Search Website
Announcement: Dr. Victor Yang named inaugural Charles G. Drake Chair in Neurosurgery Research
Office of the Dean
I am pleased to announce that Dr. Victor Yang has been appointed as the inaugural Charles G. Drake Chair in Neurosurgery Research at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, effective February 1, 2026 to January 31, 2031.
This research chair in the Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences has been established to advance research at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry and London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute (LHSCRI) with respect to the surgical treatment of neurological disease. It is named in honour of the late, renowned LHSC neurosurgeon and Western alum Dr. Charles Drake, MD ’44, DSc ’87. As the first and only neurosurgeon for many years in London, Ont., Dr. Drake’s legacy includes the development of visionary surgical treatments for basilar and giant aneurysms, as well as his influence in establishing LHSC’s University Hospital, where Dr. Yang now hopes to continue Dr. Drake’s fearless and interruptive innovations in neurosurgery and across other surgical subspecialities both locally and internationally.
A world leader in applying biophotonics to medical procedures, Dr. Yang is a Surgeon-Scientist who was recruited to the Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences at Western and LHSC in 2022. Dr. Yang is cross-appointed in Medical Imaging for Interventional Neuroradiology, Orthopedic Spine surgery and Medical Biophysics. He earned a Master’s degree in Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Toronto in 1998 and completed the MD-PhD (Medical Biophysics) program at the University of Toronto in 2006, for which he was recognized by a Governor General’s Gold Medal. He completed the Neurosurgery residency program at the University of Toronto with an in-folded Interventional Neuroradiology fellowship in 2012, and joined University of Toronto neurosurgery faculty, where he was promoted to full professor in 2021. In addition to his interest in neurovascular diseases, Dr. Yang completed a combined complex spine fellowship at the University of Calgary in 2021.
Dr. Yang's clinical practice focuses on surgical and minimally invasive management of cerebrovascular and spinal disorders with innovative enabling technology. In conjunction with his neurosurgical, spine and interventional neuroradiology practices, Dr. Yang directs the Biophotonics and Bioengineering Lab at LHSC’s University Hospital, Western Research Parks and Toronto Metropolitan University.
As the inaugural Charles G. Drake Chair in Neurosurgery Research, Dr. Yang aims to fulfill the spirit of Dr. Drake by enabling practice-changing research that is clinically impactful, globally collaborative and locally grounded in the strengths of the neurosurgical program. He is excited to build a program that integrates cutting-edge research with clinical excellence while fostering mentorship and training for the next generation of surgeons and clinician-scientists.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Yang on his appointment.
John Yoo, MD, FRCS(C), FACS
Dean, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry
Western University