Sean P. Polster, MD

Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery
Associate Director, Neurovascular Surgery Program
Director, Skull Base and Neurovascular Laboratory

Dr. Polster is a board-certified, fellowship-trained neurosurgeon who specializes in minimally invasive surgery of the brain and spine in both adults and children. Dr. Polster’s practice primarily focuses on treating neurovascular conditions of the head and neck as well as tumors of the brain and skull base. He is an expert in performing complex surgical procedures, including neurovascular surgery, endoscopic endonasal approach (EEA) neurosurgery, transorbital neuroendoscopic surgery (TONES) and open cranial neurosurgery are just some of the procedures. Dr. Polster and his clinical team have a robust infrastructure to help patients navigate their healthcare from diagnosis through follow-up. We work as a Center of Excellence in many disease processes and pride ourselves on delivering the very best information and treatment for patients.

As a physician-scientist, Dr. Polster is continuously researching new treatments and techniques to improve care for neurosurgery patients. As the endowed Safadi Faculty Scholar, the Polster laboratory is engaged in pre-clinical research and clinical trials to deliver the most cutting-edge treatments to patients. His work has been published in several, highly respected, peer-reviewed journals, such as Nature Communications, Neurosurgery, Stroke, JNS, Surgical Neurology International, Journal of Stroke & Cerebrovascular Diseases, Neurocritical Care, and more. He also has written numerous textbook chapters on the diagnosis and treatment of neurosurgical diseases.

Clinical Website: https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/find-a-physician/physician/sean-p-polster

Current Members

Roberto Alcazar Felix, MD

Resident Physician in Neurosurgery

Roberto completed his post-doctorate in the Awad and Polsters lab working on animal models of brain injury and gut modification. He is currently a neurosurgery resident at UChicago working with the team on all fronts.

Nitha Muntu Duah, Msc

Lab Technician

Nitha Aima Munto is our Senior Laboratory Technician. Nitha oversees multiple bench projects in the Awad and Polster laboratories, with expertise in animal models, histology, and molecular and cell biology techniques. She supervises predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees in laboratory techniques.

Madison Yuan

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Madison Yuan is a second-year undergraduate at the University of Chicago majoring in Biological Chemistry on the pre-med track. Having joined the lab in April 2024, she has been investigating how the gut-brain axis regulates neurovascular integrity in models of neurodegeneration. She hopes to pursue a career as a physician-scientist by bridging basic science and patient care.

Sammy Allaw

Medical Student/Research Fellow

Sammy’s work focuses on advanced neuroimaging techniques to improve the diagnosis and risk stratification of cerebrovascular diseases, including intracranial aneurysms and stroke. He is particularly interested in high-resolution vessel wall imaging and the development of imaging biomarkers. In parallel, Sammy also studies post-stroke outcomes to inform approaches to acute treatment and recovery.

Dominic Montas

Medical Student/Research Fellow

Dominic is a medical student at the University of Chicago Priztker School of Medicine, graduating class of 2026. Since joining the lab, he has been focused on the relationship between the composition of the gut microbiome and diseases of the cerebral vasculature. He is also interested in research dedicated to mitigating post-injury cerebral inflammation and improving patient outcomes. He hopes to utilize this knowledge in his future career as a neurosurgeon.

Lab Alumni

Sonja Chen – UChicago Undergraduate and currently a Medical Student at the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong.
Ahmed Malik – UChicago Undergraduate and Masters Student, currently in a doctoral program for advanced physics.