Neurosurgery Residency Program

We accept foreign graduates who are highly qualified and have competitive USMLE scores. Please see the Frequently Asked Questions section for more information regarding requirements for IMGs.

For more information, visit:

• http://www.usmle.org
• http://www.ecfmg.org

The Tufts Medical Center Neurosurgery Program is a seven-year program and includes:

• Fifty-one months of clinical neurosurgery
• Twelve months of research or enfolded fellowship
• Six months of elective time (neuropathology, neuroradiology, neuro-opthalmology)
• Three months of radiosurgery and interventional neurosurgery and outpatient clinics
• Residents have two off-site rotations: 3months of functional and deep brain simulation at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts and six months of dedicated pediatric neurosurgery at Boston Children's Hospital

Physician extenders (eight physician assistants) help with inpatient discharge paperwork, progress notes, inpatient and ED consults and day-to-day patient management. Four nurse practitioners and one physician assistant work in the outpatient clinic and also help with notes, phone calls and outpatient patient management.

Residents are given progressive clinical responsibility both in and out of the operating room. Mentors are assigned in the research areas to facilitate residents’ research goals. The resident may develop his or her own project or participate in ongoing projects. The medical school core neuroscience group and the basic scientists in the neurosurgery department serve as teachers and consultants for this research.

The Department of Neurosurgery at Tufts Medical Center has hosted the Annual SNS Intern Boot Camp Fundamental Skills Course since its inaugural year 2010.

This course, sponsored by the Society of Neurological Surgeons (SNS), the oldest neurosurgical society in the world, brings together approximately thirty interns from nineteen neurosurgical residency programs from the northeast region for two days of lectures and hands-on procedural and simulation sessions.

The course curriculum includes lectures given by Tufts faculty and faculty from other institutions including Yale, Rutgers, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Montefiore Medical Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Lahey Hospital and Columbia University.

The lectures and hands-on procedural and simulation sessions introduce important principles of neurosurgical care to entering PGY-1 residents. The Department of Neurosurgery at Tufts Medical Center is honored to be the annual host of this unique educational experience for incoming neurosurgery residents of the Northeast region.

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About the Department of Neurosurgery

The Department of Neurosurgery has recently completed a renovation and expansion program supported by the Cam Neely Foundation. The hospital is located in the center of a rapidly changing area of Boston. The center abuts the theater district and Chinatown near the financial district. The medical center campus is adjacent to the Jean Mayer Regional Nutrition Center and the Tufts Dental School. The Tufts Medical School is also in the same campus facilitating research and interdisciplinary conferences.

Graduate Medical Education (GME) stipend levels for Academic Year 2023 – 2024

As of July 1, 2023

PGY1 $75,423.00
PGY2 $78,494.00
PGY3 $81,700.00
PGY4 $85,635.00
PGY5 $90,301.00
PGY6 $94,878.00
PGY7 $98,927.00

Carl B. Heilman, MD
Title(s): Neurosurgeon-in-Chief and Chair, Department of Neurosurgery, Tufts Medical Center; Chair and Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine
Department(s): Neurosurgery
Appt. Phone: 617-636-5860
Fax #: 617-636-7587
Meningiomas, acoustic neuromas, skull base surgery, pituitary surgery, Chiari surgery

Jason M. Frerich, MD, MPH
Title(s): Neurosurgeon
Department(s): Neurosurgery, Spine Surgery Center
Appt. Phone: 617.636.8686
Fax #: 617.636.7587
Management of all spinal conditions, from the straightforward to the complex, and with the goal of providing compassionate care and the least aggressive treatment option for a particular condition.

James Kryzanski, MD
Title(s): Chief, Division of Epilepsy Surgery; Co-Chief, Division of Spine Surgery; Assistant Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine
Department(s): Neurosurgery
Appt. Phone: 617.636.8585
Fax #: 617.636.7587
Epilepsy neurosurgery, skull base surgery, pituitary surgery, neurovascular surgery, minimally invasive spine surgery, neurosurgical disorders in patients with achondroplasia, neurosurgical disorders in patients with Down syndrome

Adel M. Malek, MD, PhD
Title(s): Chief, Neurovascular Surgery; Director, Cerebrovascular & Endovascular Division Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine
Department(s): Neurosurgery
Appt. Phone: 617.636.8200
Fax #: 617.636.7587
Aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, dural fistulas, subarachnoid hemorrhage, intracranial atherosclerosis, arterial dissection

Ron I. Riesenburger, MD
Title(s): Director, Spine Center; Co-Chief, Division of Spinal Surgery; Neurosurgeon; Associate Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine
Department(s): Neurosurgery
Appt. Phone: 617.636.8484
Fax #: 617.636.7587
Minimally invasive spine surgery, spinal deformity and scoliosis, complex and reconstructive spine surgery, pinched nerves, sciatica, spinal stenosis, disc herniation, spondylolisthesis, spinal tumors, radiculopathy, and myelopathy

Marie Roguski, MD, MPH
Title(s): Neurosurgeon; Assistant Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine
Department(s): Neurosurgery
Appt. Phone: 617.636.5878
Fax #: 617.636.7587
Neurosurgical oncology, degenerative spinal disorders, brain and spinal tumors, including primary, metastatic, and benign conditions (glioma, metastasis, meningioma, schwannoma), degenerative spinal disorders, including myelopathy, herniated spinal discs, and lumbar stenosis, and their treatment with minimally invasive spinal surgery, spinal fusion, and microdiscectomy,

Mina Safain, MD
Title(s): Neurosurgeon; Assistant Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine
Department(s): Neurosurgery
Appt. Phone: 617.636.5860
Fax #: 617.636.7587
Pituitary tumors, brain tumors, meningiomas, minimally invasive spine surgery, complex and reconstructive spine surgery, spinal microsurgery, spinal trauma

Julian K. Wu, MD
Title(s): Associate Chairman, Neurosurgery; Chief, Neurosurgical Oncology; Neurosurgery Residency Program Director; Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine
Department(s): Neurosurgery
Appt. Phone: 617.636.4500
Fax #: 617.636.7587
Neuro-oncology, Gamma Knife radiosurgery, meningiomas, pituitary tumors, gliomas, brain metastasis, trigeminal neuralgia

Shane Burke, MD, MBA
Medical School: Tufts University School of Medicine
Undergrad: University of California, Irvine

Michael Yang, MD
Medical School: University of Colorado School of Medicine
Undergrad: University of Colorado

Jacob Kosarchuk, MD 
Medical School: Eastern Virginia Medical School of the Medical College of Hampton Roads 
Undergrad: University of California Santa Cruz

Alper Dincer, MD 
Medical School: Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine 
Undergrad: Bucknell University

John Herendeen, MD 
Medical School: Rutgers New Jersey Medical School 
Undergrad: Boston College

M. Harrison Snyder, MD 
Medical School: University of Virginia School of Medicine 
Undergrad: Brigham Young University

Anthony Yu, MD
Medical School: Tufts University School of Medicine
Undergrad: Case Western Reserve University

Scott Flynn
Medical School: Tufts University School of Medicine
Undergrad: Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

Omar Sorour
Medical School: University of Massachusetts Medical School
Undergrad: Harvard University

*= Tufts Medical Center Faculty