Dr. Tadanori Tomita -Professor and Vice-Chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois. He is a Yeager Professor and Chairman of the Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery and FoundingDirector of the Falk Brain Tumor Center at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Illinois. His main research interest is pediatric neurosurgery with particular emphasis on pediatric brain tumors and congenital Central Nervous Systemmalformationsincluding neural tube defects, craniofacial anomaly and hydrocephalus. He completed his residency training at Kobe University Hospital in Japan, Northwestern University McGaw Medical Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, NY. He has been invited as the official guest in 52 national and international societies and post-graduate courses, and 18 visiting professorships. He has served on the editorial board of severalprofessional journals, and is an active member on multiple professional societies. He is the past president of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery. He has published more than 200 publications in refereed journal and in 39 book chapters. He has actively engaged in teaching residents and fellows at Northwestern for 34 years. As the director of Lurie’s pediatricneurosurgery fellowship program, he has trained 30 American pediatric neurosurgeons and 8 International neurosurgeons. Finally, as the director of pediatric neurosurgery research program at Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute, he has mentored 18 neurosurgeons in the realm of neurooncology and neurobiology researches.

His main research interest is pediatric neurosurgery with particular emphasis on pediatric brain tumors and congenital Central Nervous Systemmalformationsincluding neural tube defects, craniofacial anomaly and hydrocephalus