The division of Pediatric Neurosurgery is based at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, a 370-bed hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is the only children’s hospital in the state of Arkansas. It is also the state’s only American College of Surgeons Level 1 pediatric trauma center, the state’s only level IV neonatal intensive care unit, and the state’s only National Association of Epilepsy Centers level IV comprehensive epilepsy program. As a teaching affiliate of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Arkansas Children’s Hospital provides pediatric education for fellows, residents, medical students, nursing students, and allied health professionals.
Pediatric Neurosurgery Faculty
Gregory Albert, M.D., MPH, FAANS, FACS, FAAP
Fellowship Program Director
Dr. Albert received his M.D. and M.P.H. from Tufts University School of Medicine in 2003. This was followed by neurosurgery residency (2003–2009) and fellowship (2009–2010) at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. He then completed a pediatric neurosurgery fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario (2010–2011). He is certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery and the American Board of Pediatric Neurological Surgery. He practices the full range of pediatric neurosurgery with particular emphasis in epilepsy surgery. He is the chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and an associate professor of neurosurgery at UAMS.
Eylem Öcal, M.D., FAANS
Dr. Öcal graduated from the Marmara University School of Medicine in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2003. She completed neurosurgery residency at Yale-New Haven Medical Center in 2010. This was followed by a pediatric neurosurgery fellowship at British Columbia Children’s Hospital. Dr Öcal is certified by both the American Board of Neurological Surgery and the American Board of Pediatric Neurological Surgery. She practices the full range of pediatric neurosurgery with particular emphasis in the management of infants with myelomeningocele and other congenital anomalies. She also provides prenatal counseling for the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery. She is an associate professor of neurosurgery at UAMS.
Tomoko Tanaka, M.D., FAANS
Dr. Tanaka recently joined the Department of Neurosurgery as an associate professor in the Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery. Dr. Tanaka earned her medical degree at Kitasato University School of Medicine in Japan, graduating as valedictorian. She completed a neurosurgery residency at Emory University in Atlanta and a pediatric neurosurgery fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. She is board-certified through the American Board of Neurological Surgery and is a Fellow of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.