Thank you for visiting the website of the Department of Neurosurgery, Tohoku University.
My name is Hidenori Endo, the head of this department, appointed as of April 2023. On behalf of the Department of Neurosurgery, I would like to extend my greetings.

Our department was established in 1964 when its first professor, Dr. Jiro Suzuki, and his colleagues started providing medical treatment at Tohoku University Hospital Nagamachi Branch (now referred to as Konan Hospital). Upon the closure of the Nagamachi Branch Hospital, we moved to the Seiryo area in 1979, and Dr. Takashi Yoshimoto was later appointed as the second department head in 1988. A department specializing in Neuroendovascular therapy was established as an independent body in the same year.

In November 2002, the second department head, Dr. Takashi Yoshimoto, became the President of Tohoku University, and in May 2003, Dr. Teiji Tominaga followed as the third department head.
In 2018, The Department of Neurosurgical Engineering and Translational Neuroscience—a research group specializing in basic and clinical research related to neurosurgery—was established as another independent department, with Dr. Kuniyasu Niizuma appointed as its head professor.

Upon the retirement of Dr. Teiji Tominaga, I—Hidenori Endo—have been appointed as the fourth department head in April 2023 until the present moment.

Ever since the establishment of our department, our main focuses have been as follows:
(1) Clinical activities focusing on providing highly advanced medical care in the field of neurosurgery.
(2) Educational activities, covering both specialized medical education and university-wide general education.
(3) Medical Research activities including basic and clinical research.

We continue to make ceaseless efforts to nurture leading neurosurgeons, not only capable of diagnosis and treatment, but also able equipped with advanced medical skills and knowledge in their expertise. We also strive to rear world-class researchers in the fields of neurosurgery and neuroscience, and to foster educational leaders who will mentor the next generation of medical educators. In addition, we have been promoting study-abroad among graduate students and medical staff, as well as the acceptance of international students from overseas to our department in order to enrich our international human resources.

Ever since the days of the first Department Head, Dr. Jiro Suzuki, our department has traditionally been based on the principle of "patient-first”. All members of the medical staff are certified as specialists in neurosurgery by the Japanese Neurosurgical Association, and hold a Ph.D. degree. With this as the cornerstone of our department's educational policy for young doctors, we have been striving to develop their expertise while at the same time broadening their horizons and improving their qualifications as clinicians through basic and clinical research.

Today, graduates of our department continue to play an active role in neurosurgery at many regional hospitals, mainly in the Tohoku region. With that said, we are fully intent on further developing the clinical, research, and educational activities described above and to foster the next generations of highly skilled neurosurgeons, researchers, and educators.


Hidenori Endo, MD, PhD
Professor and Chair
Department of Neurosurgery
Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan