Dr. Barolat finished medical school in 1974 at the University of Torino, Italy. He then undertook a residency in Neurosurgery at the University of Torino. Subsequently, he took a fellowship in Functional Neurosurgery and Neurostimulation at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami, Florida. Following the fellowship, Dr. Barolat took a second residency in Neurosurgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. At the same institution he also completed a fellowship in Spinal Cord Injury.

Dr. Barolat is certified both by the American and by the Italian Board of Neurosurgery. Dr. Barolat was professor of Neurosurgery at Thomas Jefferson University, director of Neurosurgical Services at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (TJUH) and director of the Division of Functional Neurosurgery at Thomas Jefferson University until December 2004.

Dr. Barolat practiced at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital from 1985 to 2004. His practice has encompassed cranial and spinal surgery as well as functional neurosurgery. Dr. Barolat has had extensive involvement with the oncology department in the surgical management of cerebral and spinal metastasis, particularly malignant melanomas. Dr. Barolat also functioned as the main pediatric neurosurgeon at TJUH, operating primarily on newborn infants with hydrocephalus and/or spina bifida.

Dr. Barolat has extensive experience with surgical spine procedures. Dr. Barolat was fellowship trained in spinal cord and spine injuries. He was an integral part of the TJUH Spinal Cord Injury Program for over ten years. As such, he has performed hundreds of complex spine operations. He has also been involved in the surgical management of intractable seizures through brain resection procedures and implantation of vagus nerve stimulator devices.

Dr. Barolat was president of the International Neuromodulation Society and is on the Board of the American Neuromodulation Society and on the Editorial Board of the Journal, Neuromodulation. He is currently director-at-large of the International Neuromodulation Society. Dr. Barolat is also one of the world leaders in the area of neuro-implantable technologies for the management of pain and motor disorders.

Dr. Barolat is one of the pioneers of spinal cord stimulation for spasticity and pain management. His practice is one of the largest in the country, with patients being referred from all over the United States as well as from abroad. Dr. Barolat has performed, in the span of 32 years, over 8,000 neurostimulation procedures. His experience encompasses basically almost every neurostimulation application ever appeared on the market. This includes neurostimulation for pain, paralysis, headaches, spasticity, dystonia, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, bladder dysfunction to name a few.

Dr. Barolat has been the author of over 90 medical articles and book chapters. He lectures extensively nationally and internationally. In May 2010 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association of Neurological Surgery and, in 2013, by the North American Neuromodulation Society. Dr Barolat has been practicing neurosurgery and neuromodulation in Denver, Colorado since June 2005. He is affiliated with the Presbyterian/St. Lukes Medical Center. During his spare time, Dr. Barolat enjoys spending time with his lovely wife, playing tennis, hiking, traveling and being with his dogs.