Our Specialists

Our Specialists

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Healthcare professionals working together

Meet Our Team of Brain Tumor Experts

The multidisciplinary team at the Ivy Brain Tumor Center spans the entire spectrum of specialty investigators, including neuroscientists, molecular biologists, cell biologists, pharmacokinetics specialists, animal modeling experts, biostatisticians, neurosurgical oncologists, clinical neuro-oncologists, neuro-radiation oncologists, neuropathologists, neuroradiologists, neuroscience nurses, early-phase trial navigators, program managers, and regulatory specialists. Collectively, we represent the nation’s largest early-phase clinical trials team focusing exclusively on brain tumors. Each team member brings a different perspective and background, but our team works seamlessly to accomplish the same goal through cutting-edge brain cancer research and therapies.

Meet Our Team of Brain Tumor Experts

Clinicians

Neurosurgery

Nader Sanai, MDDirector, Ivy Brain Tumor Center and Chief of Neurosurgical Oncology, Barrow Neurological Institute

Kris Smith, MDNeurosurgeon

Andrew Little, MDNeurosurgeon

Zaman Mirzadeh, MD, PhDMetabolism Core Leader Neurosurgeon

John Wanebo, MDNeurosurgeon

Kaith Almefty, MDNeurosurgeon

Randall Porter, MDNeurosurgeon

Steve Chang, MDNeurosurgeon

Michael T. Lawton, MDPresident and CEO, Barrow Neurological Institute Neurosurgeon

Neuro-Radiation Oncology

Igor Barani, MDNeuro-Radiation Oncologist

William Kennedy, MDNeuro-Radiation Oncologist

Neuro-Oncology

Yoshie Umemura, MDChief of Neuro-Oncology, Barrow Neurological Institute

Kelly Braun, MDNeuro-Oncologist

Matthew A. Smith-Cohn, DONeuro-Oncologist

Medical Oncology

Robert Yoo, DOMedical Oncologist

Neuropathology

Jennifer Eschbacher, MDNeuropathologist and CLIA Lab Director

Neuroradiology

John Karis, MDNeuroradiologist

Kevin King, MD, MSCSNeuroradiologist

Wende Gibbs, MDNeuroradiologist

Jeremy Hughes, MDNeuroradiologist

Nicholas Matthees, MDNeuroradiologist

Raza Mushtaq, MDNeuroradiologist

Alan Pitt, MDNeuroradiologist

Neuropsychology

Karine Hageboutros, PsyDNeuropsychologist

Travis McCuddy, PhDNeuropsychologist

Neuro-Oncology Nursing

Jacki Garcia, RN, CNRNNurse Navigator

Kendall Felix, RNNurse Navigator

Neuro-Rehabilitation

Sarah KeySpeech Language Pathologist

Preclinical and Translational Science

Nader Sanai, MDDirector, Ivy Brain Tumor Center and Chief of Neurosurgical Oncology, Barrow Neurological Institute

Shwetal Mehta, PhDDeputy Director and Pre-Clinical Core Leader

Pre-Clinical

Sonam Patel, PhDPostdoctoral Fellow

Gozde Uzunalli, PhDPostdoctoral Fellow

Anilkumar Thaghalli Shivanna, PhDPostdoctoral Fellow

Susan Histed, PhDPostdoctoral Fellow

Keely OrndorffGraduate Student

James McNamaraResearch Technician

Elizabeth HayesResearch Technician

Kaitlyn ChungResearch Technician

Xu HeResearch Technician

Pharmacodynamics

An-Chi Tien, PhDPharmacodynamics Core Leader

Siddhi Desai, PhDPostdoctoral Fellow

Hualin Zhang, PhDPostdoctoral Fellow

Inad RabadiResearch Technician

Sydney CanningResearch Technician

Pharmacokinetics

Artak Tovmasyan, PhDPharmacokinetics Core Leader

Tigran Margaryan, PhDPostdoctoral Fellow

Vahuni Karapetyan, PhDPostdoctoral Fellow

Murugesh Kandasamy, PhDPostdoctoral Fellow

William KnightResearch Technician

Brett RudolphResearch Technician

Pharmacogenomics

Charuta Furey, MDNeurosurgery Resident, Barrow Neurological Institute

Cellular Metabolism

Zaman Mirzadeh, MD, PhDMetabolism Core Leader Neurosurgeon

Shilpa Kommaraju, PhDPostdoctoral Fellow

Chelsea Faber, PhDPostdoctoral Fellow

Arati Sridharan, PhDResearch Engineer

Elaine CabralesResearch Technician

Biostatistics

Wonsuk Yoo, PhDAssociate Professor of Biostatistics

Clinical Operations

Jocelyn HarmonClinical Operations Director

David Jackson, MD, MBAGlobal Medical Director

Amy HongData Management Specialist