The Stanford Stroke Center Team - Faculty

Adam Rizvi, MD
Neurocritical Care Fellow

Dr. Adam Rizvi is a Neurocritical Care fellow with research interests in quantitative EEG, simulation training, and end-of-life care. Prior to Stanford, he was a neurology resident at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis where he acted as chief resident for two years and helped to develop an annual month-long training intensive for neurology interns. Additional interests include neurology education and leadership training.

Basit Rahim
Neurocritical Care Fellow

Soo Young Kwon
Vascular Neurology Fellow

Catherine Legault
Stroke Research Fellow

Adam MacLellan, MD, FRCPC
Vascular Neurology Fellow

Dr. Adam MacLellan is a Vascular Neurology fellow with interests in quality improvement in acute stroke care delivery, as well as the selection of patients for reperfusion therapy.  He comes to Stanford from the University of Toronto where he completed his neurology residency, and is board-certified as a neurologist in Canada.  While at the University of Toronto he conducted research examining sleep-wake cycles of acute stroke inpatients and the association with functional outcome, as well as participating on the residency education committee.

Christopher Southwood
Vascular Neurology Fellow

Dr. Christopher Southwood is a Vascular Neurology fellow interested in acute stroke treatment and outcomes measures.  He has done previous research in endovascular aneurysmal subarachnoid treatment and prediction of vasospasm.  He comes to Stanford after completing residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin where he served as chief resident.  He has further interests in medical education and vascular malformations.  

Jorina M. Elbers, MD
Assistant Professor, Neurology and Neurological Sciences

Dr. Jorina Elbers joined the Stanford Stroke Center as Assistant Professor of Neurology in 2012. Dr. Elbers completed her training in pediatric neurology and pediatric stroke at the Hospital for Sick Children and University of Toronto. 

Dr. Elbers works at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital as an attending in general child neurology and director of the Pediatric Stroke Program. Her research interests include inflammatory vasculopathies and novel neuroimaging techniques to study stroke and inflammation.

Steven Chang, MD
Professor of Neurosurgery

Dr Chang completed a cerebrovascular surgery fellowship at Stanford and has been recognized with numerous clinical research awards. He has published extensively on the use of radiosurgery for treatment of arteriovenous malformations and cavernous malformations, multi-modality treatments for arteriovenous malformations, and surgical treatment of intracranial aneurysms. Dr. Chang is also the Director of the Cyberknife Stereotactic Radiosurgery Program at Stanford.

Robert Dodd, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Radiology

Dr. Dodd received his medical degree from the Stanford University School of Medicine, where he also earned a PhD in Neurosciences from the Department of Neurobiology. His neurosurgery training also took place at Stanford, where he recently completed an endovascular fellowship. His research interests have been in cerebral blood vessel reactivity and stroke. Dr. Dodd's clinical interests include endovascular and microsurgical treatment of intracranial aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations; percutaneous and surgical interventions for both extracranial and intracranial carotid artery occlusive disease; and minimally invasive neurosurgery though the use of neuroendoscopy and keyhole approaches.

Gary K. Steinberg, MD, PhD
Co-Director, Stanford Stroke Center
Chair, Department of Neurosurgery
Director, Stanford Institute for Neuro-Innnovation and Translational Neurosciences
Bernard and Ronni Lacroute-William Randolph Hearst Professor of Neurosurgery and the Neurosciences

A founding director of the Stanford Stroke Center, Dr. Steinberg has practiced medicine at Stanford for more than 25 years. He has pioneered stereotactic microsurgical techniques to repair intracranial vascular malformations and certain aneurysms that were previously considered untreatable. He has also refined revascularization techniques for patients with cerebrovascular occlusions, as well as moyamoya disease. Dr. Steinberg is currently investigating an innovative approach to improve stroke recovery by transplanting neural cells into damaged brain tissue.

Huy M. Do, MD
Associate Professor of Neuroradiology and Neurosurgery

Dr. Do focuses his efforts on interventional neuroradiologic approaches to treat both ischemic and hemorrhagic cerebrovascular disorders. He has developed expertise in cerebral angioplasty and intra-arterial thrombolysis,as well as the treatment of aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations and cerebral vasospasm. Dr. Do’s current research focuses on evaluation of neuroprotectants for ischemic strokes, development of novel laser microdevices for emulsification of intracranial clots, stenting of carotid and vertebral arterial stenosis, evaluation of new liquid embolic agents for arteriovenous malformations, neuroimaging of strokes, vascular malformations, and aneurysms with advanced MRI techniques, and treatment of painful compression fractures with acrylic cement.

Robert Dodd, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Radiology

Dr. Dodd received his medical degree from the Stanford University School of Medicine, where he also earned a PhD in Neurosciences from the Department of Neurobiology. His neurosurgery training also took place at Stanford, where he recently completed an endovascular fellowship. His research interests have been in cerebral blood vessel reactivity and stroke. Dr. Dodd's clinical interests include endovascular and microsurgical treatment of intracranial aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations; percutaneous and surgical interventions for both extracranial and intracranial carotid artery occlusive disease; and minimally invasive neurosurgery though the use of neuroendoscopy and keyhole approaches.

Michael P. Marks, MD
Director, Stanford Stroke Center Neuroradiology
Professor of Neuroradiology

As a founding director of the Stanford Stroke Center, Dr. Marks oversees the endovascular treatment program. Using catheter-based approaches, he has pioneered techniques to effectively cure cerebral aneurysms by inserting platinum coils and using special glues to obliterate arteriovenous malformations. Dr. Marks is also a national leader in the use of endovascular techniques to treat ischemic cerebrovascular disorders.

Ronald L. Dalman, MD
Walter Clifford Chidester and Elsa Rooney Chidester Professor of Surgery 
Chief, Division of Vascular Surgery

Dr. Dalman graduated from the University of Michigan School of Medicine in 1984. He completed his general surgery residency from University of Washington in 1989. He completed fellowship training in vascular surgery at the Oregon Health Sciences University in 1991.

He is board certified in both vascular surgery and general surgery.

Dr. Dalman has been a Stanford vascular faculty member since 1992. He currently serves as professor and chief of the Division of Vascular Surgery at Stanford University Medical Center. Dr. Dalman is also a staff surgeon at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. He served as section chief of vascular surgery at VA Palo Alto from 1991 to 2005.

Dr. Dalman's research interests include the basic underlying mechanisms responsible for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) disease, as well as novel drug, device and exercise therapies to limit progression of small AAAs. He also has extensive experience investigating novel treatments for occlusive diseases of the lower extremities, including lower extremity limb salvage procedures and the modern management of walking disorders such as intermittent claudication (pain in the legs with exercise that is relieved by rest).

Specialties: minimally invasive revascularization techniques of the lower extremities, catheter-based and open management of carotid and extra-cranial cerebrovascular occlusive disease to prevent stroke, minimally invasive management of AAA disease, catheter-based and open management of venous diseases including varicose veins, subclavian vein thrombosis and superior vena cava syndrome, novel drug therapies for lower extremity ischemia and leg pain with walking, upper extremity circulation disorders, intestinal circulation disorders

E. John Harris, MD 
Professor of Surgery Vascular Surgeon, Palo Alto Medical Foundation

Dr. Harris graduated from the St. Louis University School of Medicine in 1985. He completed his residency at Oregon Health Sciences University in 1991. He also completed a fellowship in vascular surgery at Oregon Health Sciences University in 1992.

He is board certified in both vascular surgery and general surgery.

Dr. Harris serves as a professor at Stanford University and a staff surgeon at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. He is also on staff at the Palo Alto Veterans Administration Hospital.

Dr. Harris' research interests include role of thrombosis in stimulating venous wall morphologic change, and non-invasive vascular imaging.

Specialties: minimally invasive revascularization techniques, diagnosis and treatment of venous diseases, treatment of critical limb ischemia, management of aortic aneurismal disease, and treatment of cerebrovascular occlusive disease

Wei Zhou, MD
Professor of Surgery 
Chief, Vascular Section, VA Palo Alto Health Care System

Dr. Zhou earned her undergraduate degree at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and her medical degree at New York Medical College. She received her general surgery training at UCSD Medical Center. After completing a vascular surgery fellowship at the Baylor College of Medicine in 2005, Dr. Zhou joined the Baylor faculty as an assistant professor of surgery and as an associate program director for the vascular surgery fellowship.

She is also chief of vascular surgery at Palo Alto Veterans Administration Hospital and on staff at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. Dr. Zhou's research interests include new therapeutic strategies for management of cerebrovascular diseases, claudication and limb salvage, and treatment of aortic aneurysms.

Specialties: endovascular treatment of abdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysms, percutaneous carotid interventions, management of complex aortic pathologies, percutaneous interventions for peripheral vascular disease, percutaneous venous interventions

Jason T. Lee, MD
Associate Professor of Surgery
Director of Endovascular Surgery
Vascular Surgery Program Director

Dr. Lee graduated with honors from the California Institute of Technology in 1994, and finished medical school at the University of California, San Diego in 1998. He completed his general surgery residency at Harbor-University of California, Los Angeles in 2004. During his residency he spent one year working under the tutelage of Dr. Rodney White at the St. John's Cardiovascular Institute testing various endovascular devices in animal models. He is board-certified in general surgery. Dr. Lee completed his vascular surgery fellowship at Stanford University in 2006.

Dr. Lee serves as an associate professor at Stanford University. He is also the program director of the Vascular Surgery Fellowship Program and on staff at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.

Dr. Lee's research interests include outcomes of catheter-based interventions compared to open surgery, functional outcomes after thoracic outlet decompression, imaging surveillance after endovascular aneurysm repair, and the application of endovascular technologies to thoracic and thoracoabdominal aneurysms.

Specialties: endovascular treatment of abdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysms, carotid angioplasty/stenting, open abdominal revascularization for aortic pathology, percutaneous interventions for upper and lower extremity arterial and venous peripheral vascular disease, thoracic outlet syndrome, vascular reconstruction for high-performance athletes

Nicholas Leeper, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery

Dr. Leeper holds degrees with honors from the University of Chicago in chemistry (1999) and medicine (2003). He completed his categorical internal medicine residency at the University of California, San Francisco in 2005 and subsequently joined the Clinical Investigator Pathway (CIP) in cardiovascular medicine at Stanford University. Dr. Leeper served as the chief cardiology fellow in 2007 and then took advanced training in vascular medicine through the NIH K12 program at Stanford University. Dr. Leeper joined the faculty at Stanford in 2009 and was promoted to assistant professor in 2011, holding appointments both in the Department of Surgery and the Department of Medicine.

Dr. Leeper performs translational research in vascular biology, and aims to understand the genetic causes of atherosclerosis and aneurysmal disease. His NIH-funded laboratory investigates the molecular biology of inherited genetic variants that promote smooth muscle cell dysfunction and lead to clinical events such as heart attack or aneurysm rupture. Dr. Leeper also is interested in vascular regeneration and performs clinical trials studying methods to grow new blood vessels for those with peripheral artery disease (PAD).

Dr. Leeper focuses on interdisciplinary approaches to these conditions with an emphasis on risk factor management. He serves as an investigator for several early phase clinical trials for patients with PAD, including studies of stem cell therapy for subjects with arterial insufficiency.

Specialties: Vascular Medicine and Cardiology including the diagnosis and non-invasive management of peripheral vascular disease, aortic aneurysms, carotid atherosclerosis, deep venous thrombosis, pre-operative risk stratification, and general cardiovascular risk factor reduction

Matthew W. Mell, MD 
Associate Professor of Surgery
Director of Vascular Clinic and Laboratory 
Co-Chairperson of the Clinic Advisory Council

Dr. Mell earned his medical degree at Harvard University Medical School in 1987 and is board certified in both vascular surgery and general surgery. He completed his residency at Stanford Hospital & Clinics in 1992 and his fellowship at the University of Wisconsin in 2006. Since 2010, Dr. Mell has served as co-chair of the Clinic Advisory Council at Stanford and director of Stanford Vascular Laboratory.

Specialties: Management of complex thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysm disease, thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair, visceral and renal artery repair, walking problems, venous disease, and cerebrovascular disease.

OIiver Aalami, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery (Affiliated)
Vascular Surgeon, VA Palo Alto Health Care System

Dr. Aalami earned his bachelor’s degree in molecular biology from the University of California, San Diego in 1994. He then graduated from Boston University School of Medicine in 1998. Dr. Aalami completed a two-year post-doctoral fellowship at Stanford University researching transplantation immunology with Dr. Randall Morris and tissue engineering with Dr. Michael Longaker from 2001 to 2003. He completed his general surgery residency at the University of California, San Francisco-East Bay in 2005, and subsequently his vascular surgery fellowship at Northwestern University in 2007. During his fellowship, he spent one year performing translational research in Dr. Melina Kibbe’s lab evaluating the effects of nitric oxide on neointimal hyperplasia.

Dr. Aalami is a clinical assistant professor of surgery at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System (VAPAHCS). He serves as the medical director of the vascular laboratory at the VAPAHCS and is the education site director.

Dr. Aalami’s research interests include the development of minimally invasive vascular surgical devices and techniques, medical information technology and biology of neointimal hyperplasia.

Specialties: Vascular and endovascular treatment of abdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysms, dissections, vascular trauma, peripheral vascular disease, and dialysis access. Advancement of patient care through the development of innovative medical devices and health information technology.

Venita Chandra, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery 
Co-Medical Director of the Stanford Wound Care Center
Vascular Surgery Fellowship Associate Program Director

Dr. Chandra earned her B.S. degree, Summa Cum Laude, in Genetics and Cell Biology from the University of Minnesota in 1999. In 2004, she received her medical degree from the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. Dr. Chandra completed her General Surgery residency at Stanford in 2011 and is a graduate of the Stanford Biodesign program. She continued on to the Stanford Vascular Surgery Fellowship and finished in June 2013.

Dr. Chandra currently is a clinical assistant professor of vascular surgery at Stanford University. She is also the co-director of the Stanford Wound Care Center (opening May 2014) and the Vascular Surgery Medical Student Clerkship Director.

Dr. Chandra's research interests include women’s vascular health, radiation safety, technology development and treatment optimization for complex open and endovascular treatment of peripheral vascular and aneurysmal disease.

Specialties: Women’s vascular health, traditional and percutaneous treatment of critical limb ischemia and peripheral vascular disease, complex aortic pathologies including aneurysm and dissection, vascular trauma, dialysis access and cerebrovascular disease.

George K. Lee, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery (Affiliated)
Vascular Surgeon, VA Palo Alto Health Care System

Dr. Lee earned his B.S. degree, Magna Cum Laude, from the honors program in Allied Medical Professions from Ohio State University, in 2001 and his medical degree from Emory University in 2007. Dr. Lee completed the Integrated Vascular Surgery Residency Program at Stanford in 2013.

Ehab Sorial, MD
Associate Professor of Surgery

Dr. Sorial graduated from the University of Minya, School of Medicine in Egypt. He completed his general surgery residency from Harbor–UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles and Western Reserve Care system in Youngstown, Ohio. He completed his fellowship training in Vascular Surgery at the University of Kentucky in Lexington in 2007.

Dr. Sorial is board certified in both vascular surgery and general surgery.

Dr. Sorial was hired and served as an Assistant Professor and then as an Associate Professor at the University of Kentucky from 2007 through 2015. He joined the Stanford University, Division of Vascular Surgery faculty on March 1, 2015 as an Associate Professor.  Dr. Ehab Sorial is a staff surgeon at the Valley Medical center in San Jose CA.

Specialties: Open vascular and endovascular surgery, aorto-iliac occlusive disease, open and minimally invasive repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms, open and minimally invasive repair of thoracic andthoraco-abdominal aortic aneurysms and aortic dissection, thoracic outlet syndrome, carotid, vertebral, subclavian and extra-cranial cerebrovascular arterial disease, carotid angioplasty/stenting, mesenteric, renal and visceral ischemia, lower and upper extremity arterial occlusive disease and venous insufficiency.

Manuel Garcia-Toca, MD
Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery

Dr. Garcia-Toca earned his medical degree at the Universidad Anahuac in Mexico. He received his general surgery training at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Brown University in 2008. He then completed a Vascular Surgery fellowship at Northwestern University in 2010.

Dr. Garcia-Toca joined Brown University as an Assistant Professor of Surgery and served as the Surgery Clerkship Director for the Medical School. Dr. Garcia-Toca is board certified in both vascular surgery and general surgery.

Dr. Garcia-Toca joined the Stanford University, Division of Vascular Surgery on March 1, 2015 as a Clinical Associate Professor of surgery. His research interests include new therapeutic strategies and outcomes for the management of vascular trauma, cerebrovascular diseases, aortic dissection and aneurysms.

Specialties: Open and endovascular management of vascular trauma, aortic dissection, complex thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysm disease, critical limb ischemia, extracranial cerebrovascular disease and dialysis access.

Tina Desai, MD, FACS
Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery

Dr. Tina Desai earned her MD (1991) from the Brown University Medical Education Program in Providence, Rhode Island. She then completed a surgical residency in General Surgery at the University of Chicago Hospitals and Clinics, including a 2-yr research fellowship. She completed her Vascular Surgery Fellowship training at the University of Chicago Hospitals (1999). Dr. Desai has additionally completed a year-long fellowship in Medical Ethics at the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago (2008). Dr. Desai has previously served on the surgical faculty at the University of Chicago as Assistant Professor of Surgery and Director of Endovascular Services until 2010, and as Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Chicago after joining NorthShore University HealthSystem in the Division of Vascular Surgery until 2015. In July 2015, Dr. Desai joined the faculty of Stanford University Division of Vascular Surgery and maintains a primary practice at Marin General Hospital.

Dr. Desai is certified by the American Board of Surgery in both General and Vascular Surgery. 

Dr Desai has a special interest in endovascular and surgical treatment of abdominal and thoracic aortic pathology, carotid artery occlusive disease, and peripheral vascular disease. She also has an interest in visceral ischemic syndromes and thoracic outlet syndrome. Dr. Desai’s research interests include mesenteric ischemia, vena cava filters in deep vein thrombosis, medical ethics, and the development of structured clinical documentation systems. She maintains a strong interest in resident and fellow education.

Specialties: endovascular and surgical treatment of abdominal and thoracic aortic pathology, extra-cranial cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral vascular disease, visceral ischemic syndromes, thoracic outlet syndrome, venous disease, and medical ethics.

Dr. Desai will be seeing patients at the Sirona Vascular Clinic at Marin General Hospital (MGH).

Eri Fukaya, MD, PhD
Clinical Instructor

Dr. Fukaya received her Ph.D. (2009) and M.D. (1999) from Tokyo Women’s Medical University in Japan, where she also completed her Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery training. Following her move to the United States, Dr. Fukaya completed her postdoctoral research studies in evaluating tissue viability with Dr. Harriet Hopf and lower extremity vascular imaging with Dr. David Saloner at the University of California, San Francisco. She then completed her Internal Medicine residency at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York and Lankenau Medical Center in Pennsylvania and subsequently her vascular medicine fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania prior to joining Stanford University in 2015. She is board certified in Vascular Medicine and Internal Medicine in the United States and Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in Japan.

Dr. Fukaya’s principal research interest includes interventions to increase physical activity and walking in patients with peripheral artery disease and utilizing mobile health with information technology to diagnose, treat and prevent disease.

Specialties: Vascular Medicine including chronic venous insufficiency, varicose veins, deep vein thrombosis, post thrombotic syndrome, assessment and medical management of peripheral vascular disease, carotid artery disease, cardiovascular risk evaluation, rare vascular disease, lymphedema, arterial/venous/diabetic ulcers, acute and chronic wound care, pressure ulcers and burns.

Dr. Fukaya will be seeing patients at the Stanford Advanced Wound Care Center (AWCC) in Redwood City as part of the Department of Surgery wound care team.

Cornelius Olcott, IV, MD 
Professor of Surgery Emeritus

Christopher K. Zarins, MD 
Professor of Surgery Emeritus
Division Chief Emeritus

Christopher P. Cheng, PhD

Dr. Cheng earned his B.S.E. degree in Biomedical Engineering and Electrical Engineering from Duke University in 1998. He then earned his M.S. (2000) and Ph.D. (2002) in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University, focused on cardiovascular biomechanics. Dr. Cheng is currently CEO of Koli, Inc., an early-stage medical device company developing a percutaneous solution to gallstone disease. Dr. Cheng is also the Director of the Vascular Intervention Biomechanics & Engineering Lab at Stanford (vibelab.stanford.edu).

Dr. Cheng’s academic research focuses on hemodynamics and vascular structure mechanics, with an emphasis on disease research and device interactions with the body. In his industry experience, Dr. Cheng has worked on early- to late-stage medical device design, coordinated manufacturing and mechanical evaluation activities, managed pre-clinical animal trials, and has advised the FDA regarding device fatigue, simulation, biomechanics, animal testing, and MRI safety/compatibility.

Specialties: Vascular biomechanics, medical imaging and image processing, geometric modeling, interaction between devices and vasculature, medical device design and evaluation, entrepreneurship

Katrin Andreasson, MD
Associate Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences

Dr. Andreassson is an Associate Professor in the Stanford Neurology Department.  Her laboratory is dedicated to understanding the basic mechanisms by which neurons die in stroke and in neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Her research focuses on the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) pathway, which has been found to play a critical role in promoting neuronal death in a number of models of neurological disease.

Marion S. Buckwalter, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, and Neurosurgery

Dr. Buckwalter joined the Stroke Center in 2002 after her fellowship training at University of California San Francisco. Specialty trained in both neurocritical care and stroke, she oversees the care of patients who are neurologically critically ill. She also maintains a basic science laboratory at Stanford. Her lab focuses on how inflammatory responses after brain injury affect neurological recovery. In the United States, there are 4 million people currently living with the effects of stroke, and another 4.3 million living with the effects of traumatic brain injury. Of the people who have had a stroke, many are disabled to the degree that they cannot work, and a significant proportion are unable to walk, feed themselves, or communicate with their families the way they could prior to their stroke. Despite this very high number of people who are suffering, there is a large knowledge gap regarding the mechanisms by which neurological recovery occurs, and not a single FDA-approved therapy available to help people recover. There is reason to think that such a therapy might be obtainable - we know that some people, especially younger ones, experience significant recovery after stroke. Animal studies, almost entirely done in young animals, also demonstrate significant recovery after neurological injury. Dr. Buckwalter's goal is thus to better understand the mechanisms that contribute to recovery in the young, and how they are influenced by inflammatory responses. With better knowledge of these responses, she hopes to be able to develop new therapies that will help people recover better from stroke and other brain injuries.

Theo Palmer, PhD
Associate Professor of Neurosurgery

Dr. Palmer was recruited in 2000 to help develop a neurotransplantation program at Stanford. He has already developed a national reputation for his scientific expertise in stem cell biology and neurogenesis in the central nervous system. Using molecular biology techniques, his laboratory is studying innovative methods of improving neurologic function after stroke or degenerative disease, including enhanced neurogenesis with growth factors and transplantation of different neuronal stem cells.

Roland Bammer, PhD
Associate Professor (Research), Radiology

Professor Bammer received his master’s and doctorate degree from the Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria. He joined Stanford in 2001 and actively collaborates with the Stanford Stroke Center on new imaging techniques new quantitative techniques to identify and characterize brain ischemia.  These efforts have led to numerous joint NIH research awards and publications.

Soeren Christensen, PhD
Senior Scientist

Dr. Christensen joined the Stanford Stroke Center in 2012. He did his PhD with Dr. Ostergaard at Aarhus University, Denmark and since worked with the prolific stroke group of Dr. Davis in Melbourne, Australia. His main research interest is imaging of stroke hemodynamics for improved diagnosis and prognosis with the ultimate purpose of improving treatment decisions.

Nancy Fischbein, MD
Professor of Radiology - Diagnostic Radiology

Dr. Fischbein earned her medical degree at Harvard Medical School and completed her training in Diagnostic Radiology and her neuroradiology fellowship at the University of California-San Francisco. She is board certified in Diagnostic Radiology and holds a Certificate of Added Qualification in Neuroradiology. Dr. Fischbein's research interests include imaging of brain tumors using advanced MR-based modalities, as well as imaging of processes that affect the skull base and cranial nerves.

Greg Zaharchuk, MD
Assistant Professor of Radiology

After finishing a neuroradiology fellowship at UCSF in 2006, Dr Zaharchuk began his faculty position at Stanford where he has played a key role in several Stroke Center research studies.   His research interests include imaging of cerebral hemodynamics with MR arterial spin labeling  and CT perfusion, noninvasive oxygenation measurement with MRI and clinical imaging of cerebrovascular disease including TIA and cervical artery dissection.

Michael Mlynash, MD, MS
Senior Scientist

Dr. Mlynash joined the Stanford Stroke Center in 2002. In addition to his MD degree, he holds a MS in Computer Science and in Epidemiology (Clinical Track). He also holds US patents in the field of computer-based medical devices. His research interests include automated analysis of medical signals and imaging and statistical analysis of clinical data. Currently, he is involved in studies investigating the role of brain MR imaging for predicting outcome in comatose survivors after cardiac arrest, the role of diffusion and perfusion MRI in decision making for acute stroke therapies, and studying the process of brain swelling after brain hemorrhage.

S. Charles Cho, MD
Associate Professor Neurology and Neurological Sciences

Dr. Cho is a member of the Intraoperative Monitoring Service at Stanford. His interests are in the neurophysiology and electrical functions of the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves. He is currently involved in recognizing reversible ischemia and preventing strokes during surgical and interventional neuroradiology procedures.

Leslie H. Lee, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor,  Neurology & Neurological Sciences

Dr. Lee is a member of the Intraoperative Neurophysiologic Monitoring program. She uses neurophysiologic techniques to assess the functional state of the nervous system. These techniques allow for improved safety and aide in the prevention of stroke and other injuries during surgery and other procedures.

Jaime R. Lopez, MD
Director, Intraoperative Neurophysiologic Monitoring Program
Associate Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences and Neurosurgery

Dr. Lopez completed his residency in Neurology and fellowship in Clinical Neurophysiology and Neuromuscular Diseases at Stanford University Medical Center. In 1994, Dr. Lopez established the Intraoperative Neurophysiologic Monitoring Program at Stanford. The program has expanded to more than 500 cases annually. Dr. Lopez continues to research the use of innovative techniques for monitoring different regions of the nervous system during a variety of neurovascular surgical procedures, endovascular embolizations, and spinal cord and orthopedic surgeries.

Viet Nguyen, MD 
Clinical Assistant Professor,  Neurology & Neurological Sciences 

Dr. Nguyen is the newest member of the Intraoperative Neurophysiologic Monitoring program. He completed a Neurology residency and Intraoperative Monitoring fellowship at Stanford.  He uses neurophysiologic techniques to assess the nervous system during surgical procedures.

Rona Giffard, MD, PhD
Vice-Chair for Research, Department of Anesthesia
Professor of Anesthesia and by courtesy, Neurosurgery

Dr. Giffard works to develop novel treatments to reduce brain vulnerability to stroke. Using gene therapy she is probing the mechanisms of injury and protection to develop treatments to improve outcomes of both surgical patients and others suffering a stroke. She studies the susceptibility of individual brain cell types to target mechanisms that are important in each cell type to provide the best overall protection.

Richard A. Jaffe, MD, PhD
Chief, Neurosurgical Anesthesia
Professor of Anesthesia and Neurosurgery

Dr. Jaffe’s research interests include the development and characterization of electrophysiologic monitoring techniques for the early detection of intraoperative cerebral ischemia. Using these techniques he is also able to study the effects of anesthetics and related drugs on the brain’s sensitivity to transient ischemic events. The results of these studies can be used to improve the anesthetic management of patients undergoing a wide variety of neurosurgical procedures.

Scott Hamilton, PhD
Consulting Associate Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences

Dr. Hamilton joined the Stanford Stroke Center in 2001 as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the volunteer faculty. He earned his degree in Biostatistics from the University of North Carolina in 1994. His main clinical and research interest is the treatment of acute stroke patients. His research has focused on optimal methods for analysis of clinical outcomes from late phase studies of acute stroke. He has been the primary statistician on several studies examining pharmacologic treatment of acute stroke, and diagnosis using diffusion-weighted MRI, perfusion-weighted MRI and CT perfusion. Dr. Hamilton is currently the primary statistician for several acute stroke related studies, and sits on several Data Safety Monitoring Committees for NIH funded acute stroke studies.

Kara Flavin, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Orthopaedic Surgery
Clinical Assistant Professor, Neurology & Neurological Sciences

Dr. Kara Flavin joined the Stanford Stroke Center as a clinical assistant professor in 2014. She is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Spinal Cord Injury Medicine, having completed both her residency and fellowship training at Stanford. Dr. Flavin’s clinical interests include spasticity management, neurogenic bowel and bladder, and functional rehabilitation. Her research interests include improvements in wound care and prevention, as well as therapies which can lead to functional improvement in patients with chronic neurologic injuries.

Matthew Smuck, MD
Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery

Dr. Matthew Smuck is the Chief of PM&R and Associate Professor of Orthopaedics at Stanford University, and is the Medical Director of Rehabilitation Services for Stanford Hospitals and Clinics. He specializes in the comprehensive conservative management of spine disorders at the Stanford University Spine Center. He received his medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine. Afterward he completed his residency training in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Stanford University, followed by a one year Spine Fellowship at Stanford.