UAB boasts a highly competitive and sought-after neurosurgery residency program. This seven-year residency is dedicated to the clinical, surgical, research and professional development of residents.
In addition to providing superior technical training, the program is uniquely structured to the professional development of the residents, with the goal of creating leaders in the field of neurosurgery. Graduates of the program pursue fellowships, academic neurosurgical junior faculty positions and private practice opportunities throughout the country.
Current PGY-3 Neurosurgery Resident Dagoberto Estevez-Ordonez, M.D., is enrolled in the Neuroscience Theme Ph.D. within the UAB Department of Graduate Biomedical Sciences. Estevez, who was born and raised in Honduras, hopes one day to become an academic neurosurgeon and physician-scientist in the field.
“A doctorate will provide a good foundation for this path, as well as better enable me to secure a position in a major academic institution, like UAB, which prioritizes inquiry, and protects time for translational research in the future,” said Estevez. “Given my prior global health experiences, I am also specifically interested in building international collaborative networks focused on developing and training scientists in similar countries.”
Before joining the residency program, Estevez graduated from Brigham Young University and subsequently attended Vanderbilt School of Medicine, where he pursued an additional year of research studying cancer epidemiology and gastric cancer in the low-and-middle-income country setting. His neurosurgery interests include skull base, treatment of malignant and benign brain tumors and epilepsy.
This year, Estevez was named the Cornwell Family Clinical Scholar in recognition of his dedication to the field of academic neurosurgery. This means that the Cornwell fund, established by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Cornwell, will pay the expenses of his doctoral program.
Estevez has not been the only resident within the UAB Neurosurgery Residency program to pursue an advanced degree. In fact, over the last few years, four current and former residents have pursued advanced degrees during the residency path, and were supported by generous donor and departmental funding:
- 2019: Elizabeth N. Alford Kuhn – UAB Medicine Quality Academy (graduate certificate in healthcare quality and safety); Jackson Scholar, and current UAB Chief Resident
- 2017 – 2018: Christopher D. Shank – MBA; Worthen Scholar, and current Neurosurgeon in Fort Worth, Texas
- 2016 – 2017: Matthew C. Davis – MPH; Hugh Kaul Foundation Scholar, and currently practices at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, Florida
- 2015 – 2016: Kimberly Price Kicielinski – MSPH; Buchaltar Scholar, and current Assistant Professor, Medical University of South Carolina
“The pursuit of an advanced degree during residency showcases an unwitting dedication to the field of academic neurosurgery,” said James Markert, M.D., MPH, James Garber Galbraith Endowed Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery. “It is important to us as a department to continue to welcome residents into our program with these aspirations, and also to support them in every way that we can.”
If you would like to learn more about the UAB Neurosurgery Residency Program, we encourage you to visit this page.