June 1, 2026

 

 

Dear colleagues: 

 

After a comprehensive national search, I am pleased to announce that Guy M. McKhann II, MD, has been named Chair of the Emory University School of Medicine Department of Neurosurgery. Dr. McKhann assumes the role on September 14, 2026, succeeding Dr. Daniel Barrow, who will retire later this year. Dr. McKhann currently serves as Helene and Johannes Huth Endowed Professor and Vice Chair of Neurological Surgery at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and New York Presbyterian Hospital. He also serves as Co-Chief of the Stereotactic and Functional Division and Co-Chief of the Brain Tumor Division.

 

A globally recognized leader in neurosurgery, Dr. McKhann’s areas of technical and clinical expertise include awake and asleep brain mapping; minimally invasive, computer guided microneurosurgery; glioma, brain metastasis, and meningioma tumor surgeries; epilepsy surgery; stereotactic laser ablation for tumors and epilepsy; neuroendoscopy and cerebrospinal fluid shunting; and gamma knife radiosurgery.

 

Dr. McKhann also works as a translational neuroscientist. At Columbia, he directs the Epilepsy Neurophysiology Laboratory and collaborates with other laboratories studying human neurophysiology, brain tumor related epilepsy, and normal pressure hydrocephalus/Alzheimer’s Disease. His basic and clinical research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, and many private foundations and organizations.

 

Dr. McKhann earned an undergraduate degree from Duke University, completed medical school at Yale School of Medicine, and trained in neurological surgery at the University of Washington and Atkinson Morley’s Hospital in Wimbledon, England.

 

I want to thank Dr. Barrow for his tremendous leadership of the department for more than 30 years. He shaped the direction of neurosurgical care in metro Atlanta and helped establish the region as a nationally recognized center for exceptional care of neurological disorders. Dr. McKhann will build on that strong foundation, advancing the department’s excellence in patient care, research, and education while leading it into its next chapter.

 

Join me in welcoming Dr. McKhann to Emory School of Medicine.

 

My best,

 

Sandra

Sandra L. Wong, MD, MS 

Dean, Emory University School of Medicine 

Chief Academic Officer, Emory Healthcare