Jason Gerrard, MD, PhD, FAANS

Jason Gerrard, MD, PhD, is a neurosurgeon at Yale Medicine specializing in epilepsy and functional neurosurgery. He received his medical degree and PhD in neuroscience from the University of Arizona. His main specialty is using neuromodulation, including deep brain stimulation and responsive neurostimulation to treat intractable epilepsy and movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor. He currently serves as the chief of functional and stereotactic and neurotrauma sections of Yale Medicine.

Dr. Gerrard’s MD and PhD degrees allows him to understand the brain in both the lab and the clinical setting. This means that he has an intimate understanding of both the biology of how the brain works and the surgical techniques used to correct problems. He favors a minimally invasive approach, becoming interested in neuromodulation techniques like deep brain stimulation because it restores function by delivering electrical impulses to the brain rather than by removing parts of the brain.

When patients first see Dr. Gerrard, they can expect to have their questions answered in a low-pressure environment. “I want to make sure they understand that they don’t need to make a decision right away,” he says. He addresses his patients’ concerns as methodically as possible so that they can go home and make an informed decision regarding elective procedures.

In addition to seeing patients, Dr. Gerrard conducts research on the mechanisms of epilepsy and the use of neuromodulation to help epilepsy and movement disorder patients. He also teaches at the Yale School of Medicine as an assistant professor of neurosurgery specializing in epilepsy surgery and functional neurosurgery.