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Academic Activities
Academic Activities
UCLA Neurosurgery is committed to training the academic neurosurgeon of the future. Furthermore, UCLA Neurosurgery is also committed to the advancement of basic and surgical neuroscience through diverse research and educational activities.
Education
The educational program of the residency combines didactic lectures with the opportunity for hands-on learning in both the operating room and in the skull base laboratory, run by Dennis Malkasian, MD, PhD. Conferences are also given to aid resident review for the written board examination, taken in the third and fourth years.
Conferences
Every Wednesday is used for educational endeavors. One Wednesday each month is without any scheduled cases and is designated as an "education day." The day is filled with different lectures including case presentations, brain cutting, neuroanatomy, basic neuroscience, surgical science, journal club, ICU monitoring lectures, surgical symposia (frequently featuring eminent neurosurgical guest speakers), and board review. There is also one hour where the program director meets with the residents to discuss issues related to the residency. One Wednesday each month has a two-hour Morbidity and Mortality conference, where collegial discussions focus on education regarding complication avoidance and management. The remaining Wednesdays usually have two to three hours of lectures involving case presentations, neuroradiology, neuropathology, ICU management, and board review. Food is usually provided at these lectures.
Skull base and Neuroanatomy Laboratory
The skull base and neuroranatomy laboratory is run by Dennis Malkasian, MD, PhD, an accomplished neurosurgeon and faculty member of the Department of Neurobiology. Many different skull base approaches are taught using a hands-on approach on cadaveric heads. Frequently these are videotaped for resident review. Dr. Malkasian and his staff are also skilled illustrators, and supplement the practicum with excellent review materials.
Courses and Meetings
Residents are encouraged to attend and present at all national and local meetings, provided the clinical service has sufficient coverage. Each resident is given a stipend for reimbursement for travel and lodging expenses.
Fellowship Opportunities
Several fellowship opportunities exist within UCLA Neurosurgery. They include clinical fellowships in functional and stereotactic surgery (with Antonio DeSalles, MD, PhD), microvascular surgery and cerebral blood flow fellowship (with Neil Martin, MD, FAANS), interventional neuroradiology (with Fernando Vinuela, MD), and neurocritical care (with Paul Vespa, MD). Many times these fellowships can be infolded within the residency. Please contact the faculty member running the fellowship for more information.
Research
Residents are encouraged to be consistently engaged in clinical and basic science research through their years of training. While publications are not a requirement of the residency, they are strongly encouraged. Frequently residents are asked to participate in the writing of case reports, case series, review articles, and book chapters. Scientific exercises leading to publication are expected. Aside from the extremely large neuroscience (and related fields) community at UCLA (which is open to all residents), faculty members of the Department of Neurosurgery are also actively engaged in scientific endeavors. Research activities and interests are listed below by faculty member.
James I. Ausman, MD
Editor of International Neurosurgical Journal, Surgical Neurology; Economics of Neurosurgery and Future of Healthcare.
Ulrich Batzdorf, MD
Spinal cord tumors, Chiari malformation, syringomyelia.
Antonio A.F. De Salles, MD, PhD
Our lab is extremely interested in topic related to radiosurgery and functional neurosurgery. Representative projects include: low-dose radiation for cell function modification in the rodent, radiation effects in the rete mirabilis, and deep brain stimulation for morbid obesity, as well as depression. We are working with bioengineers to develop nanodevices for recording and stimulation in the brain. We are conducting outcomes research in the areas of radiosurgery for AVMs (associated with embolization), meningiomas, pituitary adenomas, trigeminal neuralgia, metastases for radiosurgery, acoustic neuromas, rare tumors (hemangioblastoma, craniopharyngioma, chordomas, ependymomas, etc...), and radiosurgery for spinal tumors. We routinely have resident involvement in our work, especially during the third-year rotation in functional neurosurgery and radiosurgery.
John Frazee, MD
I am currently involved in the development of novel endoscopic surgical technology and techniques. Partnered with industry, we have created a new working endoscope and are currently working on expanding the field of endoscopic neurosurgery.
Itzhak Fried, MD, PhD
In vivo depth electrode recordings, cognitive neuroscience, temporal lobe epilepsy.
Christopher Giza, PhD
David Hovda, PhD
Our lab looks at recovery of plasticity after traumatic brain injury, including the use of exercise, pharmacologic agents, and environment to facilitate improved cognitive and behavioral outcome after developmental TBI. Our lab is also looking at the prevention of post-traumatic epileptogenesis. We are currently developing a model of post-TBI epilepsy and blocking the process of epileptogenesis using mechanism-based pharmacotherapy. New projects are ongoing, including a repeated conclusive brain injury model. Clinical research is ongoing; we currently maintain a pediatric TBI database to look at age-dependent differences in physiology, an outcome after TBI. There are also databases looking at longitudinal outcome after moderate-severe TBI with neuropsychological testing and neuroimaging.
Thomas Glenn, PhD
Neil Martin, MD, FAANS
Donald Becker, MD
Traumatic brain injury, cerebral blood flow, vasospasm, aneurysms and AVMs, stroke.
Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, PhD
David Hovda, PhD
Our lab is currently looking at the molecular mechanisms of brain and spinal cord injury. Various sub-projects are being conducted to look into the role of neurotrophins in synaptic plasticity after CNS trauma. We are developing therapeutic interventions for brain trauma based on the use of select dietary factors and exercise. We have an interest in starting translational applications for the use of diet and exercise after traumatic brain injury.
Nestor Gonzalez, MD
Our lab is currently analyzing the impact of geometric/morphologic features of intracranial aneurysms that have an effect on successful coil embolization. We have collected one of the largest databases in the world with more than 1500 aneurysms treated. I am also interested in developing technology to predict cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage. There are multiple clinical retrospective studies available for residents to take part in. I am actively collaborating with Fernando Vinuela, MD, Gary Duckwiler, MD, and Reza Jahan, MD of Neuro-interventional Radiology.
Neil Harris, PhD
Co-scientific director of 7 Tesla MRI and spectroscopic facility, recovery of function after TBI.
Langston Holly, MD
Clinical research in spinal disorders, chiari malformation and syringomyelia.
Xiao Hu, PhD
Marvin Bergsneider, MD
Our lab is currently interested in intracranial pressure dynamics. We are attempting to perform non-invasive ICP assessment using a data-mining approach. We are also attempting to create a mathematical model of intracranial pressure dynamics and attempt to predict vasospasm using ICP/CBFV/ECG/ABP. We are developing automated analysis of morphology changes of ICP/CBFV/ABP pulses from long-term recordings as well. We are using integrated data mining and multi-scale modeling of dynamics in continuous physiological signals and large-scale metabolite profiling. Clinically, we are looking at the pathophysiology of intracranial pressure dynamics with regard to hydrocephalus and brain injury. We are also investigating the pathophysiology of cerebral blood flow autoregulation and early detection of cerebral tissue ischemia.
Jorge Lazareff, MD
Our lab concentrates on brain tumor stem cells (BTSC). The goal is to discover novel targeted therapies for brain tumors by identifying compounds to selectively eradicate BTSCs. We have been investigating genes and signaling pathways to regulate survival and/or proliferation of BTSCs. All residents are elcome to take part in our work, and hopefully will find a signaling pathways to help characterize and potentially verify the effects of candidate drug compounds on BTSCs.
Linda Liau, MD
Robert Prins, PhD
Our lab is currently looking at the molecular biology of brain tumors and investigating the potential for therapeutic intervention. We currently have two R01 grants and several training grants to investigate translational experimental therapeutics of cell-based therapies for brain tumors, as well as the characterization of molecular targets involved in brain tumor pathogenesis and progression. Specific projects that may be of interest to neurosurgery residents include microarray analysis of human glioma samples (looking for genetic differences in immunotherapy patients who responded to dendritic cell vaccination compared with patients that did not respond), pre-clinical immunotherapy modeling in mice (studying anti-tumor immune responses, dendritic cell vaccination, adjuvants, adoptive transfer of tumor-specific T-cells, etc...), and in vivo imaging of CNS tumor growth and T-cell trafficking patterns in pre-clinical mouse models of glioma (work with T-cells, retroviral transduction, tumor transplantation, and various imaging technologies such as bioluminescent and micro-PET).
Gary Mathern, MD
Our lab is currently attempting to identify mechanisms of epileptogenesis using anatomical and cellular electrophysiological techniques on cortical dysplasia tissue removed to control refractory epilepsy in children. A current area of interest would be to develop the ability to capture single cells in pediatric cortical dysplasia in order to identify genomic abnormalities based on cell type to determine the underlying genetic causes of malformed cells and cortex. We would then try to relate these changes to childen with hemimegalencephaly and other forms of dysplasia including the tuberous sclerosis complex. We also have an interest in using newer technologies with greater accuracy to determine subtle and milder forms of cortical dysplasia causing refractory epilepsy in children. We could use this to determine the margins necessary to achieve complete seizure control after resective surgery; we would attempt to validate these techniques using histopathology from resected tissue. Currently we are collaborating with Noriko Salamon, MD of Radiology to develop DTI, PET-MRI coregistration, and MEG and to apply them quantitatively in the clinical setting.
Valeriy I. Nenov, PhD
Director of Brain Intensive Monitoring and Modeling Laboratory, computerized ICU monitoring.
Mayumi Prins, PhD
David Hovda, PhD
Our lab looks at biochemical assays to determine the activity of the pentose phosphate shunt after traumatic brain injury in different age groups. We use immunohistochemical approaches to determine whether the alternative fuel (ketones) will reduce oxidative damage that usually occurs after traumatic brain injury. We also use immunohistochemistry to look at the changes in the understudied SGLT-1 transporter for glucose after brain injury. Autoradiographic approaches, utilizing 14C-?OHB and 3H-deoxyglucose, are being used to image changes in both fuel utilization after brain injury in different age groups.
Richard Sutton, PhD
David Hovda, PhD
Neuronal transplantation, neuronal sprouting.
Paul M. Vespa, MD, FCCM
David Hovda, PhD
Our lab is currently investigating various issues in neurocritical care, traumatic brain injury, and intracerebral hemorrhage. Specifically we are looking at the treatment of brain edema in an animal ICU - the development of novel technologies in brain edema and cell survival after intracerebral hemorrhage using an animal ICU model. Some of our studies involve surgical manipulation of the hematoma and modulation of brain edema. We are using animal MRI and PET imaging to track the evolution of edema in this model. Clinical areas of interest include: human TBI PET studies to determine metabolic crisis, hman TBI MRI studies to determine the fate of cell survival, ICH research in human TBI (stereotactic and endoscopic surgery techniques, post-traumatic seizures in TBI and ICH patients, and the use of human samples to evaluate unique proteonomic signatures in TBI (and correlating between PET and proteonomics). We have a large number of case reports regarding novel findings in the ICU clinical work, as well as several book chapters in the field of brain monitoring and ICP.
