Dr. Selden is the Campagna Chair of the OHSU Department of Neurological Surgery and holds the Campagna Chair of Pediatric Neurosurgery in OHSU’s School of Medicine. His scientific research focuses on basic mechanisms of pain sensation mediated by brainstem and limbic system pharmacological circuits. He was the co-principal investigator and surgeon for the first ever trial of human neural stem cell therapy, performing the first implantation of neural stem cells in a patient in 2007. He also researches outcomes for neurosurgical care delivered to children with Chiari malformation and tethered spinal cord and is an author of the Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury Guidelines, which are used around North America and in many countries around the world to improve the care of seriously injured children.

Dr. Selden also has a national and international reputation for studying new methods of neurosurgical education and continuing education that promote patient safety and quality. From 2015 to 2016, he was President of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, one of the largest professional and continuing education organizations for neurosurgery in the world. Selden is currently an officer of the Society of Neurological Surgeons, the world’s oldest neurosurgical society, which is responsible for residency and fellowship education in the United States and for advancing the governance of academic neurosurgery departments.

A prolific writer, Selden has published over 200 articles related to neurosurgical science, clinical care, and education. In addition, with Professor Nigel Nicholson (Dean Emeritus of Reed College), he authored The Rhetoric of Medicine: Lessons on Professionalism from Ancient Greece (Oxford University Press, 2019). Selden is also Editor of the acclaimed 7 volume series, Neurosurgery by Example (Oxford University Press, 2018-2019) and of its Pediatric Neurosurgery volume (with Dr. Lissa Baird).

Visit the Department of Neurological Surgery’s website for information about academics, conferences, and other events.