Professional background

Prof Zrinzo is head of the UCL functional neurosurgery unit. He specialises in the surgical management of chronic neurological disease including Parkinson's disease, dystonia, tremor, headache (cluster headache and other autonomic cephalalgias) as well as the surgical management of treatment refractory mental disorders, including Tourette's syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and major depression. In addition to stereotactic ablation and deep brain stimulation (DBS) he also specialises in disorders of the cranial nerves, including microvascular decompression (MVD) procedures for trigeminal neuralgia and hemifacial spasm.

Prof Zrinzo completed undergraduate medical studies in Malta, before moving to London to train in neurosurgery (Atkinson Morley Hospital, Royal London Hospital, Great Ormond Street Hospital, The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery and Oldchurch Hospital). He was awarded an MSc in clinical neuroscience with distinction from the UCL Institute of Neurology, London and completed two fellowships in stereotactic and functional neurosurgery, at Queen Square and at UCLA, Los Angeles, USA.

Prof Zrinzo's research interests have been directed towards continued improvement in the surgical care of with particular emphasis on improving safety, accuracy and efficacy of surgery. He is the author of numerous peer-reviewed publications, abstracts and several book chapters and his work has received several international awards.

Research interests

  • Functional neurosurgery for Parkinson's disease, dystonia, tremor, cluster headache
  • Deep brain stimulation and stereotactic ablation
  • Emerging indications for surgery in neuropsychiatry
  • Microvascular decompression for trigeminal neuralgia and hemifacial spasm
  • Image-guided and image-verified stereotactic neurosurgery

Languages spoken

Italian, Maltese