Samuel Barnett, M.D., is Professor of Neurological Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He is originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, and received his medical degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. He completed his neurosurgery residency at UT Southwestern and then a clinical fellowship in skull base and cerebrovascular neurosurgery at the University of South Florida working with Harry R. van Loveren, M.D., a well-known neurosurgeon.

Prior to joining the faculty at UT Southwestern, Dr. Barnett was Assistant Professor and Director of Cerebrovascular Neurosurgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He was recruited to UT Southwestern for his expertise in skull base surgery and is currently the Co-director of the UT Southwestern Comprehensive Skull Base Surgery Program.

Dr. Barnett is board certified in neurological surgery and is an expert in endoscopic minimally invasive surgery, conventional open brain surgery, and radiosurgery.

He was included in D Magazine's Best Doctors list for 2018.

He is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (Young Neurosurgeons Committee, Ethics Committee, and Member Services Committee), the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, the Rocky Mountain Neurosurgical Society, the North American Skull Base Society, and the Acoustic Neuroma Association.

In terms of research, Dr. Barnett is focused on clinical outcomes after skull base surgery. His most recent research interest involves working to improve imaging techniques to make brain surgery safer, particularly for brainstem cavernomas, which are located in the highly sensitive, lower area of the brain where it is very difficult to operate.