Taylor Abel, MD, is an American Board of Neurological Surgery and American Board of Pediatric Neurological Surgery certified pediatric neurosurgeon specializing in epilepsy surgery. He is surgical director of the Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery Program at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Abel is from Seattle, Wash. and completed his undergraduate and medical education at the University of Washington. After his medical education in Seattle, Dr. Abel completed neurosurgery residency at the University of Iowa, where he received specialized training in epilepsy surgery and brain mapping techniques. At Iowa, Dr. Abel completed an NIH-funded postdoctoral fellowship—receiving the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award—focusing on electrophysiologic mechanisms of face and voice identification in the temporal lobe.
He is one of the few neurosurgeons in North America who has completed subspecialty fellowship training in both pediatric neurosurgery (Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto) and epilepsy surgery (Grenoble, France). Dr. Abel’s clinical practice focuses on caring for children drug-resistant epilepsy and movement disorders. He founded and co-directs the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Multi-Disciplinary Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery Clinic, which focuses on providing comprehensive care to children with drug-resistant epilepsy. He performs traditional open epilepsy surgery, stereotactic and minimally invasive epilepsy surgery, and all forms of neuromodulation.
Dr. Abel's publications can be reviewed through the National Library of Medicine's publication database.
Specialized Areas of Interest
Board Certifications
American Board of Neurological Surgery
American Board of Pediatric Neurological Surger
Hospital Privileges
Professional Organization Membership
Professional Activities
Education & Training
- BS, Neurobiology, University of Washington, 2005
- MD, University of Washington School of Medicine, 2010
- Residency, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, 2016
- Fellowship, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, 2016
- Fellowship, Epilepsy Surgery, Centre Hospitalier Grenoble, Grenoble, France, 2017
- Fellowship, Pediatric Neurosurgery, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada, 2018
Honors & Awards
- Robin and Judith Humphreys Fellowship in Pediatric Neurosurgery, 2017-18
- NIH Clinical Research LRP Award, 2014-16
- NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award, 2014
- Neurosurgery Resident Award, AANS/CNS Section on Stereotactic and Functional, 2014
- Mary Gates Research Scholar, 2005
Research Activities
Dr. Abel’s NIH-funded (R01, R21) research program focuses on understanding how the brain processes auditory signals, such as voice and speech, using a combination of electrophysiology, neuroimaging, and lesion mapping techniques. Dr. Abel’s clinical research focuses on clinical trials in epilepsy surgery and comparative effectiveness of different treatments for drug-resistant epilepsy.
Media Appearances
To identify a familiar voice, human brains rely on sight
January 7, 2023
Tech Explorist
When hearing a familiar voice, the brain actually relies on your vision
January 5, 2023
studyfinds.org
Brain surgery helps Kittanning toddler become seizure free
July 31, 2020
TribLive
Learn About Epilepsy Research with Dr. Taylor Abel
April 10, 2020
That's Pediatrics
The Brain That Remade Itself
February 27, 2019
One Zero
Scientists get a rare glimpse of the brain reorganizing itself after a lobectomy
August 4, 2018
CBC Radio