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Daryoush Tavanaiepour, MD, named chair of neurosurgery

Daryoush Tavanaiepour, MD, is the new chair of neurosurgery at the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville. He served as the department’s interim chair since 2015.
Tavanaiepour presents during the grand opening celebration of the UF Health Comprehensive Spine Center – North.

Daryoush Tavanaiepour, MD, has been named chair of neurosurgery at the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville. He served as the department’s interim chair since 2015.

Tavanaiepour, an associate professor of neurosurgery, joined UF Health in 2012 and quickly established himself as one of the region’s premier neurosurgeons. His clinical specialties include functional and stereotactic neurosurgery, neurological surgery and skull base neurosurgery.

In 2016, Tavanaiepour guided the opening of the UF Health Skull Base Center – Jacksonville, which treats patients with skull base tumors and related conditions. He directs the center, which is the only one of its kind in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia.

In 2017, he oversaw the department’s launch of the UF Health Comprehensive Spine Center, located at UF Health North. Providers offer state-of-the-art care for the treatment of all types of spine disorders, from chronic back pain to complex conditions such as adult scoliosis. Other conditions treated include intervertebral disc disease, spinal tumors and spine deformities.

Tavanaiepour, who is also medical director of neuro-oncology and movement disorders at UF Health Jacksonville, continues to champion a multidisciplinary approach to patient care. That includes collaborating with specialists from other departments and services such as endocrinology, neurology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, otolaryngology, pathology, radiology and TraumaOne.

Meanwhile, he leads a department featuring fellowship-trained faculty members with expertise in the subspecialties of cerebral vascular and endovascular neurosurgery, complex and minimally invasive spine, functional and stereotactic neurosurgery, neuro-oncology and skull base neurosurgery, neuro-trauma and pediatric neurosurgery.

“Dr. Tavanaiepour is a remarkable neurosurgeon who always puts his patients first and conveys that focus to his colleagues and staff,” said Leon L. Haley Jr., MD, MHSA, dean of the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville and CEO of UF Health Jacksonville. “Ever since he stepped into the interim chair role in late 2015, the department has positioned itself as the top choice for neurosurgical services in the area. As chair, we anticipate he will help foster even more growth moving forward.”

Tavanaiepour earned his medical degree at the University of Otago School of Medicine in Dunedin, New Zealand. He completed an internship in surgery, a residency in neurological surgery and a fellowship in functional and stereotactic neurosurgery at Virginia Commonwealth University Health System in Richmond. He also completed a fellowship in skull base neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School in Boston. 

Featured Faculty

Daryoush Tavanaiepour, MBChB (MD)

Daryoush Tavanaiepour, MBChB (MD)

Associate Professor
Chair, Department of Neurosurgery; Interim Chief, Acute Care Neurosurgery; Medical Director, Neuro-Oncology; Medical Director, Movement Disorders; Clerkship Director