Ather Enam

Syed Ather Enam (born November 21, 1961) is a Pakistani neuroscientist, a professor of neurosurgery at Aga Khan University (AKU), founding president of the Pakistan Society of Basic and Applied Neuroscience (PASBAN), founding president of the Pakistan Society of Neuro-Oncology (PASNO), and the founder of the Pakistan Academy of Neurological Surgery (PANS). Enam served as the chair of AKU’s Department of Surgery from 2014 - 2022. Currently, he is the director for the Centre of Oncological Surgery and the scientific director of the Juma Research Laboratory.

Education and career
Enam obtained a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Northwestern University Institute of Neuroscience, and then was trained in neurosurgery before returning to Pakistan to develop a neurosurgery programme at the Aga Khan University. He has trained a new generation of neurosurgeons for Pakistan.

Enam introduced neurorobotics exoscope and neuronavigation tractography system capable of studying white matter tracts in the brain to treat the most complicated brain tumours. The detailed, 3D images of fibres inside the brain distinguish between safe and precarious areas, and help a surgeon decide the safest approach to reach the area affected by the brain tumour before starting the surgery.

Enam also pioneered awake craniotomy in Pakistan for brain tumour surgeries. It is a type of procedure performed on the brain while a patient is awake and alert.

He has also pioneered awake craniotomy for arteriovenous malformation in Pakistan.

Enam is involved in many clinical and basic science research projects and has published more than 300 manuscripts, chapters, abstracts, editorials, and articles. His primary focus is the promotion of neuroscience and neuro-oncology in Pakistan.

Enam is one of the editors of the book Surgical Education and Training in Pakistan: Creating a Model, which details how surgical training programmes can be improved in Pakistan and in other low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs), based on learning from the surgical training programmes at Aga Khan University over the past four decades.

He also co-edited Evolution of Surgical Specialities in Pakistan: Chronicles from the Theatres and Beyond, which tells a story of the evolution of surgical specialities in Pakistan, starting from its birth in 1947 to the present state with reflections across medical colleges, hospitals, institutions and pioneers in the field.

Awards

 * 2017: Sitara-i-Imtiaz, Pakistan's one of the highest civilian award, for Enam's work in the field of medicine