Team

Dr. Azam S. Ahmed, MD, FAANS, FACS
Lab Founder & Director

Dr. Ahmed is an Associate Professor of Neurosurgery and Radiology at UW–Madison, fellowship-trained in cerebrovascular, endovascular, and skull base surgery. He serves as Medical Director of the UW Comprehensive Brain Tumor Program and directs the multidisciplinary Pituitary Clinic, bringing extensive expertise in complex brain tumor and vascular neurosurgery. Renowned for his minimally invasive surgical techniques, Dr. Ahmed has pioneered improvements in neurosurgical visualization and holds patents for innovative surgical devices. As the WONDER Lab’s director, he guides our mission to use data and evidence to improve patient care, drawing on his clinical leadership and passion for outcomes-driven innovation.

Dr. Ahmed Elbayomy, MD
Lab Principal Researcher & Data Scientist

Dr. Elbayomy is a Research Fellow and Data Scientist in the Department of Neurological Surgery at UW–Madison. A former neurosurgery resident in Egypt, he brings valuable clinical insight to our research and manages the lab’s day-to-day projects. His work centers on improving neurological outcomes, functional recovery, and patient quality of life through data-driven analysis. Dr. Elbayomy utilizes large retrospective databases and prospective registries, applying advanced statistical modeling to identify predictors of surgical complications and inpatient morbidity. He is also pursuing a Master of Public Health, integrating population health perspectives to address healthcare trends, disparities, and treatment outcomes in neurosurgery. Under his coordination, the lab conducts numerous multi-institutional studies and fosters collaborations across disciplines.

 

Residents, Students, and Collaborators

The WONDER Lab is a highly collaborative environment that includes neurosurgery residents, medical students, graduate students, and clinical fellows. Neurosurgery residents participate in projects aligned with their subspecialty interests—often leading study design, analyses, and manuscript development under faculty mentorship. Medical students contribute through literature review, data curation, and outcomes-focused analyses, gaining hands-on research training and experience with the full research workflow. We also collaborate with clinical partners across relevant disciplines (e.g., neuroradiology, neurology, and other surgical specialties) to ensure our studies reflect real-world clinical questions and multidisciplinary care. This team-based approach enables us to address complex neurosurgical outcomes from multiple clinical perspectives.

Faculty Collaborators:
Dr. Nathaniel Brooks
Dr. Laura McGuire
Dr. Mohamed Zaazoue

Resident Collaborators:
Dr. Simon Ammanuel
Dr. Darius Ansari
Dr. Jacob Bethel
Dr. Kate Bunch
Dr. Garret Greeneway