Dr. Michael W. McDermott is a board-certified neurosurgeon with more than 30 years of experience in academia. He teaches third-year and fourth-year medical students during their neurosurgery elective.
McDermott is chief medical executive at Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute and sees patients at Baptist Health Miami Neuroscience Institute, where he holds the Irma and Kalman Bass Distinguished Endowed Chair in Clinical Neuroscience.
Before joining FIU in 2000, he worked in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of California, San Francisco (1992-2000). He has published over 500 peer-reviewed publications and is a world-renowned leader in meningioma surgery and Gamma Knife radiosurgery.
See research publications and more on FIU Discovery.
Research Interests
- Low-intensity focused ultrasound for Alzheimer’s disease
- Low-dose irradiation for Alzheimer’s disease
- Human connectome evaluation in normal pressure hydrocephalus
- Low-intensity focused ultrasound for non-small cell lung cancer brain metastases
Current Grants
- Low Intensity focused ultrasound for Alzheimer’s Disease – State of Florida Grant $1.2M- accruing; Co-Principal Investigator.
- A Randomized Trial of Low Dose Irradiation for Alzheimer’s Disease – Multi-institutional grant application to be submitted September 2025. Co-Investigator. Planning committee member.
- Evaluation of Human Connectome in Patients with Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus Undergoing VP Shunting – accruing at Baptist Health; Principal Investigator.
- Low Intensity Focused Ultrasound for Patients with Non-Small cell Lung Cancer Brain Metastases – accruing; Co-Investigator
Honors & Awards
- Irma and Kalman Bass Distinguished Endowed Chair in Clinical Neuroscience, Baptist Health Miami Neuroscience Institute, 2022
- Top World Expert in Meningiomas, Expertscape, 2010-2021
- Chair, University of California San Francisco, 2024
Committees & Professional Organization
- Executive Steering Committee Series
- Neuroscience Operations Committee
- Strategic Planning Committee
- BHM MNI Physiatry/Pain Management Peer Review Committee
- BHM Stroke Committee
- BHM MNI Neurosurgery Peer Review Committee
- Ambulatory Governance Committee
- FIU Council of Chairs
Education
- Fellow, Research, University of California San Francisco 1990
- Clinical Instructor, Neuro-Oncology, University of California San Francisco 1989
- Residency, Neurosurgery, University of British Columbia, Canada 1988
- Mixed Internship, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Canada 1983
- M.D., University of Toronto, Canada 1982
- BS, Chemistry, University of Toronto, Canada 1978
Board Certifications
- American Board of Neurological Surgery