Youssef Comair

Youssef G. Comair, MD. FRCSC.FAANS

Professor of Neurosurgery

University of Chicago Medicine

Youssef G. Comair, MD, is a world-renowned neurosurgeon who has pioneered awake craniotomy for intrinsic brain tumors and helped establish pediatric epilepsy surgery as a transformative treatment for catastrophic epilepsy of childhood. At the University of Chicago Medicine, he cares for adults and children with complex brain and nervous system conditions, specializing in brain tumors, epilepsy, pituitary and skull base tumors, and spinal cord tumors — particularly those involving eloquent and high-risk regions of the brain.

Dr. Comair is internationally recognized for advancing the integration of functional brain mapping into neurosurgical oncology and epilepsy surgery. His work focuses on maximizing tumor resection and seizure control while preserving speech, movement, cognition, and quality of life. Through awake craniotomy and sophisticated cortical and subcortical mapping techniques, he has contributed to a deeper understanding of brain organization while improving surgical outcomes for patients with complex and deep-seated lesions.

He received his medical degree from St. Joseph University in Beirut and completed his neurosurgical training and fellowship in brain tumor and functional neurosurgery at the Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, where he was awarded the prestigious Wilder Penfield and McNaughton Awards.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Comair has held major academic leadership roles at UCLA, the Cleveland Clinic, the American University of Beirut, Baylor College of Medicine, and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. At UCLA, he led pediatric epilepsy surgery and performed the first functional hemispherectomy in the United States. At the Cleveland Clinic, he further advanced epilepsy surgery as a defined subspecialty. At Johns Hopkins, he expanded programs in epilepsy and brain tumor surgery and was honored as Physician of the Year, Department of Neurosurgery Teacher of the Year, and Surgeon of the Year.

Dr. Comair has authored more than 120 peer-reviewed publications, two neurosurgical textbooks, and over 40 textbook chapters. He serves on the Board of Directors of the World Society of Functional and Stereotactic Neurosurgery and on the Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery Committee of the International League Against Epilepsy. In 2024, he was elected to the Editorial Board of the Journal of Neurosurgery: Case Lessons.

At the University of Chicago, Dr. Comair is committed to advancing multidisciplinary collaboration in epilepsy and neuro-oncology, expanding the frontiers of functional neurosurgery, and mentoring the next generation of neurosurgeon-scientists.