faculty and session moderator in 30 other scientific meetings. She serves as a reviewer for 24 peer reviewed medical journals and is on the editorial board of 3. Dr. Agid’s research focus is on the natural history, imaging and management of cerebrovascular diseases.

Currently Dr. Agid serves as the interim section head of Neurointervention in the Joint Department of Medical Imaging at UHN. She is the site supervisor of the U of T diagnostic fellowship program. Dr. Agid is a member of the executive and Endowment Committees of the World Federation of Interventional and Therapeutic Neuororadiology (WFITN) and Chair of the Educational and women’s sections of this organization. She created and is managing the Grant for “Interventional Neuroradiology Low and Lower-Middle Income Country Observership Program” for the WFITN. Dr. Agid serves as a member of the AFC (area of focused competence) Working Group in Neuro-intervention of the Royall College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Dr. Vitor Mendes Pereira is a neurosurgeon specialized in endovascular procedures to treat neurovascular diseases of the brain and spine, including Stroke, Brain Aneurysms, Arteriovenous Malformations, Vascular Causes of Pulsatile Tinnitus, Intracranial Hypertension, Dural Fistulas, Carotid and Intracranial Stenosis (Atherosclerotic Diseases) and percutaneous pain procedures in adult and pediatric patients. He completed a neurosurgery residency at the State University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and his clinical fellowship and master's degree in France (CHU Bicetre and Rothschild Foundation). From 2008-2014, Dr. Pereira worked as the Head of the Interventional Neuroradiology division and Privat-Docent at the University Hospital of Geneva, Switzerland. In 2014, he joined the University of Toronto as an Associate Professor and worked at the UHN/Toronto Western Hospital and Hospital for Sick Children. In April/2021, Dr. Pereira joins the Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery at St Michael's Hospital as the Director of Endovascular Research and Innovation. He is currently a Professor at UofT, and he holds the Schroeder Chair in Advanced Neurovascular Interventions. Prof Pereira is a pioneer in stent retrievers use in acute stroke and perhaps holds the most extensive experience with flow diverters interventions worldwide. He is interested in diagnosing and treating intracranial venous diseases, including idiopathic intracranial hypertension and pulsatile tinnitus. He is involved in many research and innovative translational projects, and, most recently, he performed the world's first robotic neurovascular intervention. He plans to advance the possibility of remote endovascular treatments in the future. He is the lead scientist of the RADIS lab, which focuses on studying innovative technologies and their potential applications to vascular neurosurgery, including computational fluid dynamics, dynamic diagnostic imaging, genetics, and molecular biology. Artificial Intelligence and Robotics are two of the most profound technological advances of the last decade. This lab focuses on leveraging these technologies to improve the outcomes of patients with neurovascular diseases. Dr. Pereira is engaged in education in the field of endovascular neurosurgery. He organizes advanced training in new techniques and participates in courses and workshops worldwide, teaching cerebral and spinal vascular anatomy, imaging, and advanced endovascular treatments. He has contributed over 270 publications to this evolving and dynamic field.

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