His extensive leadership experience includes serving as executive medical director of Academic Affairs for Mayo Clinic International; Associate Medical Director of Development; vice chair for diversity and vice chair for innovation in Mayo’s Department of Neurologic Surgery; and assistant dean of Education Enrichment and Innovation at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. He is an endowed, full professor of neurosurgery and has appointments as a full professor of orthopedic surgery and health services research.

Bydon earned his B.A. at Dartmouth College. He completed a post-baccalaureate program at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine prior to a research fellowship at a Howard Hughes Medical Institute laboratory. He earned his M.D. at Yale University School of Medicine and continued his training at Johns Hopkins Hospital, completing residency and chief residency in neurosurgery, as well as a fellowship in Complex Spinal Surgery and Spinal Oncology.


A Strategic Vision for Growth
UChicago Medicine launched the Department of Neurological Surgery in January 2021 to strengthen its position as a premier center for neurosurgical excellence. The evolution from a section to a department reflects the increasing complexity of neurological conditions and the need and demand for specialized, high-quality care. The department’s creation underscores UChicago’s commitment to advancing neurosurgical treatments, research, and education while expanding its reach to underserved communities in the Chicago region and beyond.

At UChicago, Bydon will focus on a strategic vision of excellence and growth for the Department of Neurological Surgery. He will lead a program of clinical expansion, developing an aggressive recruiting plan to increase the number of clinical faculty within the next five years and expand services across the health system in spinal neurosurgery, neuro-oncology, vascular neurosurgery, pediatric neurosurgery, stereotactic radiosurgery, and international surgical care. This includes expansion in residency and fellowship programs as department faculty and volume grow.

He will also work closely with the chairs of Neurobiology, Neurology, Orthopedic Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine, Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, and other schools and divisions to identify talent and co-recruitment opportunities that supplement and grow areas of scientific focus for the department.

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