New faculty spotlight: Josue Avecillas-Chasin, MD, PhD

Josue Avecillas-Chasin, MD, PhD, is a new faculty member with UNMC.

• Name: Josue Avecillas-Chasin, MD, PhD
• Hometown: Guayaquil, Ecuador
• Title and department: Assistant professor, UNMC Department of Neurosurgery, and neurological surgery physician, Nebraska Medicine

Previous positions:

• Medical school at Universidad de Guayaquil, Ecuador
• Residency in neurosurgery at Universidad de Madrid, Spain
• Fellowship in stereotactic and functional neurosurgery, Vancouver General Hospital, Canada
• Fellowship in neurosurgical oncology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Ohio
• Fellowship in stereotactic and functional neurosurgery, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York

Professional and medical interests: 

• Movement disorders
• Chronic pain
• Epilepsy
• Brain tumors
• Neuromodulation techniques
• Radiosurgery
• Epilepsy surgery 

Why did you choose neurological surgery? My current field is a mix of my two passions — brain and computers. During medical school, I fell in love with the anatomy of the brain and its complexity. While doing my PhD and specialized training, I became interested in studying the circuits and networks in the brain and how they work for human behavior. I had prior knowledge in computing and basic coding, and I started to study the brain using advanced imaging techniques. Now, I am using these techniques to treat my patients in a personalized manner.

Memberships: 

• World Society of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery
• American Society of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery
• European Society of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery
• Congress of Neurological Surgeons Tumor Section
• North American Neuromodulation Society
• International Neuromodulation Society
• Functional Neurosurgery Board
• European Association of Neurosurgical Societies 

Three things people don’t know about me:

• I am the first doctor in the family.
• I used to work in music production, musical arrangements and live performance.
• I used to love video games. Once I spent almost 15 hours straight playing until I passed all the levels of the game.

Clinic location: Neurosurgery and Pain Clinic, Clarkson Doctor's Building North

For appointments and referrals: 402-836-9900