Our Surgical Programs
Today the Department of Neurological Surgery honors three outstanding team members, all of whom are marking their 20-year anniversaries with us. Kimberly Salvaggio, MSN, FNP-BC; Kristin Strybing, MS, FNP-BC; and Suzan Wollard, MMSc, PA-C, all joined the team within a few months of one another between late 2001 and early 2002, during a period of extraordinary growth in the department. Two decades later they are three of our most valued team members, continuing to provide excellent care to their patients and now also offering mentorship and advice to more junior members of the team. On February 3 each year we take a moment to honor women physicians everywhere. The date marks the birthday of Elizabeth Blackwell, who was the first woman in America to receive a medical degree. Born in England in 1821, Elizabeth moved to the United States with her family as a child. Her desire to become a physician was met with scorn and she was rejected by every medical school she applied to. On "Giving Tuesday" (November 30), the Children’s Brain Tumor Project received a profound surprise from the Cristian Rivera Foundation (CRF)—a donation of $302,120 in support of Dr. Mark Souweidane’s research. The William Rhodes and Louise Tilzer-Rhodes Center for Glioblastoma at NewYork-Presbyterian has awarded a quarter-million-dollar seed grant to Dr. Rohan Ramakrishna, Dr. Howard Fine, and Dr. Dan-Avi Landau to study the impact of genetic alterations on cellular states in glioma. A record 16 faculty members from the Weill Cornell Medicine Brain and Spine Center were named to the 2020 list of New York SuperDoctors, published as a supplement to the New York Times Magazine on May 10, 2020. This list is an elite roster of physicians named by their peers as the very best in their field. Babacar Cisse, MD, PhD, assistant professor of neurological surgery and of neuroscience in the Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, has been named as the newest Leonard and Fleur Harlan Clinical Scholar, effective April 1, 2018. The three-year appointment supports an outstanding junior faculty member in the field of neurological surgery and will allow Dr. Cisse to develop his brain tumor research laboratory, which focuses on the development and progression of gliomas. Established 2017 Chairman Philip E. Stieg and the Department of Neurological Surgery at the Weill Cornell Medical College have established the Michael L. J. Apuzzo Resident Literature Award for Creativity and Innovation for contributions to the peer-reviewed medical literature. This week’s issue of New York magazine features the annual listing of “Best Doctors in New York,” and the Weill Cornell Medicine Brain and Spine Center is once again proud to have eight members of our team included on the list. This prestigious roster includes Dr. Philip E. The Samuel Jeffers Childhood Cancer Foundation has donated $5,000 to the Children’s Brain Tumor Project (CBTP) to fund a dedicated summer fellow for thalamic glioma research. The fellow will focus on assembling a thalamic glioma tissue repository here at Weill Cornell to provide researchers with tumor samples to study. Dr. Theodore Schwartz and Dr. Mark Souweidane recently presented at the Second Annual International Congress of the Neurosurgery Department of Ain Shams University (AINAS II) in Cairo. The international meeting, which was organized by the university in collaboration with the Egyptian Society of Neurological Surgery (ESNS), brought together experts from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Germany, South Korea, Finland, the United Kingdom, and the United States to bring advanced endoscopic neurosurgical training to local surgeons. Dr. Theodore Schwartz recently joined the 2015 Mission: BRAIN trip to Guadalajara, Mexico, where U.S. neurosurgeons provided their expertise to local health care providers and patients. This humanitarian effort, founded in 2011 by Dr. Michael Lawton of UCSF and Dr. Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa of Johns Hopkins, brings world-class neurosurgical services and training to under-served hospitals and patients. The project has developed multiple partnerships throughout Mexico and has recently expanded to the Philippines. Jared Knopman, M.D., has been named to the 2014 Rising Stars list, his second consecutive appearance on the list. Introduced in 2013, the Rising Stars list acknowledges doctors who have been practicing for less than 10 years but who have already distinguished themselves among their peers. The list was published on September 28 in a special section of The New York Times Magazine. The Weill Cornell Brain and Spine Center is proud to count six of our neurosurgeons among the Best Doctors listed in New York magazine’s annual Best Doctors issue. This year’s list includes four of our full-time faculty — Dr. Philip E. Stieg, chairman of the department of neurosurgery and neurosurgeon-in-chief; Dr. The in-patient staff of 2SW has been awarded a 90th Percentile Achievement Award by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital for Q42013. This award is given to units whose overall mean score placed them in the 90th percentile for patient satisfaction. Dr. Philip E. Stieg, Chairman of the Weill Cornell Brain and Spine Center and Neurosurgeon-in-Chief of New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, has announced that Amanda L. Sacks, Ph.D., ABPP-CN, has been appointed to the faculty of Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Sacks is a neuropsychologist who specializes in cognitive remediation for deficits caused by traumatic brain injury; brain tumors and cranial surgery; chemotherapy and radiation; and stroke and other cerebrovascular conditions and events. John Boockvar, M.D., was awarded $100,000 by Voices Against Brain Cancer at last night's 8th Annual Sounding Off for a Cure NY Benefit. The award, which covers the period from July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014, is to support Dr. Boockvar's work investigating “Intra-arterial delivery to the glioma stem cell niche.” This year’s list includes Neurosurgeon-in-Chief Philip Stieg, M.D., Ph.D.; Vice Chairman and Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery Mark Souweidane, M.D.; Vice Chairman for Research and Director of Movement Disorders Michael Kaplitt, M.D., Ph.D.; Chief of Spinal Surgery Roger Hartl, M.D.; and spine surgeon Eric Elowitz, M.D. Theodore Schwartz, M.D., has been named to the editorial board of the Journal of Neurosurgery, the official publication of the American Association of Neurosurgeons (AANS) and considered the leading scholarly journal on neurosurgery in the world. CNBC anchor Maria Bartiromo will deliver the featured keynote address at Brain Tumor Biotech Summit 2013, speaking on “Innovation in the Changing World Economy.” Bartiromo, who anchors CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo” as well as the nationally syndicated "On the Money with Maria Bartiromo," is an award-winning business journalist and author. The presentation was made at the annual Scientific Meeting of the Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO) in Washington, DC. Their study compares the relative effectiveness of Cesium-131 versus other common therapies in treating newly diagnosed metastatic brain tumors. Dr. John Boockvar, former Representative Patrick Kennedy, and biotechnology financial analyst Franklin Berger talk about the state of cancer funding, particularly funding for brain cancer research, on the CNBC show Squawk Box. Watch the video: Six neurosurgeons from the Weill Cornell Brain and Spine Center have been named to the Castle Connolly list of Top Doctors for the New York metro area. Dr. John Boockvar made two appearances on The Dr. Oz Show to discuss brain tumors and their risk factors. Watch the videos. We're proud to have six of our neurosurgeons on this first edition of the magazine's list of top doctors. Intracavitary brachytherapy is a minimally invasive technique used to line a surgical cavity with radioactive seeds — cancer-fighting radioisotopes encased in capsules the size of a rice grain — after removal of malignant disease. This procedure delivers high-dose radiation to the tumor cavity margin to prevent recurrence of microscopic disease in patients with malignant brain tumors. Two neurosurgeons at the Weill Cornell Brain and Spine Center are pioneering an exciting new approach for the treatment of recurrent malignant brain tumors. As reported in this New York Times article published on November 17, 2009, their novel approach to treating these resistant brain tumors is yielding successful results. Follow-up MRI imaging on the treated patients has shown that their tumors have shown a dramatic response to the treatment. Dr. John Boockvar appeared on the CNBC show Squawk Box to talk about his new clinical trial of Avastin for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Watch the video:
Score! Three 20th Anniversaries in Neurosurgery
Honoring Women Physicians
Cristian Rivera Foundation Breaks Record with More Than $300,000 Donation to DIPG Research on Giving Tuesday
Dr. Ramakrishna Awarded $250,000 Grant for Glioma Study
16 Faculty Members Named to 2020 New York SuperDoctors List
Dr. Cisse Appointed Leonard and Fleur Harlan Clinical Scholar
The Michael L. J. Apuzzo Resident Literature Award for Creativity and Innovation
Weill Cornell Medical College8 Weill Cornell Medicine Neurosurgeons Among Top Doctors in New York 2016
Samuel Jeffers Foundation Funds Summer Medical Student Fellow for Thalamic Gliomas
Drs. Schwartz and Souweidane Speak at AINAS II in Cairo
Dr. Schwartz Participates in Mission: BRAIN 2015
Dr. Knopman Named to SuperDoctors Rising Stars List
The Best Neurosurgeons in New York
Neuro ICU Staff on 2SW Recognized for ICU Patient Care
Neuropsychologist and Cognitive Remediation Specialist Amanda Sacks, Ph.D., Joins the Faculty
Dr. Boockvar Awarded $100,000 by Voices Against Brain Cancer
5 Weill Cornell Neurosurgeons Named to List of 2013 SuperDoctors
Dr. Schwartz Joins Editorial Board of Journal of Neurosurgery
Maria Bartiromo to Deliver Featured Keynote Address at Brain Tumor Biotech Summit 2013
Dr. Theodore Schwartz and Dr. Gabriella Wernicke Present Clinical Findings on Cesium-131 Study
Dr. Boockvar and Patrick Kennedy Appear on CNBC to Talk About Brain Cancer Research Funding
6 Weill Cornell Neurosurgeons Named 2012 Top Doctors
Dr. Boockvar Appears on The Dr. Oz Show
Six Weill Cornell Neurosurgeons Named as U.S. News Top Doctors
Dr. Theodore H. Schwartz and Dr. A. Gabriella Wernicke Achieve Breakthrough Use of Cesium-131 for Intracavitary Brachytherapy in Malignant Brain Tumor
Novel Superselective Intraaterial Cerebral Approach Using Avastin Yields Successful Results
Dr. Boockvar Appears on CNBC 'Squawk Box' to Talk About Avastin Trial