Therapeutic Areas

Musculoskeletal
Neurology
Trauma (Emergency, Injury, Surgery)

Center Overview

Tallahassee Neurological Clinic, P.A. is a private practice Neurosurgery, Neurology and Pain Management group located in the Florida capital serving North Florida and South Georgia since July 1968. We are affiliated with Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare (TMH) a 770 bed acute care hospital and the area’s only designated Level II Trauma Center. Our practice holds an exclusive neurosurgery contract with TMH and provides 24 hour/7 day emergency and surgical coverage for the hospital. In addition, we have a joint venture Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) with TMH which provides comprehensive pain management services and our own Open MRI Center located within the Pain Management Office. Our MRI is ACR-accredited and our ASC is AAAHC-accredited and Medicare-certified.

The goal of physicians at Tallahassee Neurological Clinic has always been to provide excellence in neurosurgical and neurological care for patients in Tallahassee and for the surrounding communities. Working closely with Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare has made it possible for TNC to achieve this goal. The hospital has provided and maintained the very latest neurosurgical equipment, including microsurgical instrumentation, lasers, ultrasonic aspirators, and a linear accelerator for use in stereotactic radiosurgery. TMH also provides dedicated state-of-the-art neurosurgical operating rooms and neurosurgery operating room personnel. The presence of fellowship trained neuro-anesthesiologists allows for intra-operative monitoring and superior overall peri-operative care. TNC physicians also work very closely with their neuroradiology colleagues. In an effort to ensure our high quality of service across all of our specialties, we incorporated a quality assurance program in 2007.

Neurological services provided by the physicians at TNC include complete neurological evaluation and treatment, Independent Medical Exams (IME's), EMG/Nerve Conduction Velocity studies, EEG (including 24 hour EEG), therapeutic BOTOX injections, and clinical research studies.

The TNC neurosurgical team is composed of three neurosurgeons; Dr. Christopher Rumana, Dr. Mark Cuffe and Dr. Albert Lee. All are Board-Certified in neurosurgery and Drs. Rumana and Cuffe are diplomats of the American College of Surgeons. The neurology staff consists of four neurologists, three of whom are Board-Certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. In addition there are two Pain Management physicians in our clinic who are Board-Certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology and Board-Certified in Pain Management.

The research division of Tallahassee Neurological Clinic aims at delivering high quality, timely, and trustworthy data to sponsors and CROs. We are dedicated to the highest standards of research and uncompromised quality. As such, our investigators are located on-site and are available full-time. Our support staff includes CRCs, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and registered nurses who all provide well-coordinated support to our investigators.

Central to our research practice is patient safety and protocol adherence by attention to detail. We provide clean, quality data in a timely manner and each study is given high priority with a central contact person.

Clinical Research Experience

The Neurosurgeons of Tallahassee Neurological Clinic initiated their clinical trial division in 2007. Our physician investigators are specialists in treating nervous system disorders, neurotrauma, neurological tumors, disorders of the spine, peripheral nerve disorders and in interventional Pain Management.

Our therapeutic areas of expertise are:

Common surgeries done by the neurosurgeons at Tallahassee Neurological Clinic include:

Comprehensive Spinal Surgery

• Minimally invasive surgery
• Laminectomy
• Discectomy
• Spinal Fusion & Reconstruction
• Spinal Cord Tumors & other lesions
• Vascular Malformations
• Kyphoplasty/Vertebroplasty
• Cervical Arthroplasty
• Lumbar Arthroplasty

Brain Surgery

• Stereotactic Surgery
• Tumor Removal
• Aneurysm Treatment
• Hemorrhage Removal
• CSF Shunting Procedures
• Vagus Nerve Stimulator
• Stealth Technology

Peripheral Nerve Surgery

• Carpal Tunnel
• Ulnar Nerve
• Peripheral Nerve Repair

Stereotactic Radiosurgery

• Brain Tumors
• Vascular Malformations
• Trigeminal Neuralgia

Currently, our neurosurgeons are investigators in studies sponsored by Integra and Medtronic.

Facility Description

Only 15 minutes from Tallahassee Regional Airport, Tallahassee Neurological Clinic is located in the Professional Office Building which is conveniently attached to Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare (TMH). Through our affiliation with TMH, our center has the ability to perform both inpatient and outpatient clinical trials. For trials that require an inpatient component, we will use the IRB at TMH. For trials without an inpatient component, we can use a central IRB or our local IRB.

Outpatient Clinic

• Our neurosurgery outpatient clinic has 12 fully-equipped private exam rooms with high-speed internet connections for data upload
• Attached covered parking garage
• Office connected to the hospital and clinical lab
• Locked storage for study supplies
• Temperature controlled storage for investigational agent
• Complete standard operating procedures and training
• Electronic medical records
• 24/7 call coverage for MD / ARNP or PA access
• Daily FedEx, UPS pick-up

Inpatient Facility

• Our affiliate hospital, TMH is a 770 bed regional medical center
• Accredited Level II Trauma Center
• Certified Stroke Center
• On-site 24 hour radiology including MRI
• 10 bed state of the art neurological intensive care unit
• 32 bed neurology / neurosurgery inpatient unit equipped with telemetry and continuous pulse-oximetry capabilities.
• 53 bed Emergency Department
• Full rehabilitation services including acute rehabilitation center within walking distance of the clinic and hospital.
• 17 operating suites with microscopes, fluoroscopy and STEALTH navigation
• Inpatient investigational pharmacy
• Full service CLIA and CAP approved clinical laboratories
• Locked -40° freezer
• Ambient centrifuge
• Daily dry ice drops

Tallahassee Neurological Clinic has a satellite office in Marianna, Florida. The neurosurgeons and neurologists travel weekly to this office to care for local residents. Our doctors are able to provide preventative diagnosis and treatment along with both non-surgical and surgical care.

Investigator Experience

Christopher Rumana, M.D.
Principal Investigator, Sub-Investigator, President of Tallahassee Neurological Clinic,
Chairman of Neurosurgery at Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare.
Dr. Rumana is Board-Certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery and is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Rumana earned his undergraduate degree with honors and medical school degree from Northwestern University. He completed his neurosurgical residency training at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. During his training he received the distinguished Mayfield Award for Research. Dr. Rumana is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha national honor medical society.

Albert S. Lee, M.D.
Sub-Investigator
Dr. Lee completed his undergraduate education in biology at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. After completing three years of basic science research at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA, he graduated with honors from Boston University School of Medicine. Dr. Lee then completed his internship in general surgery and residency in neurosurgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital in Boston. Dr. Lee is Board-Certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery and is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha.

Matthew F. Lawson, M.D
Sub-Investigator
Dr. Lawson attended Harvard University and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in biochemical sciences. He then attended the University of Florida and received his medical degree cum laude in 2004. Matt began residency at UF in July of 2004 in General Surgery and then transitioned to Neurosurgery in 2006. During his research year, Dr. Lawson completed an enfolded fellowship in Endovascular Neurosurgery under the direction of Drs. Brian Hoh, J. Mocco, and Chris Firment. Dr. Lawson was selected as Council of State Neurosurgical Societies Socioeconomic Fellow for 2009-2010, then was appointed a CNS representative to the CSNS. Dr. Lawson moved to Tallahassee in July 2012 where he joined Tallahassee Neurological Clinic at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital.

Staff Expertise

Lutheria Hollis, CCRC is the Director of Clinical Research. She has thirty years of multi-disciplinary experience in Phase I-IV clinical research with concentration on neurology, neurosurgery and oncology. She certified by the Association of Clinical Research Professionals as a Certified Clinical Research Coordinator.

April Bell, M.S., CCRC is the Regulatory Administrator . She has over 15 years of experience as an allied health professional with recent concentration in neurosurgical and cardiovascular research. She is certified by the association of Clinical Research professionals as a Certified Clinical Research Coordinator.

Additional Key Personnel
Abigail Brooks, ARNP-C
Kimberly Langford, ARNP-C
Deborah Condon, ARNP
Skylar Perkins, ARNP

Patient Demographics

Our comprehensive patient base consists of the neurology and neurosurgery outpatient clinic, the Marianna, Florida, satellite office, and our exclusive neurosurgery contract with TMH giving us an expanded patient base from which to draw research participants. Our patient population includes males and females of all age groups and socioeconomic backgrounds. Located in Leon County, Tallahassee is home to three major universities and a large population of retirees, young people, and families. The residents of Leon County are highly educated, with nearly 50% of county residents holding a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate degree.

Contact Center

If you are interested in contacting this center to discuss placing a clinical trial there, please complete and send the email form below. A representative from the research center will then follow up with you.