Jump to: Elad I. Levy, MD, MBA, FACS, FAHA | Gita Barry, MBA | David B. Crawford, CFA| Brian L. Hoh, MD, MBA: CNS President-Elect | Alexander Khalessi, MD, MBA: CNS Foundation Vice Chair | Steven N. Kalkanis, MD: CNS President |Ricardo J. Komotar, MD, FACS| Praveen V. Mummaneni, MD| Brian V. Nahed, MD, MSc.| Ganesh Rao, MD| Clemens Schirmer, MD, PhD| Regina Shupak, CEO CNS | Martina Stippler, MD|
Elad I. Levy, MD, MBA, FACS, FAHA: Chair of CNS Foundation
Dr. Elad Levy is Professor of Neurosurgery and Radiology, L. Nelson Hopkins, MD Chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery, Jacobs School of Medicine at Biomedical Sciences, at State University of New York at Buffalo. In 2017 he was appointed as one of 12 National Directors to the American Board of Neurological Surgery. In 2018 he was appointed Secretary to the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) Executive Committee and appointed to the 2018 American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) Ethics Committee for a two year term. His most recent award in 2018 was receiving the “2018 Drake Lectureship” at the CV Section at CNS. Dr. Levy has a national and global reputation in the field of neurovascular disease, and has co-authored over 300 peer-reviewed publications, including several in the New England Journal of Medicine. He has also co-authored many published books in neurovascular disease, his most recent being “Decision Making in Neurovascular Disease” Thieme Publishers, May 1, 2018. Dr. Levy is Secretary of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and Chair of the CNS Foundation.
Gita Barry, MBA
Gita joined Penumbra as Vice President, Global Marketing in January 2016. Prior to joining Penumbra, Gita worked at Stryker Corporation for twelve years where she held a variety of positions with successfully greater responsibility in both Stryker’s Orthopedics group and Neurovascular division in product management, strategy, business development/integration and information technology. Prior to Stryker, Gita held various product development roles with other cardiovascular medical device companies including WL Gore and Associated and Cordis in the areas of coronary and peripheral vascular products. Gita received a BS in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Miami (FL) and an Executive MBA from Santa Clara University. Ms. Barry serves as a CNS Foundation Advisory Board member.
David B. Crawford, CFA
David B. Crawford, CFA is the President of Crawford Investment Counsel and has been with the firm since 1992. Crawford Investment Counsel has over $6.3 billion in assets under management serving both institutional and private clients. All client portfolios are internally managed utilizing the firm’s proprietary investment strategies. David is responsible for managing the organization on a day-to-day basis and works with a limited number of clients. Prior to joining Crawford Investment Counsel, David was a member of the credit department with The Federal Home Loan Bank.
David received his BA in Economics from Denison University, his MS in Finance from Georgia State University, and he has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. He has served on both the Board of Mercy Care Foundation and as Chairman of Mercy Care’s Investment Committee. David currently sits on the Board of Directors for Saint Joseph’s Health System. Mr. Crawford serves on the Board of the CNS Foundation.
Brian L. Hoh, MD, MBA: CNS President-Elect
Elected 2013 Brian L. Hoh was born in 1971 in Omaha, Nebraska. He received his B.A.S. (biological sciences, political science) from Stanford University in 1993, and his M.D. with AOA honors from Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons in 1998. He completed his internship in surgery and residency in neurosurgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital. During his neurosurgery residency, he completed an infolded 2-year fellowship in endovascular surgical neuroradiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He received his MBA from the University of Florida Hough Graduate School of Business with Beta Gamma Sigma honors.
Dr. Hoh joined the faculty of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Florida in 2006, and became Chair of the department in 2018. He is currently the tenured James and Brigitte Marino Family Professor and Chair of Neurosurgery of the Lillian S. Wells Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Florida. He is a past-Program Director of neurosurgery and past-Fellowship Director of the endovascular surgical neuroradiology fellowship at the University of Florida.
Dr. Hoh is currently President-Elect, and previously Vice President, Member-At-Large and Ex-Officio member of the CNS Executive Committee. He is a past Chair and Treasurer of the Joint AANS/CNS Cerebrovascular Section and member of the Executive Committee of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. He served on the editorial board of the Journal of Neurosurgery and completed a term as co-chair in 2017. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a Fellow of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, a Fellow of the American Heart Association, and a senior member of the Society of Neurointerventional Surgery. Dr. Hoh's clinical interests are cerebrovascular and endovascular neurosurgery. His research interests are cerebral aneurysm pathophysiology and development of novel biological treatments for aneurysms. Dr. Hoh was awarded an NIH R01 Award, NIH K08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award, as well as grants from the AANS NREF (Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation), Brain Aneurysm Foundation, Thomas Maren Foundation, among others, to study the pathophysiologic mechanisms of aneurysm formation and novel biologic treatments for aneurysms. He is also interested in the socioeconomics of neurosurgery and was awarded the AANS Robert D. Florin award in 2009 and the AANS Byron Cone Pevehouse award in 2012 for socioeconomic research.
Dr. Hoh is President-Elect of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and serves on the Board of the CNS Foundation.
Alexander Khalessi, MD, MBA: CNS Foundation Vice Chair
Dr. Alexander Khalessi was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1977 to Ms. Ellie Oskouian and Dr. Sadri Khalessi. His academic career began as valedictorian of El Toro High School in Southern California; he graduated from Stanford University with a BA in Public Policy with Departmental Honors and a Master of Science in Health Services Research. Dr. Khalessi continued his medical education at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He then returned to California where he began his neurosurgical residency training at the University of Southern California. He was deeply fortunate to train under the mentorship of Drs. Martin Weiss and Steve Giannotta. During this period, Dr. Khalessi completed an enfolded, CAST-certified endovascular neurosurgery fellowship under Drs. Nick Hopkins, Elad Levy, and Adnan Siddiqui in Buffalo, New York. He returned to LA County-USC as clinical instructor and resident supervisor in the Department of Neurosurgery and began an endovascular service for the medically indigent. Dr. Khalessi was recruited by Dr. Bob Carter to the University of California, San Diego in 2011. Charged with developing a destination cerebrovascular service, he led UC San Diego?s recognition as the third comprehensive stroke center in the country and ultimate expansion to one of few health systems nationally with two comprehensive stroke centers in both Hillcrest and La Jolla. Under Dr. Carter?s guidance, he served as Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs and oversaw a substantial expansion of the clinical service. In January 2018, following a broad national search, Dr. Khalessi was named Chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery. At age 40, he was among the youngest to be trusted with this responsibility; he remains deeply proud of his brilliant faculty partners and the trajectory of the Department. The Department performed a record 3,400 major cases in 2019 and combined research profile with its sister Department of Neurosciences is perennially #1 or 2 nationally in NIH funding. Completing the transition to an academic department, Dr. Khalessi is initiating the broader process of organizing as a combined Neurologic Institute. As a Professor of Surgery, Radiology and Neurosciences, Dr. Khalessi directs national and international courses, including the intermediate resident course for the Society of Neurological Surgeons (SNS). Dr. Khalessi served on the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), Residency Review Committee (RRC) for Neurological Surgery, and the editorial board for the Journal of Graduate Medical Education. He was also named as an ACGME working group member for Neurosurgery and Endovascular Surgical Neuroradiology Milestone Projects. Dr. Khalessi has published over 130 peer reviewed papers and monographs with over 175 abstracts and presentations. He has served as principal or co-investigator of more than 15 clinical trials and grants. The intersection between physiology, engineering, and neurosurgical technique animates his research interest. Translational research interests include the impact of neurovascular devices on endothelial cell biology. Dr. Khalessi serves on the Executive Committee of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) and represents the CNS and American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) to the American College of Radiology. Dr. Khalessi has further served as Scientific Program Chair and Annual Meeting Chair for CNS. Dr. Khalessi is currently on the Joint CNS-AANS Washington Committee and serves on the Board of Governors for the American College of Surgeons. Regionally, he served two terms as president of the San Diego Academy of Neurological Surgery and was voted a San Diego Top Doc for Neurological Surgery. Recently, Dr. Khalessi further continued his post-graduate education by earning a Master of Business Administration from Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management in 2019. Today, Dr. Khalessi resides in La Jolla, CA with his wife Sara, a lawyer, and their two young sons, Wilder and Pierce.</p> <p><span>Dr. Khalessi is Vice Chair of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons Foundation and </span><span>serves on the Executive Committee of the CNS.
Steven N. Kalkanis, MD: CNS President
Dr. Kalkanis is Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery, and co-director of the Neuroscience Institute, at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan. Since Dr. Kalkanis became chair in 2014, the Department has grown to 32 faculty with 2 residents per year, and with a total of 7 NIH R01 grants currently in Neurosurgery. Dr. Kalkanis also serves as Medical Director of the Henry Ford Cancer Institute (HFCI). Under his leadership, HFCI has grown to a $1.2billion enterprise with 1425 employees treating more than 8,000 new cancer patients each year.
Dr. Kalkanis joined Henry Ford in 2004 after completing his neurosurgical training at Massachusetts General Hospital. He graduated with highest honors from Harvard University with the John Harvard Award, and then Harvard Medical School, where he served as Class Marshal and received the Linnane Prize for highest academic achievement.
In 2009, Dr. Kalkanis led a multidisciplinary team of experts to publish the largest set of guidelines to date on the treatment of metastatic brain tumors. He was the founding chair of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) Guidelines Committee where he helped to spearhead ten clinical practice guidelines in a myriad of topics, and he is the vice-Chair of the AANS/CNS Joint Guidelines Review Committee. He also is a past president of the Michigan Association of Neurological Surgeons.
Dr. Kalkanis served as Chair of the AANS/CNS Section on Tumors from 2016-2018. In 2018, he was named a Director of the American Board of Neurological Surgery. Elected to the CNS Executive Committee in 2009, Dr. Kalkanis has served in numerous leadership roles, including Scientific Program Chair, Secretary, and now President-Elect.
With the goal of refining personalized medicine treatment protocols, and as the Mark Rosenblum Endowed Chair in Neurosurgery, Dr. Kalkanis runs an NIH-funded translational research laboratory investigating molecular genetic differences between short-and long-term glioma survivors. Specializing in brain tumor surgery, he has been involved in numerous clinical trials and has authored over 135 peer reviewed publications.
Dr. Kalkanis is President of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and serves on the Board of the CNS Foundation.
Ricardo J. Komotar, MD, FACS
Dr. Komotar is Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery at the University of Miami School of Medicine. He graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in neuroscience from Duke University, spending a year at Oxford University in England to focus on neuropharmacology. He received his medical degree from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine with highest honors and completed his internship and neurosurgical residency at Columbia University Medical Center/The Neurological Institute of New York, followed by a surgical neurooncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to specialize in brain tumors.
As Director of the University of Miami Brain Tumor Initiative, Director of Surgical Neurooncology at the University of Miami, Director of the UM Neurosurgery Residency Program, and Director of the UM Surgical Neurooncology Fellowship Program, Dr. Komotar’s main clinical interests are surgical and radiosurgical (Gamma Knife) treatment of primary and metastatic brain tumors, as well as meningiomas and pituitary lesions. Dr. Komotar is an internationally recognized leader in the field of brain tumors and performs nearly 700 procedures for these conditions each year using advanced cutting-edge surgical/radiosurgical techniques, making him one of the highest volume brain tumor surgeons in the world.
His research interests include clinical trial development and translational neurooncologic investigations designed to pioneer new therapies for brain tumors. Author of over 500 peer-reviewed scientific articles, book chapters, and invited editorials, Dr. Komotar has received research funding from the National Institutes of Health as well as other national and regional grants. He has served on the Executive Committee for the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and the Executive Board for the AANS/CNS Joint Section on Tumors. He is Founder and Director of the Annual Neurosurgery Charity Softball Tournament to benefit brain tumor research. He is a member of the Society of Neurooncology and reviewer for both Neurosurgery and the Journal of Neurosurgery. Dr. Komotar is also an Emmy ® nominated physician for his work on the series “Breakthrough Medicine”. Dr. Komotar serves on the Board of the CNS Foundation.
Praveen V. Mummaneni, MD
Dr. Praveen Mummaneni is a neurosurgeon who directs UCSF's cervical spine and minimally invasive spine surgery programs. He also serves as co-director of the UCSF Spine Center and vice chair of the neurosurgery department.
In patient care, Mummaneni specializes in surgeries for a variety of conditions, including degenerative spinal disease (affecting the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine), spinal deformities such as scoliosis, and spinal tumors. His surgical techniques range from minimally invasive to complex.
Mummaneni earned his medical degree at Boston University School of Medicine and completed a residency in neurological surgery at UCSF. His additional training includes a complex spine fellowship at Emory University.
Mummaneni is internationally recognized for his work on cervical kyphosis and minimally invasive approaches to spinal deformity surgery and spinal tumors. He has been a guest lecturer at international meetings on six continents and has published more than 300 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals. He is editor of several textbooks, including Spinal Deformity: A Guide to Surgical Planning and Management, Handbook of Minimally Invasive and Percutaneous Spine Surgery, Handbook of Spine Surgery, Cervical Spine Surgery: Current Trends and Challenges and Minimally Invasive Spinal Deformity Surgery: An Evolution of Modern Techniques. Every year since 2005, he has been selected by U.S. News & World Report as one of the best doctors in America. He has also been named a Super Doctor by the San Francisco Chronicle, a Top Doctor by Marin Magazine and a Top Doctor by Castle Connolly. He is the Joan O'Reilly Endowed Professor in Spinal Surgery at UCSF.
Mummaneni is active in several professional organizations. He was among the first neurosurgeons to obtain active membership in the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) and to win its Edgar Dawson Traveling Fellowship. He has served as a director of SRS, president of the San Francisco Neurological Society, president of the California Association of Neurological Surgeons, and chair of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and Congress of Neurological Surgeons' joint section on the spine. He serves on the editorial board of multiple journals, and he completed a term as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine. He is Treasurer for the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and Treasurer of the CNS Foundation.
Brian V. Nahed, MD, MSc.
Dr. Brian Nahed is a neurosurgeon specializing in brain tumors (glioblastoma, gliomas (low grade and high grade), metastatic brain tumors, and meningiomas) as well as Spinal Disorders. Dr. Nahed specializes in brain tumors of the eloquent cortex (language and motor areas of the brain) which require mapping (awake surgery, language and motor mapping, and subcortical stimulation).
Born in New York, Dr. Nahed attended UCLA where he majored in Neuroscience, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and with the department's Highest Honors. He attended the Yale School of Medicine where he was awarded the Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellowship and graduated with honors. Dr. Nahed completed his internship and neurosurgery residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital; where Dr. Nahed also completed a postdoctoral fellowship with Drs. Daniel Haber and Shyamala Maheswaran in the MGH Cancer Center.
Dr. Brian Nahed was recruited to the MGH Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Tumor Center in 2011. As an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Brian Nahed's research focuses on developing the first blood based test to diagnose and monitor brain tumors. In collaboration with Drs. Haber, Maheswaran, and Stott, Dr. Nahed published the first evidence of circulating tumor cells in the blood of patients with glioma. Dr. Nahed is working to provide patients and their clinicians with the first blood test for brain tumors. Dr. Brian Nahed serves as the Associate Director of the MGH Neurosurgery Residency Program. He serves on the Executive Committee of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and the CNS/AANS section on Tumors. He serves as the Chair of the CNS Leadership Institute, and Vice-Scientific Programming Chair. Dr. Nahed serves on the Board of the CNS Foundation.
Ganesh Rao, MD: CNS President, 2018-2019
Dr. Ganesh Rao is Professor and Chairman of Neurosurgery in the Department of Neurosurgery at Baylor College of Medicine. He holds the Marc J. Shapiro endowed chair and serves as the neurosurgery service line chief across the CHI St. Luke's/CommonSpirit Health Texas Division. Prior to his appointment at BCM, Dr. Rao served as a faculty member at MD Anderson Cancer Center, beginning in 2006.
Dr. Rao is the recipient of numerous awards including the American Brain Tumor Society's Young Investigator Award and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons/Congress of Neurological Surgeons Preuss Award for Excellence in Basic Neurosurgical Research. Dr. Rao's laboratory efforts are focused on modeling the genetic basis of malignant gliomas in mice and he is currently supported by the National Institutes of Health. His clinical interests include the surgical management of primary and metastatic brain tumors. He also has significant experience with the surgical management of primary and metastatic spinal column tumors. He has authored over 100 manuscripts on a wide variety of topics in neurosurgical oncology. He has been recognized by U.S. News and World Report and Best Doctors in America. Dr. Rao serves on the Board on the CNS Foundation.
Clemens Schirmer, MD, PhD
Clemens M. Schirmer, MD, PhD, FAANS, FACS, FAHA earned his medical degree and a doctorate in medical research from Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany and at Harvard Medical School under the auspices of the Harvard Munich Alliance for Medical Education. He then completed his residency in Neurosurgery and fellowship in Interventional Neuroradiology at the Tufts Medical Center program in Boston.
ABNS board certified in neurological surgery and holding CAST certificates both in neuroendovascular surgery and neurocritical care, he currently serves as Vice Chair in the Department of Neurosurgery and holds the rank of full Professor of Neurosurgery and Neuroscience in the unmodified research track at the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. He also serves as the System Director of the Geisinger Comprehensive Stroke Centers and System Director of Cerebrovascular and Endovascular Neurosurgery, specializing in the treatment of stroke and related vascular disorders of the brain and spine using surgery, endovascular and radiation modalities. He is the Program director of the Geisinger Neurosurgery residency training program and the CAST Neuroendovascular Fellowship program.
His research interests focus on the quality metrics, variation of care, shared decision making and patient centered outcomes, genomics and biomarkers of stroke, machine learning and data analytics. He serves as principal investigator of several clinical trials in the stroke arena aiming to bringing novel and innovative therapies to the market and creating premier Geisinger initiatives such as Early Recovery, ProvenCare and ProvenExperience.
He serves as secretary of the the AANS/CNS Joint Cerebrovascular Section and the executive committee of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons where he is chair of the International Division of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, Advisor to the AMA RBRVS RUC committee and heads the AANS/CNS Coding and Reimbursement courses. He has been appointed to MEDCAC and appointed to the Premier Group Purchasing Organization Member Cardiovascular Advisory Committee and multiple CMS/Acumen Cost- and Medicare Spending per Beneficiary- Measure Development Panels.
Regina Shupak, CEO CNS
Regina Shupak began her Congress of Neurological Surgeons career in 1998. Over the past 22 years, she has served the organization and its membership in various roles, including Director of Scientific Meetings, Interim Executive Director and Deputy CEO, guiding the organization through a number of changes and challenges and launching the CNS Foundation in 2012. In 2014, Ms. Shupak became CNS CEO. Under her leadership, CNS’ education portfolio has expanded every year, bringing a wealth of new live and online content to an ever-growing group of members. Ms. Shupak has been instrumental in cultivating a robust staff culture at the CNS and enhancing the organization’s fiscal strength. The stability and adaptability she has fostered ensures the CNS will continue to serve members through whatever the future holds.
Ms. Shupak received her BSc in Hospitality Management, and a Master of Arts in Training and Development (MATD) from Roosevelt University in Chicago. Regina is a certified Paralegal, holds credentials in Training and Development and Instructional Design. Ms. Shupak serves as an Advisory Member of the CNS Foundation Board.
Martina Stippler, MD
Dr. Martina Stippler is Director of Neurotrauma at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She completed her neurosurgery training at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. She has a busy complex spine and endoscopic pituitary practice. Her research interests are in multimodal TBI management, triage of mild TBI and end of life discussion and goal of care discussion in the urgent setting. She has participated in many landmark TBI studies such as PROTECT, RESCUE acute SDH trial and, coming soon, BOOST III. She serves on the Executive Committee of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and as a member at large of the AANS/CNS section of Neurotrauma and Chair Elect of Women in Neurosurgery. Dr. Stippler serves on the Board on the CNS Foundation.