Prof. Dr. Harith Akram

Harith Akram MBChB PhD FRCS (Neuro.Surg)

Mr Akram is a consultant neurosurgeon at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (UCLH) and the Unit of Functional Neurosurgery (UCL) in Queen Square. He holds the Norman Dott Gold Medal for the highest mark in the FRCS exam, and the Cutlers’ Surgical Prize (Royal College of Surgeons) for original innovation in the design or application of surgical instruments. He completed clinical fellowships at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in Queen Square (UCLH), London and at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona and was the recipient of the Marjorie Newsome Fellowship (Barrow Foundation, 2013).

Mr Akram is a regularly invited keynote speaker and lecturer at various national and international neurological and neurosurgical conferences. He is the Editor-in-chief of the World Society of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery (WSSFN) newsletter. His areas of expertise and scope of practice include Deep brain stimulation (DBS) and stereotactic ablative surgery for movement disorders, cluster headache and other autonomic cephalalgias, refractory mental disorders (Tourette’s syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and major depression), and medically refractory diffuse pain.

Mr Akram’s research interests are in advanced computational neuroimaging and connectomic neurosurgery. His PhD degree on ‘The Application of Advanced MRI connectivity in Functional Neurosurgery', awarded by UCL, received the Queen Square Symposium PhD Prize (2018). He has ongoing work to develop translational methods in MRI brain connectivity, in addition to his involvement in various clinical trials to improve the safety and efficacy of existing therapies, and explore new and emerging applications. Mr Akram has over 100 published articles and book chapters.