Norwich — Dr. Mark Hornyak, a neurosurgeon, has joined the staff of The William W. Backus Hospital and the Hartford HealthCare Ayer Neuroscience Institute, Hartford HealthCare has announced.

Hornyak, who grew up in Clinton, began seeing patients in early April at One Towne Park Plaza in Norwich and is performing procedures at Backus Hospital. He comes to Hartford HealthCare from Bassett Healthcare Network in Cooperstown, N.Y. He earned his medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, served his internship and residency in neurosurgery at New York Medical College in Valhalla, N.Y., and is fellowship-trained in skull base surgery from the University of Utah.

His areas of interest include primary brain tumors, tumors of the spine, pituitary tumors, degenerative spinal disorders and peripheral nerve disorders.