Emun Abdu, M.D.

Biography

Emun Abdu, M.D., is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She currently serves as the Medical Director and Chief of Neurosurgery at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, where UT Southwestern neurosurgeons lead neuroscience services through a joint relationship. She is one of the few dual-trained neurosurgeons in both open cerebrovascular and endovascular surgery and is known for her expertise in complex cranial procedures, including aneurysm clipping and coiling, arteriovenous malformation (AVM) resection, cerebral bypass for moyamoya disease, and endovascular stroke rescue.

In addition to treating cerebrovascular disorders, she also provides general neurosurgical care, including the management of brain and spine tumors, degenerative spine conditions, and neurotrauma.

Dr. Abdu earned her medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School. She completed her neurosurgery residency at Oregon Health & Science University. She received advanced training through a fellowship in cerebrovascular and endovascular surgery at the Swedish Neuroscience Institute in Seattle.

Dr. Abdu is certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery in both neurological surgery and neuroendovascular interventions. She joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2025.

Dr. Abdu has led the development of comprehensive stroke and neuroscience programs across multiple U.S. health systems. Internationally, she advises neurosurgical centers and healthcare officials across sub-Saharan Africa and the Gulf region. Her focus is on designing scalable neurovascular infrastructure, creating pathways for training local specialists, and launching public health initiatives centered on prevention, early detection, and rational system growth. She is currently developing a comprehensive framework that prioritizes emergent and high-impact interventions to be delivered locally. She is also establishing regional medical tourism pathways for complex surgical cases that require advanced technology not readily available in low-resource settings.

Her approach emphasizes building systems that balance quality, access, and cost, prioritizing interventions that deliver high-value care without unnecessary complexity.

Personal Note

Outside the operating room, Dr. Abdu is deeply rooted in family, community, and the joy of shared experiences. She finds connection through food – her love language – and comes from a family of passionate cooks and chefs, where meals are a way of bringing people together across cultures.

She has a deep appreciation for coffee, with the roots of her family history in generations of coffee merchants and storytellers who gathered around the coffeepot. Whether she’s traveling with her husband and three daughters, hosting friends, or discovering new cuisines, she sees every meal and moment as an opportunity to build community and celebrate our shared humanity.