Syed Faraz Kazim, MD, PhD, PGY-4

Hometown: Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan

Undergrad: State University of New York Downstate Medical Center/NYU Institute for Basic Research, New York, NY

Postdoctoral fellowship (Neuroscience): Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY

Interests/Hobbies: Stereotactic and functional neurosurgery, Epilepsy surgery, Spine, Neuro-oncology

Syed was born and raised in Pakistan. He was the recipient of President’s Talent Farming Scholarship from Government of Pakistan, and graduated from Aga Khan University School of Medicine, the premier institution for biomedical education in Southeast Asia. After medical school, he pursued a Ph.D. in Neurobiology in the Joint Program at State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center and NYS Institute for Basic Research in New York City. His thesis research focused on neural regeneration, synaptic repair and plasticity, and neural network excitability in neurodegenerative disorders. Later, he completed a postdoctoral research training in translational neuroscience and data science jointly at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and The Rockefeller University in New York City. Syed has published more than 130 peer-reviewed, PubMed-indexed, basic neuroscience and clinical neurosurgery research articles. He has presented in oral talks at prestigious meetings such as the Society for Neuroscience and the Congress for Neurological Surgery annual meetings and has more than 100 published conference abstracts. Syed is the recipient of multiple scientific research awards, including NIH training awards and Society for Neuroscience achievement awards. Syed is an ad hoc reviewer for more than 20 neuroscience and neurosurgery journals and is an Associate Editor of Frontiers in Surgery (Neurosurgery section). Syed was awarded lifetime membership of Sigma Xi, the scientific research society, for his academic research achievements. Syed joined the UNM Neurosurgery in July 2020. His clinical interests in neurosurgery include stereotactic and functional neurosurgery, epilepsy surgery, spine, and neurosurgical oncology.