Steven Schiff, MD, PhD, FACS
Harvey and Kate Cushing Professor of Neurosurgery, Vice Chair for Global Health, Department of Neurosurgery, and Professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases) and of Electrical and Computer EngineeringCards
Appointments
Additional Titles
Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
Affiliated Faculty, Yale Program for Biomedical Ethics
Affiliated Faculty, Yale Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience
Member, Yale Center for Brain and Mind Health
Contact Info
Neurosurgery
333 Cedar Street, TMP 413
New Haven, Connecticut 06510
United States
Appointments
Additional Titles
Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
Affiliated Faculty, Yale Program for Biomedical Ethics
Affiliated Faculty, Yale Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience
Member, Yale Center for Brain and Mind Health
Contact Info
Neurosurgery
333 Cedar Street, TMP 413
New Haven, Connecticut 06510
United States
Appointments
Additional Titles
Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
Affiliated Faculty, Yale Program for Biomedical Ethics
Affiliated Faculty, Yale Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience
Member, Yale Center for Brain and Mind Health
Contact Info
Neurosurgery
333 Cedar Street, TMP 413
New Haven, Connecticut 06510
United States
About
Copy Link
Titles
Harvey and Kate Cushing Professor of Neurosurgery, Vice Chair for Global Health, Department of Neurosurgery, and Professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases) and of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health; Affiliated Faculty, Yale Program for Biomedical Ethics; Affiliated Faculty, Yale Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience; Member, Yale Center for Brain and Mind Health
Biography
Dr. Steven Schiff is a pediatric neurosurgeon with interests in neural control engineering, sustainable health engineering and global health. He founded the Center for Neural Engineering at Penn State University, wrote the first book on Neural Control Engineering (MIT Press, 2012), and is now developing the Center for Global Neurosurgery at Yale University. He received the NIH Director’s Pioneer and Transformative Awards in 2015 and 2018, respectively, which have enabled him to pursue his interests in the sustainable control of infant infections in the developing world. This work has evolved into an exploration of what Schiff calls Predictive Personalized Public Health (P3H), and included leading the discovery of a new highly lethal infant brain disease in Africa - Neonatal Paenibacilliosis.
Appointments
Neurosurgery
ProfessorPrimaryElectrical and Computer Engineering
ProfessorSecondaryEpidemiology of Microbial Diseases
ProfessorSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
- All Institutions
- Center for Brain & Mind Health
- Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program
- Neural Disorders
- Neuroscience Track
- Neurosurgery
- Pediatric Neurosurgery
- Program for Biomedical Ethics
- Schiff Lab
- Wu Tsai Institute
- Yale Combined Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS)
- Yale Institute for Global Health
Education & Training
- Pediatric Neurosurgery Fellowship
- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (1990)
- Neurosurgery Residency
- Duke University (1989)
- PhD
- Duke University, Physiology (1985)
- General Surgery Internship
- Duke University (1981)
- MD
- Duke University (1980)
Research
Copy Link
Overview
Medical Research Interests
Public Health Interests
ORCID
0000-0003-2623-3614
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Publications Timeline
Research Interests
Andrew J Whalen
Joseph N Paulson, PhD
Mercedeh Javanbakht Movassagh
Adam de Havenon, MD, MS
Kevin Sheth, MD, FAHA
Marwan Osman, PhD, DABMM, MPH
Bacteria
Neonatal Sepsis
Brain Diseases
Africa South of the Sahara
Coinfection
Publications
2026
Tsunamis hiding in plain sight: spreading depression in clinical neurology
Ayata C, Hougaard A, Schiff S, Ferrari M, Noebels J, Diener H, Lauritzen M. Tsunamis hiding in plain sight: spreading depression in clinical neurology. Nature Reviews Neurology 2026, 1-16. PMID: 41814024, DOI: 10.1038/s41582-026-01191-1.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsMigraine auraTransient neurological manifestationsPrimary headache disordersRoutine scalp EEG recordingsTransient neuronal hyperexcitabilityCentral nervous systemScalp EEG recordingsNeuronal hyperexcitabilityMigraine attacksHeadache disordersNeuronal silencingNeurological deficitsClinical episodesNeurological manifestationsSeizure disorderStructural brain pathologyMigraineEEG recordingsStructural pathologyNervous systemClonal dissemination of mcr-1.1–positive Escherichia coli ST10 among healthy children in geographically-distant cities
Yassine I, Fayad S, Tajani A, Hassan J, Eltai N, Ericson J, Schiff S, Naas T, Bisha B, Osman M, Kassem I. Clonal dissemination of mcr-1.1–positive Escherichia coli ST10 among healthy children in geographically-distant cities. American Journal Of Infection Control 2026 PMID: 41825532, DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2026.03.002.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchPaenibacillus dendritiformis as a Cause of Destructive Meningitis in Infants
Smith D, Garikipati R, Bastug K, Broach J, Schneper L, Sheldon K, Smith J, Osman M, Schiff S, Ericson J. Paenibacillus dendritiformis as a Cause of Destructive Meningitis in Infants. NEJM Evidence 2026, 5: evidpha2500297. PMID: 41632684, DOI: 10.1056/evidpha2500297.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetric
2025
Critical genomic insights into vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium in Lebanon
Osman M, Yassine I, Hassan J, Ericson J, Schiff S, Tajani A, Bisha B, Hamze M, Kassem I. Critical genomic insights into vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium in Lebanon. Microbiology Spectrum 2025, 13: e00171-25. PMID: 40762484, PMCID: PMC12403557, DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.00171-25.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsMeSH KeywordsAnti-Bacterial AgentsBacterial ProteinsCross InfectionDrug Resistance, Multiple, BacterialEnterococcus faeciumGenome, BacterialGenomicsGram-Positive Bacterial InfectionsHumansLebanonMicrobial Sensitivity TestsVancomycinVancomycin ResistanceVancomycin-Resistant EnterococciVirulence FactorsWhole Genome SequencingConceptsVancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRSingle nucleotide variantsEnterococcus faeciumHospital-associated lineagesGenomic featuresAntimicrobial resistanceSequence typingClonal disseminationCore genome single nucleotide variantResistance to last-resort antimicrobialsAcquisition of vancomycin resistanceGenetic characteristicsWhole-genome sequencingAntimicrobial resistance genesLevels of antimicrobial resistanceLast-resort antimicrobialsMultidrug-resistant isolatesResistant to vancomycinE-test methodMatrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometryVancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faeciumSpread of antimicrobial resistanceLaser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometryMALDI-TOF MSPublic health threatIntroduction of the transmissible mobile colistin resistance genes mcr-3 and mcr-9 to the USA via imported seafood
Hassan J, Xu T, Osman M, Schiff S, Mann D, Deng X, LeJeune J, Kassem I. Introduction of the transmissible mobile colistin resistance genes mcr-3 and mcr-9 to the USA via imported seafood. MSphere 2025, 10: e00253-25. PMID: 40622135, PMCID: PMC12306178, DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00253-25.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsEfficacy of colistinColistin resistance genesColistin resistanceMultidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteriaMobile colistin resistance geneMobile colistin resistanceIncHI2 plasmidsComplicated infectionsResistance genesMcr-3ColistinLife-threateningAntibiotic resistance genesBacterial infectionsGram-negative bacteriaAntibioticsSeafood samplesGlobal disseminationSeafoodFood animalsInfectionEfficacyPotential carriersGenesIncHI2GLAPAL-H: Global, Local, and Parts Aware Learner for Hydrocephalus Infection Diagnosis in Low-Field MRI
Mukherjee S, Templeton K, Tindimwebwa S, Lin P, Sutin J, Yu M, Peterson M, Truwit C, Schiff S, Monga V. GLAPAL-H: Global, Local, and Parts Aware Learner for Hydrocephalus Infection Diagnosis in Low-Field MRI. IEEE Transactions On Biomedical Engineering 2025, 73: 139-152. PMID: 40489263, PMCID: PMC12338915, DOI: 10.1109/tbme.2025.3578541.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsFeature extractionState-of-the-art alternativesTraining loss functionMulti-task architectureGlobal feature extractionState-of-the-artLocal feature extractionClassification taskCNN branchesSegmentation masksShallow CNNHolistic featuresLocal featuresTraining imageryLoss functionTwo-classThree-classSegmental branchesArchitecture segmentationArchitectureCustomized approachCNNRegularizationQuality issuesPost-infectious hydrocephalusGeneralized unscented transformation for forecasting non-Gaussian processes
Ebeigbe D, Berry T, Whalen A, Norton M, Simon D, Sauer T, Schiff S. Generalized unscented transformation for forecasting non-Gaussian processes. Physical Review E 2025, 111: 054135. PMID: 40533957, PMCID: PMC12184836, DOI: 10.1103/physreve.111.054135.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsPoor surgical outcomes following Paenibacillus infant infectious hydrocephalus.
Ericson J, Natukwatsa D, Ssenyonga P, Onen J, Mugamba J, Mulondo R, Morton S, Movassagh M, Templeton K, Hehnly C, Mbabazi-Kabachelor E, Kulkarni A, Warf B, Broach J, Paulson J, Schiff S. Poor surgical outcomes following Paenibacillus infant infectious hydrocephalus. Journal Of Neurosurgery Pediatrics 2025, 36: 145-156. PMID: 40378477, PMCID: PMC12211056, DOI: 10.3171/2025.1.peds24254.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsPostinfectious hydrocephalusPP patientsPN patientsEndoscopic diversionHydrocephalus surgeryPositive CSF polymerase chain reactionPrimary outcomeMedian follow-up periodCSF polymerase chain reactionFailure-free survivalPoor surgical outcomesPrimary event rateFollow-up periodOverall survivalCSF diversionHydrocephalic infantsSurgical outcomesNeurosurgical evaluationPolymerase chain reactionCompare outcomesSecondary outcomesPatientsEvent ratesInfantsChain reactionCLIF-Net: Intersection-Guided Cross-View Fusion Network for Infection Detection From Cranial Ultrasound
Yu M, Peterson M, Burgoine K, Harbaugh T, Olupot-Olupot P, Gladstone M, Hagmann C, Cowan F, Weeks A, Morton S, Mulondo R, Mbabazi-Kabachelor E, Schiff S, Monga V. CLIF-Net: Intersection-Guided Cross-View Fusion Network for Infection Detection From Cranial Ultrasound. IEEE Transactions On Medical Imaging 2025, 44: 4213-4225. PMID: 40372847, PMCID: PMC12353856, DOI: 10.1109/tmi.2025.3570316.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsConceptsConvolutional neural network branchesNeural network branchesCross-attention moduleState-of-the-artRobust 3D representationsMultiview imageryFusion networkImage-levelFusion layerFusion blockRepresentative featuresExtract featuresLearning frameworkClass probabilitiesSemantic featuresNetwork branchesDetection techniquesEnhanced featuresGeometric relationsImagesEnhanced performanceFeaturesInfection detectionSpatial positionDatasetFive-year outcomes after surgical treatment of infant postinfectious hydrocephalus in sub-Saharan Africa: results of a randomized trial.
Mbabazi-Kabachelor E, Peterson M, Mugamba J, Ssenyonga P, Onen J, Nalule E, Magombe J, Cherukuri V, Monga V, Schiff S, Kulkarni A, Warf B. Five-year outcomes after surgical treatment of infant postinfectious hydrocephalus in sub-Saharan Africa: results of a randomized trial. Journal Of Neurosurgery Pediatrics 2025, 36: 135-144. PMID: 40315611, PMCID: PMC12332894, DOI: 10.3171/2025.1.peds24417.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsHydrocephalus Outcome QuestionnairePostinfectious hydrocephalusVABS-3HOQ scoresBrain volumeVentriculoperitoneal shuntRandomized trialsQuality of lifeAssessed developmental outcomesPerinatal neurologic insultChoroid plexus cauterizationSurgical treatment armHUI-3Endoscopic third ventriculostomyVentriculoperitoneal shunt treatmentVineland Adaptive Behavior ScalesFollow-up resultsLong-term outcomesFive-year outcomesBrain volume outcomesQuality of life metricsAdaptive Behavior ScalesPublic health burdenSub-Saharan AfricaTreatment failure
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
Copy Link
Activities
activity Journal of Computational Neuroscience
07/01/2006 - PresentJournal ServiceEditorial Board MemberDetailsAction Editoractivity Journal of Neural Engineering
07/01/2013 - PresentJournal ServiceEditorial Board Memberactivity Neural Computation
07/01/2015 - PresentJournal ServiceEditorial Board MemberDetailsAssociate Editoractivity US Food and Drug Administration
07/28/2013 - PresentPublic ServiceScientific CommitteeDetailsNeurological Devices Panel, Medical Devices Advisory Committeeactivity Scientific Advisory Board
2019 - PresentAdvisory BoardsMemberDetailsInstitut de Neurosciences des Systèmes, Marseilles, France
Honors
honor NIH Director’s Transformative Award
09/05/2018Other AwardDetailsUnited Stateshonor Honorary African Name: Musaazi, Fumbe Clan
07/01/2018International AwardDetailsUgandahonor Fellow
12/01/2016Other AwardAmerican Epilepsy SocietyDetailsUnited Stateshonor NIH Director’s Pioneer Award
04/25/2015Other AwardDetailsUnited Stateshonor Fellow
04/02/2012Other AwardAmerican Association for the Advancement of ScienceDetailsUnited States
News & Links
Copy Link
News
- December 08, 2025
EMD Lab Spotlight Series: Dr. Steven Schiff
- November 13, 2025
Infant Hydrocephalus in Sub-Saharan Africa
- June 24, 2025
Announcing the Center for Brain & Mind Health 2025 Pilot Grant Program Awardees
- April 28, 2025
Environmental Factors Linked to Growth Failure in Children
Get In Touch
Copy Link
Contacts
Neurosurgery
333 Cedar Street, TMP 413
New Haven, Connecticut 06510
United States