Emory University School of Medicine names Guy M. McKhann II chair of neurosurgery

ATLANTA — Guy M. McKhann II, MD, has been named chair of the Emory University School of Medicine Department of Neurosurgery, following a comprehensive national search. McKhann will assume the role Sept. 14, 2026.

McKhann succeeds Daniel Barrow, MD, who will retire later this year after leading the department for more than 30 years. Under Barrow’s leadership, the department helped shape the direction of neurosurgical care in metro Atlanta and established the region as a nationally recognized center for the treatment of neurological disorders.

“Dr. McKhann brings exceptional experience as a neurosurgeon, scientist and educator, and he is well prepared to build on department’s foundation while guiding it into its next chapter,” says Sandra L. Wong, MD, MS, dean of Emory University School of Medicine and chief academic officer for Emory Healthcare.

McKhann currently serves as the Helene and Johannes Huth Endowed Professor and vice chair of neurological surgery at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. He also serves as co-chief of the Stereotactic and Functional Division and co-chief of the Brain Tumor Division.

A nationally recognized leader in neurosurgery, McKhann’s clinical and technical expertise includes awake and asleep brain mapping; minimally invasive, computer-guided microneurosurgery; surgery for gliomas, brain metastases and meningiomas; epilepsy surgery; stereotactic laser ablation for tumors and epilepsy; neuroendoscopy and cerebrospinal fluid shunting; and Gamma Knife radiosurgery.

McKhann is also a translational neuroscientist. At Columbia, he directs the Epilepsy Neurophysiology Laboratory and collaborates with researchers studying human neurophysiology, brain tumor-related epilepsy and normal pressure hydrocephalus/Alzheimer’s disease. His basic and clinical research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, American Association of Neurological Surgeons and private foundations and organizations.

McKhann earned his undergraduate degree from Duke University and his medical degree from Yale School of Medicine. He completed residency training in neurological surgery at the University of Washington and trained at Atkinson Morley’s Hospital in Wimbledon, England.

At Emory, McKhann will guide the department’s continued growth in patient care, research and education for disorders of the brain, spine and nervous system.