Timothy H. Lucas Jr, MD

Dr. Timothy Lucas is a nationally recognized neurosurgeon whose deep commitment to patient care is shaped not only by decades of surgical expertise, but by personal experience. Having supported both his younger sister and wife through life-altering brain conditions, Dr. Lucas brings a rare and profound empathy to the operating room. He understands what it means to be on both sides of the white coat—and that insight fuels his relentless advocacy for his patients. 

Specializing in complex neurological disorders, Dr. Lucas views neurosurgery as a means of preserving what makes us uniquely human—our thoughts, memories, and identity. His philosophy of care is simple yet powerful: provide the highest standard of care with empathy, respect, and dignity. He treats every patient the way he hopes his own family would be treated. 

Dr. Lucas’s training spans leading institutions across the globe. He completed his neurosurgery residency at the University of Washington and advanced fellowships in functional neurosurgery, neuro-oncology, skull base, and vascular neurosurgery at UCSF, the Royal College of Surgeons (London), and the University of Washington. His academic trajectory led him to tenure at the University of Pennsylvania, where he bridged clinical care with cutting-edge research as a surgeon-scientist. 

A prolific innovator, Dr. Lucas leads multiple first-in-human clinical trials and serves as Investigator-Sponsor on FDA Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) studies. He is also a standing member of the NIH Translational Neurodevices Study Section and has a research portfolio funded by the NIH, NSF, and Department of Defense. His work has been featured in Nature, PNAS, Science Translational Medicine, Cell, the Washington Post, and major medical device publications.