William Couldwell, MD, PhD, is co-director of Huntsman Cancer Institute’s Brain Tumor Program and holds the Joseph J. Yager Presidential Endowed Chair in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Utah School of Medicine.

Couldwell treats tumors of the brain and central nervous system. He specializes in surgeries at the base of the skull. In the past, surgeons often would not operate on tumors in the base of the skull due to the risk of damage to critical nerves and blood supplies. However, new diagnostic and imaging technology has made it possible to treat tumors of the pituitary gland and sinuses that earlier might have been inoperable. Couldwell also performs neurovascular surgery, which is an operation on the system that delivers blood to the brain and central nervous system.

Couldwell’s research interests include the study of signal transduction (the transfer of genetic material from one cell to another) in the central nervous system and blood vessels in the brain. He is also conducting research on recurrent brain tumors.

In 1984, Couldwell received his MD and PhD from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He served his internship and residency at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Prior to his 2001 appointment at Huntsman Cancer Institute and the University of Utah, Couldwell served on the faculties of the University of Southern California and the University of North Dakota and was chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery at New York Medical College.