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Roberta “Robin” Novakovic, M.D., is a Professor of Radiology and Neurology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, and a member of its Neuroradiology Division.
Dr. Novakovic earned her medical degree at Rush Medical College and completed a residency training program in neurology at the University of Chicago Hospital, where she also completed advanced training through a fellowship program in neurocritical care and acute stroke. She then completed additional advanced training in neuroendovascular surgery through a fellowship program at UT Southwestern, after which she joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2008.
Dr. Novakovic has co-authored papers in leading journals in the fields of neurocritical care, vascular neurology, and interventional neuroradiology; as well as book chapters on these topics that serve as a resource for physicians. She has participated in writing groups and committees who develop training guidelines, certification training modules, and standards for quality improvement in neurology, stroke, and stroke rehabilitation. She currently serves as the quality officer for the Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute.
Dr. Novakovic serves as an ad hoc reviewer for leading publications in her field, as well as on the editorial board for Interventional Neurology Journal. She has been invited to speak, moderate, chair sections, and chair annual meeting committees at national and international meetings, including meetings for the International Stroke Conference, the Neurocritical Care Society, the American Academy of Neurology, the American Neurological Association, the Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology, and the Society of Neurointerventional Surgery.
She is also active in ongoing clinical trials, which helps her offer the latest innovations to her patients as well as advance the field.
Dr. Novakovic has a strong commitment to patient care and strives to improve stroke care nationally and internationally, as well as locally and throughout the state of Texas.
She serves as Chair of the Stroke Committee of the North Central Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council and as a member of the organization's board of directors, and as a member of the Governor's EMS and Trauma Advisory Council's Stroke Committee. She has also served as a board member, executive board member, and committee member for several international organizations, earning a Distinguished Service Award for her service.
Dr. Novakovic is an active member of the American Academy of Neurology, the Neurocritical Care Society, the American Stroke Association, the Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology, the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery, and the Endovascular and Interventional Neurology Section of the American Academy of Neurology.
Roberta “Robin” Novakovic, M.D., is one of the few neurology specialists in the country with training in three complex fields: neurocritical care, vascular neurology, and interventional neuroradiology. This combined training allows her to offer innovative medical care and surgical treatment to patients with significant neurological issues, including brain aneurysms, strokes, arteriovenous malformations (AVM) and fistulae, and narrowed arteries in the brain and neck.
“I became interested in neurocritical care because I like taking care of patients who have complex medical issues and working with their families,” Dr. Novakovic says. “But as my experience grew, I found that I wanted to be able to intervene, as well – to perform procedures that could help save these patients’ lives or lessen the burden of some of these diseases.”
Dr. Novakovic’s multispecialty training enables her not only to diagnose challenging conditions of the brain, neck, and spine but also to offer the minimally invasive surgical procedures that treat them. These endovascular procedures (also known as interventional neuroradiology or interventional neurosurgery) are done through the blood vessels, allowing some patients to avoid open-incision surgery.
Dr. Novakovic says collaboration with referring physicians and primary doctors is essential in these cases.
“We take a multidisciplinary approach to patient care,” she says. “We confer with neurosurgeons, neurologists, neuroradiologists, otolaryngologists, ophthalmologists, and other health care professionals who are focused on offering the safest and best treatment plans.”
Her team also is actively involved in clinical trials, such as testing new treatment strategies and technologies for stroke and aneurysms, to help improve options and provide better outcomes for patients.
“We are committed to offering the highest standard of care and treatments with the least recovery times and lowest risk, whether that means endovascular surgery, medical treatment, or open surgery,” she says.
Dr. Novakovic emphasizes that one of the most important ways she uses her expertise is to help patients and their families understand the neurological conditions they face and to guide them through difficult medical decisions regarding treatment options and prognosis.
“The role of physician is an honor and often comes at a difficult time in a patient’s life,” she says. “Part of my role is to function as a guide through the medical process of these conditions.”
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