Issam Awad, MD

  • John Harper Seeley Professor of Neurological Sciences of Neurological Surgery
    Professor of Neurology
    Professor of Neuroscience Institute
    Committee on Neurobiology
  • Clinical Interests: Arteriovenous Malformations, Carotid Artery Surgery, Carotid Endarterectomy, Cavernous Angiomas, Cerebral Aneurysms, Cerebral Vascular Malformations, Chiari Malformation, Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia HHT, Neurovascular Surgery, Skull Base Tumors, Stereotactic Radiosurgery, Stroke
  • Websites: Research Network Profile
  • Contact: iawad@uchicago.edu
  • Graduate Programs: Neurobiology, UChicago Biosciences, PhD Program in Neurobiology

Awad was recruited in 2010 to lead the Neurovascular Surgery Program at the University of Chicago Medicine, and is currently tenured in the Biological Sciences Division. He is the John Harper Seeley Professor of Neurological Sciences and Professor of Neurological Surgery, Neurology, the Grossman Institute of Neuroscience, Quantitative Biology and Human Behavior, and the (PhD granting) Committee on Neurobiology. He is a Senior Faculty Scholar at the Bucksbaum Institute for Clinical Excellence and directs the Safadi Program of Excellence in Clinical and Translational Neurosciences. Dr Awad is active in numerous professional and learned societies. He has served on the Executive Committee of the American Stroke Association, and on the Board of Governors of the American College of Surgeons. He was the Chairman of the Joint Cerebrovascular Section of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, he has directed the Annual Course on Research Update in Neuroscience for Neurosurgeons, and he served as the 51st President of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. Dr Awad is the Founding past-President of the World Association of Lebanese Neurosurgeons, and the Founding Chairman of Scientific Advisory Board of the patient advocacy group Angioma Alliance.



Dr Awad has authored over 350 scientific papers and book chapters, and edited twelve books dealing with cerebrovascular surgery and other aspects of neurological surgery. He has presented over 500 papers and lectures at major meetings and symposia, has been a visiting professor at numerous institutions in the United States and abroad, was recognized among America’s Best Doctors, Best Teachers, and is the recipient of the Bucy Award for Excellence in Neurosurgical Education, the Arnold Award for Mentoring at Pritzker School of Medicine, and numerous other honors. Dr Awad has made numerous scientific contributions including the characterization of subcortical ischemic lesions in the aged, advances in the understanding of the natural history and biologic behavior of vascular malformations of the brain, numerous technical advances in neurovascular and epilepsy surgery, and is a recognized expert in the treatment of neurovascular disease, hemorrhagic stroke and neurosurgical critical care. His research has been cited by other researchers more than 79,000 times (H-index 91). Current research focuses on molecular mechanisms, biomarkers and therapeutic targets in cavernous angiomas (cerebral vascular malformations), the pathobiology of brain hemorrhage, and minimally invasive techniques for treating hemorrhagic stroke.



Dr. Awad's research has been funded continuously from the National Institutes of Health since 1998, including a prestigious midcareer development grant in patient-oriented research (2000-2005), and current active R01, P01 and U01 funding through 2025. From 2016 to 2020, he served on the United States National Advisory Council for Neurological Disorders and Stroke. In 2019, he was elected to the Association of American Physicians.





www.issamawad.com

www.uchicagomedicine.org/ccm

www.uchicagomedicine.org/hht

http://safadiprogram.uchicago.edu

Barrow Neurological Institute
AZ
Neurovascular surgery fellowship

Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
Scotland
Neurotraumatology fellowship

Cleveland Clinic
OH
Neurosurgical residency

Loma Linda University
CA
MD

Loma Linda University
CA
MS

Pathologic Features of Brain Hemorrhage After Radiation Treatment: Case Series with Somatic Mutation Analysis.
Pathologic Features of Brain Hemorrhage After Radiation Treatment: Case Series with Somatic Mutation Analysis. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis. 2024 Mar 27; 107699.
PMID: 38552890

Antithrombotic Therapy in Cerebral Cavernous Malformations: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and Network Meta-Analysis.
Antithrombotic Therapy in Cerebral Cavernous Malformations: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and Network Meta-Analysis. J Am Heart Assoc. 2024 Mar 19; 13(6):e032910.
PMID: 38471833

Association Between Hematoma Volume and Risk of Subsequent Ischemic Stroke: A MISTIE III and ATACH-2 Analysis.
Association Between Hematoma Volume and Risk of Subsequent Ischemic Stroke: A MISTIE III and ATACH-2 Analysis. Stroke. 2024 Mar; 55(3):541-547.
PMID: 38299346

Transcriptomic signatures of individual cell types in cerebral cavernous malformation.
Transcriptomic signatures of individual cell types in cerebral cavernous malformation. Cell Commun Signal. 2024 01 09; 22(1):23.
PMID: 38195510

Role of Rho-Associated Kinase in the Pathophysiology of Cerebral Cavernous Malformations.
Role of Rho-Associated Kinase in the Pathophysiology of Cerebral Cavernous Malformations. Neurol Genet. 2024 Feb; 10(1):e200121.
PMID: 38179414

Trial Readiness of Cavernous Malformations With Symptomatic Hemorrhage, Part I: Event Rates and Clinical Outcome.
Trial Readiness of Cavernous Malformations With Symptomatic Hemorrhage, Part I: Event Rates and Clinical Outcome. Stroke. 2024 01; 55(1):22-30.
PMID: 38134268

Trial Readiness of Cavernous Malformations With Symptomatic Hemorrhage, Part II: Biomarkers and Trial Modeling.
Trial Readiness of Cavernous Malformations With Symptomatic Hemorrhage, Part II: Biomarkers and Trial Modeling. Stroke. 2024 01; 55(1):31-39.
PMID: 38134265

Mechanistic Evaluation of Diffusion Weighted Hyperintense Lesions After Large Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage: A Subgroup Analysis of MISTIE III.
Mechanistic Evaluation of Diffusion Weighted Hyperintense Lesions After Large Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage: A Subgroup Analysis of MISTIE III. Neurocrit Care. 2023 Dec 01.
PMID: 38040993

Cerebral small vessel disease modifies outcomes after minimally invasive surgery for intracerebral haemorrhage.
Cerebral small vessel disease modifies outcomes after minimally invasive surgery for intracerebral haemorrhage. Stroke Vasc Neurol. 2023 Nov 10.
PMID: 37949482

Single-nucleus DNA sequencing reveals hidden somatic loss-of-heterozygosity in Cerebral Cavernous Malformations.
Single-nucleus DNA sequencing reveals hidden somatic loss-of-heterozygosity in Cerebral Cavernous Malformations. Nat Commun. 2023 11 02; 14(1):7009.
PMID: 37919320

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