Inside an operating room at Tampa General Hospital, a watercolor painting by Dr. Maxim Mokin, professor of neurosurgery, brain and spine at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, hangs on the wall. Dr. Mokin, who is also a vascular and interventional neurologist, incorporates his artistic interests into his medical work.
“One of the reasons I like the field I chose for my practice is that it’s highly visual,” said Dr. Mokin. “We look at blood vessels. We look at blood flow. There is a certain degree of art in trying to understand how different patterns of blood vessel branching represent a normal anatomical variance versus a true abnormality.”
Dr. Mokin and his team are involved in clinical trials and neuro-interventional techniques aimed at identifying which devices are safest and most effective for stroke treatment. USF Health and Tampa General Hospital (TGH) are among the busiest research trial sites in the country for acute stroke management.
“I’m quite proud to say that often what we have at TGH are some of the latest tools that very few centers initially get to use and test,” said Dr. Mokin, who serves as vice chair of research for the USF Health Department of Neurosurgery, Brain and Spine and director of USF’s Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair.
The technologies used include advanced catheters designed to open blocked vessels quickly during strokes, aiming to reduce brain damage and improve recovery times.
Dr. Mokin recently treated Tampa artist Charles Greacen after Greacen learned about a brain aneurysm during a sleep study focused on early onset dementia markers. Dr. Mokin performed an embolization procedure to address the condition.
“They were able to go through the arteries and deliver a little expandable basket that filled that aneurysm and effectively shut it off,” Greacen said. “I truly bonded with Dr. Mokin and felt absolute confidence in his skills. And I feel very lucky that we have a facility in the area that does such advanced research and care.”
USF Health and TGH were among the first hospitals nationally to participate in a multi-site clinical trial evaluating new treatments for ischemic stroke using specialized flexible catheters capable of reaching further into brain vessels than previous models.
“These catheters are now used by many physicians in the United States,” Dr. Mokin said. “But USF Health and Tampa General were one of the first places in the country to get this technology a couple of years ago, and the company (Imperative Care) trusted us to test its efficacy. And it speaks to the quality of research performed here.”
Dr. Mokin noted that patients included in these trials represented a broad cross-section rather than being selectively chosen from specific groups.
“We made sure that we analyzed very carefully what the population of patients we treat on a regular basis is versus the ones we treated as part of the trial. And we found the patients enrolled were highly representative of what an average stroke patient would look like.”
Mokin’s team conducts additional research supported by National Institutes of Health grants, investigating basic questions about stroke causes and effects on brain cells.
“We work very closely not just with our neurology stroke team, but also USF’s Department of Electrical Engineering because they helped us come up with a tool to understand how blood flows through the brain during active states,” he explained.
This optical monitoring tool uses fiber optics during surgery to track blood flow by emitting light signals, alerting doctors if there are potential problems such as strokes or bleeds based on changes detected in how light travels through tissue.
Dr. Mokin is exploring neuro-protection strategies intended to minimize brain damage after strokes occur and support faster patient recovery.
“This could be applied the very first time a patient comes to the ER, or it could be applied in the rehab setting,” he said. “As you know, stroke recovery often takes weeks and months, and both patients and caregivers suffer. So, if we can improve this process by 10 to 15 percent, that would be a tremendous help to the community.”
Painting remains an important outlet for Dr. Mokin outside his medical responsibilities; some works have been sold at local fundraising events benefiting organizations such as USF Health BRIDGE Healthcare Clinic as well as national conferences.
