Overview

Tarik F. Ibrahim MD, MS Schweitzer Fellow

Each year, Health & Medicine Policy Research Group recognizes the life and legacy of Tarik Ibrahim by naming an outstanding Fellow working with underserved populations the Tarik F. Ibrahim MD, MS Schweitzer Fellow. This honors Dr. Ibrahim’s calling of ensuring the health and well-being of underserved populations and his passion for service and charity within the field of medicine. It was created by a Fellow for Life who was deeply inspired by Dr. Ibrahim’s life:

“The legacy that I want to share about Tarik Ibrahim is that he was the most selfless person I’ve ever met. His character and accomplishments were undoubtedly a reflection of the love and support he received throughout his life from his parents. He was so giving of himself to others in every aspect of his life. Treating his friends and family with love, care and compassion were instinctive to him, as it was to treat strangers like friends, as it was to offer himself in the little free time he had to be of service to others and help mentor medical students and younger residents. He never once complained about the hours he worked or how little time he had to himself. He truly enjoyed being a doctor and caring for the sick. It was his calling. It brought him joy and filled him with life.” .

About Tarik F. Ibrahim MD, MS

Tarik F. Ibrahim was born on September 2, 1981, in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan. He graduated from Penn State College of Medicine in 2010 and completed a neurosurgical residency at Loyola University Medical Center. Dr. Ibrahim’s academic achievements include 39 publications and presentations, with first authorship on several. Notably, he found a treatable cause—now known as the Tarik Syndrome—when one of his patients developed what was thought to be permanent blindness following spinal surgery.

Loyola University Vice Chairman of Neurological Surgery Dr. Russ P. Nockles reflected on Dr. Ibrahim’s discovery as “sight saving scholarly work …it will always stand as a testament to Tarik’s astonishing passion for helping patients when all else had presumably failed.” Because of his accomplishments, Dr. Ibrahim was accepted to the prestigious skull base and cranial nerve surgery fellowship at the Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, Washington. Everyone who met him remembers his warm smile, caring heart, and affectionate demeanor.

Tarik Syndrome

Thanks to Dr. Ibrahim’s dedicated research, occipital lobe seizures and status epilepticus amauroticus (SEA) should now be considered as a possible cause of postoperative vision loss. If SEA is with aggressive antiseizure treatment, permanent vision loss may be prevented. This scientific breakthrough is now aptly named Tarik Syndrome.

Sources:

• Ibrahim TF, Sweis RT, Nockels RP. Reversible Postoperative Blindness caused by Bilateral Status Epilepticus Amauroticus Following Thoracolumbar Deformity Correction: Case Report, Journal of Neurosurgery, 2017 April, 1-5.
• Ziegler A, Spencer D, Nockles RP, Leonetti, J, Ibrahim TF. Tarik Syndrome: Reversible Postoperative Blindness Secondary to Occipital Seizures. World Neurosurgery, (2019) 131:58-61.) https://doi.org/10.1016/j. wneu.2019.07.186
• Ziegler A, Spencer D, Nockels R, Ibrahim T, Leonetti J. Reversible Postoperative Blindness Secondary to Occipital Seizures: Tarik Syndrome. American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery annual meeting AAO-H&N. September 2019: New Orleans, LA (Poster).

2023-24 Tarik F. Ibrahim MD, MS Fellow