Derek Southwell, MD, PhD
Neurosurgeon
My Locations
About Me
I was drawn to neurosurgery during medical school when I first witnessed the unusually direct and positive impacts it could make for patients. At Duke Health, I now provide surgical treatments to people affected by epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, and dystonia. My background as a surgeon certainly shapes my interactions with my patients, yet I identify them and also myself more as somebody's sibling, friend, neighbor, and daughter or son. I strive to emphasize our shared perspectives because I believe they lead to the foundations of good care: empathy, respect, clear communication, and a strong focus on patient well-being and safety.
- Associate Professor of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery 2025
- Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences 2019
- Associate Professor in Pathology, Pathology 2025
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Ratings and Reviews
The ratings and reviews are based on patient responses to the overall provider rating question from the survey. The question reads: “Using any number from 0 to 10, where 0 is the worst provider possible and 10 is the best provider possible, what number would you use to rate this provider?” Responses are converted to a 5-point rating system and applied consistently to all providers. Learn more about our survey process. Patients who see some types of providers receive a different version of the patient satisfaction survey. Those results are not available on DukeHealth.org.
Training and Education
In the News
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Clinical Focus and Research
I conduct basic neuroscience research in the Duke Neurobiology Program. Our research group studies how brain cells (neurons) develop during early life and how their dysfunction results in diseases such as schizophrenia, epilepsy, and autism. We are also studying the transplantation of neurons as a prospective treatment for these diseases and for brain injuries.
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Cell Transplantation for Drug-Resistant Epilepsy (NTE-001) NRTX-1001IRB# PRO00108759 , NCT# NCT05135091
- Neurobiology Training Program awarded by National Institutes of Health 2024 - 2029
- Southwell, Derek G. “Interneuron Transplantation for Drug-Resistant Epilepsy.” Neurosurg Clin N Am 35, no. 1 (January 2024): 151–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nec.2023.08.006.
- Sperling, Michael R., Chengyuan Wu, Joon Kang, Julia Makhalova, Fabrice Bartolomei, and Derek Southwell. “The Temporal Lobe Club: Newer Approaches to Treat Temporal Lobe Epilepsy.” Epilepsy Curr 24, no. 1 (2024): 10–15. https://doi.org/10.1177/15357597231213161.
- Duraivel, Suseendrakumar, Shervin Rahimpour, Chia-Han Chiang, Michael Trumpis, Charles Wang, Katrina Barth, Stephen C. Harward, et al. “High-resolution neural recordings improve the accuracy of speech decoding.” Nat Commun 14, no. 1 (November 6, 2023): 6938. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-42555-1.
- Osorio, J. A., J. K. Scheer, D. G. Southwell, and C. P. Ames. “Osteotomy for cervical kyphosis.” In Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy and Radiculopathy: Treatment Approaches and Options, 409–20, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97952-6_34.
- Mitchell-Dick, Aaron M., Michael Adoff, Emily J. Kang, Derek G. Southwell, and Aravind Asokan. “Barcoded Mapping of Promoter Specificity and Efficiency in Human Brain Explants and the Mouse Brain.” In MOLECULAR THERAPY, 31:670–670, 2023.
- Dahlben, B., N. Bukhari-Parlakturk, D. A. Turner, S. Harward, D. Southwell, and K. T. Mitchell. “Deep Brain Stimulation Outcomes in Underreported Dystonias: A Case Series.” In MOVEMENT DISORDERS, 38:S732–S732, 2023.
- Mitchell-Dick, Aaron M., Michael Adoff, Emily J. Kang, Sylvanie Clouden, Derek G. Southwell, and Aravind Asokan. “Structure Function Correlates of New AAV Variants Evolved in Human Brain Explants.” In MOLECULAR THERAPY, 31:460–61, 2023.
Insurance Accepted
Duke Health contracts with most major health insurance carriers and transplant networks, including the ones listed below.
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Aetna
- Aetna Choice POS, Aetna Choice POS II
- Aetna Elect Choice HMO, Aetna Open Access Elect Choice
- Aetna Health Network Only, Aetna Health Network Option
- Aetna HMO
- Aetna Limited Benefit Insurance PPO
- Aetna Managed Choice POS
- Aetna Medicare Assure Plan (HMO D-SNP)
- Aetna Medicare Eagle Plan (PPO)
- Aetna Medicare Essential Plan (PPO)
- Aetna Medicare Value Plan (HMO)
- Aetna Open Access HMO, Open Access Aetna Select, Aetna Open Access Managed Choice
- Aetna Open Choice PPO
- Aetna PCP Coordinated POS Plan
- Aetna Quality Point of Service (QPOS)
- Aetna Select HMO
- Aetna Traditional Choice
- Aetna Voluntary Indemnity Group Plan
- Aetna Whole Health – Duke WakeMed WKCC
- Aetna/CVS Health
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Ambetter
- Ambetter of North Carolina
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Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC
- Blue Advantage
- Blue Medicare (HMO, PPO)*
- Blue Options (123, PPO, HSA)
- Blue Select
- NC State Employees Health Plan
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*Duke HomeCare and Hospice does not participate in the plan.
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Cigna
- Cigna Behavioral Health (*Limited eligibility)
- Cigna Choice Plus
- Cigna Connect Individual Family Plan
- Cigna Open Access
- Cigna Open Access Plus
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*Please call Cigna Behavioral Heath to see if the provider is participating in your plan.
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Duke Group Plans
- Duke Basic
- Duke Select
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Experience Health
- Experience Health Medicare Advantage (HMO) Plan
- Gateway Health Alliance
- Healthgram
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Humana
- Humana Choice (PPO)
- Humana Choice - Medicare Advantage (PPO)
- Humana ChoiceCare - Medicare Advantage (PPO)
- Humana Gold Choice - Medicare Advantage (PFFS)
- Humana Gold Plus - Medicare Advantage (HMO)
- Humana Medicare Advantage Group Plan - NC State Retirees
- MedCost
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Medicare
- First Medicare Direct
- Medicare Part A
- Medicare Part B
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NC Medicaid
- AmeriHealth Caritas North Carolina
- Carolina Complete Health
- Healthy Blue
- NC Medicaid Direct
- WellCare of North Carolina
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TRICARE
- TRICARE Prime
- TRICARE Prime Remote
- TRICARE Select
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United Healthcare
- AARP Medicare Advantage Plan 2 (HMO-POS)
- AARP Medicare Complete (HMO, PPO)*
- AARP Medicare Complete Essential (HMO)*
- All Savers Alternate Funding
- All Savers Fully Insured
- United Healthcare (HMO, PPO, POS)**
- United Healthcare Charter/Charter Balance/Charter Plus
- United Healthcare Choice/Choice Plus
- United Healthcare Core/Core Essential
- United Healthcare Navigate/Navigate Plus/Navigate Balanced
- United Healthcare Option PPO
- United Healthcare Passport Connect Choice/Choice Plus
- United Healthcare Passport Connect Options PPO
- United Healthcare Select/Select Plus
- United Healthcare Shared Services - Harvard Pilgrim/UHC Options PPO Network
- United Medical Resources (UMR)
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*Duke HomeCare and Hospice and mental health providers do not participate with the plan.
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**Duke Health does not participate in UHC plans on the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Before scheduling your appointment, we strongly recommend you contact your insurance company to verify that the Duke Health location or provider you plan to visit is included in your network. Your insurance company will also be able to inform you of any co-payments, co–insurances, or deductibles that will be your responsibility. If you proceed in scheduling an appointment and your health insurance benefits do not participate with Duke, your out of pocket liability may be higher. We will contact you regarding your coverage and patient liability. If you are uninsured, learn more about our financial assistance policy.
External Relationships
- Guidepoint
- NeuroOne
- Neurona Therapeutics