Benjamin C. Warf

I am a pediatric neurosurgeon specializing in hydrocephalus, spina bifida and neuroendoscopy with a passion for training the next generation of surgeons and improving access to quality care both here and abroad.

I am the director of Neonatal and Congenital Neurosurgery and hold the Hydrocephalus and Spina Bifida Chair at Boston Children's Hospital. I founded the Global Hydrocephalus and Spina Bifida Program here and, in 2016, started the hospital's first global pediatric neurosurgery fellowship.

The Harvard community has played a major role in my development. I graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1984, was the first fellow in pediatric neurosurgery at Boston Children’s Hospital under emeritus chief, Dr. R. Michael Scott, and was a Harvard-Macy Scholar in Medical Education.

I felt strongly about using my expertise in parts of the world where medical resources are scarce. From 2000 to 2006, I served as chief of surgery and founding medical director at CURE Children’s Hospital of Uganda, the only pediatric neurosurgery hospital in sub-Saharan AfricaWhile there, I developed a new operative procedure (ETV/CPC) to treat infant hydrocephalus in a permanent way that avoids the placement of a shunt for the majority. We have since introduced this procedure into the United States as well as many other countries throughout the world. While in Uganda, we also found that most cases of infant hydrocephalus in East Africa are the result of neonatal infection, and thus potentially preventable. We recently launched a non-profit organization called NeuroKids (neurokids.org), for which I serve as Chairman. Our goal is to eliminate untreated hydrocephalus in low-income countries through training, research, and advocacy.

In 2007 I was presented with the Humanitarian Award of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, and in 2012 I was honored to received a MacArthur “Genius” grant “for improving access to care and standards of that care both at home and in the developing world”.

Read more about Dr. Warf:

• New hope for infants with hydrocephalus
• Boston Children's doctor improves hydrocephalus treatment in Africa
• The strain of childhood illness