Tomoko Tanaka, M.D., has 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 (FAANS).
Dr. Tanaka previously was an associate professor at the University of Missouri HealthCare, where she cared for an underserved pediatric neurosurgery population as well as adult epilepsy patients. Her surgical management of epilepsy was integral to the institution achieving Level 4 Epilepsy Center designation. Her national activities include serving on the editorial advisory board for Practical Reviews in Neurosurgery. Dr. Tanaka conducts basic science research into spinal cord injury and recovery, and one of her research projects received the grant award of the North American Spine Society in 2016.