Meet our Chair
Reid C. Thompson, MD, is the William F. Meacham Professor and Chairman of Neurological Surgery. Dr. Thompson received his undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland and his doctoral degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. Dr. Thompson completed the Halsted Internship in General Surgery and Residency in Neurological Surgery between 1989 and 1995 at Johns Hopkins, followed by one year of service there as Advanced Clinical Instructor. He then completed a one-year fellowship in Cerebrovascular Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Dr. Thompson has been with Vanderbilt since 2002, and he was appointed as Chairman of the Vanderbilt Neurosurgery Department in 2010.
Dr. Thompson is actively involved in neuro-oncology research and is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, and serves on the Joint Section of Cerebrovascular Surgery for both organizations.
Program Director
Rohan Chitale, MD, is the Neurosurgery Residency Program Director and an Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, with a specialty in open cerebrovascular and endovascular neurosurgery.
Dr. Chitale received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania where he graduated magna cum laude. He received his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha. He completed his neurosurgery residency and endovascular neurosurgery fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. His areas of clinical expertise include cerebral aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, stroke, fistulas, cavernomas, intracerebral hemorrhage and other neurovascular disorders of the brain and spine. His research interests include robotics and imaging applications in neurovascular diseases, as well as clinical outcomes research.
Dr. Chitale is dedicated to resident education. He is committed to the guidance and mentorship of trainees through their neurosurgical residency and also through the department’s CAST-approved neurovascular fellowship.
Associate Program Director
Michael Dewan, MD, is an Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery and is board-certified by both the American Board of Neurological Surgery and the American Board of Pediatric Neurosurgery. He completed his residency in Neurological Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN. Before returning to Nashville to join as Faculty, he served as Global Neurosurgery Fellow at Boston Children's Hospital at Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA and as Pediatric Neurosurgery Chief Fellow at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario. Dr. Dewan’s clinical interests include brain and spinal tumors, vascular neurosurgery, and congenital neurosurgery.
Dr. Dewan received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN. He earned his MD from the Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT and completed his residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN. He also received a degree as Master of Science in Clinical Investigation from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
Inspired by the younger generation of medical students and residents, Dr. Dewan is committed to the mentorship of neurosurgical trainees throughout their surgical and professional development.
Associate Program Director
Scott Zuckerman, MD, is a board-certified neurosurgeon and Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery and Orthopaedic Surgery.
He serves as the Associate Program Director of the Neurosurgery Residency. He is also the Co-Director of the Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center and Vanderbilt Spine Outcomes Lab. His clinical interests include the surgical treatment of all spinal disorders, including and adult spinal deformity, scoliosis, degenerative spine disease, primary and metastatic spinal tumors, spinal trauma and sport-related spine injuries. His practice also includes the treatment of sport-related concussion.
Dr. Zuckerman earned his bachelor of science degree from Cornell University, attended Vanderbilt University for medical school and residency, and completed an orthopedic spine fellowship at Columbia.
Dr. Zuckerman is dedicated to training all Vanderbilt neurosurgery residents in the areas of surgery, research and career planning. He helps mentor residents focusing particularly on spine in their elective years.
Program Administrator
Stacy Reynolds started her Graduate Medical Education career at VUMC in 2023. Stacy enjoys the fast pace and challenges of working with surgical residency and fellowship programs. She enjoys watching the residents grow during their years of training and building relationships with residents and faculty to ensure success.