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Exclusive content accessible to all Beyond students.
Pediatric Neurosurgery
Led by…
Phillip B. Storm, M.D.
Department of Neurosurgery
Professor of Neurosurgery at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Dr. Storm is a renowned pediatric neurosurgeon at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), specializing in brain and spine tumors, with expertise in endoscopic skull base surgery. As Chief of Neurosurgery and Director of the Center for Data Driven Discovery in Biomedicine (D3b), he has pioneered minimally invasive techniques, particularly for pediatric skull base tumors. Dr. Storm’s research integrates genomics and large-scale data to develop precision therapies. He co-founded the CAVATICA platform and collaborates with the Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN) to advance tumor biobanking and sequencing for personalized treatment in pediatric neuro-oncology.
Peripheral Nerve Lecture
Led by:
Zarina S. Ali, M.D., M.S.
Department of Neurosurgery and Orthopedic Surgery
Associate Professor of Neurosurgery and Attending Physician
Dr. Ali, the first female neurosurgeon at Pennsylvania Hospital, built a surgical practice focused on nerve entrapment, peripheral nerve tumors, complex nerve reconstruction, and degenerative spine surgery. Her federally funded research covers opioid stewardship post-surgery and tissue engineering for nerve regeneration with Penn's Center for Neurotrauma, Neurodegeneration & Restoration. She also founded one of the nation’s first neurosurgical ERAS programs for spine and nerve surgery.
Lawrence Scott Levin, MD, FACS
Department of Orthopedic Surgery
Professor of Bone and Joint Surgery and Attending Physician
Dr. Levin’s clinical interests include surgery of the hand and upper extremity, reconstructive microsurgical techniques for extremity reconstruction and limb salvage, and he is responsible for developing the field of “Orthoplastic Surgery.” His research interests focus on extremity soft tissue reconstruction and vascularized composite allotransplantation.
Trauma & Critical Care Lecture
Led by:
Berje H. Shammassian, MD, MPH, FAANS
Department of Neurosurgery
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Neurology and Attending Physician
Dr. Shammassian’s top areas of expertise are Traumatic Brain Injury, Stroke, Subarachnoid Hemorrhage, Thrombectomy, and Craniectomy.
His clinical research consists of co-authoring 38 peer reviewed articles.
Danielle Sandsmark, MD, PhD
Department of Neurology
Associate Professor of Neurology and Attending Physician
Functional Lecture
Led by:
Iahn Cajigas Gonzalez, MD, PhD
Department of Neurosurgery
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Attending Physician
An MD-PhD graduate of the joint Harvard-MIT program in health sciences and technology, Dr. Iahn Cajigas completed a residency in neurological surgery at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital followed by a postgraduate fellowship in epilepsy, functional and stereotactic neurosurgery at the University of California, San Francisco.
Dr. Cajigas’ clinical expertise includes deep brain stimulation, focused ultrasound, and stereotactic radiosurgery for movement disorders, the surgical management of epilepsy, the management of refractory back pain with neuromodulation, and the surgical/radiosurgical treatment of trigeminal neuralgia.
Pavan Vaswani, MD, PhD
Department of Neurology
Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurology and Attending Physician
Dr. Pavan Vaswani is a neurologist in Philadelphia, PA and sees patients with movement disorders at Pennsylvania Hospital and Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, residency in Neurology at Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Womens Hospital, and Masschusetts General Hospital; and fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia VA Medical Center PADRECC. He specializes in movement disorder and is experienced in movement disorders, parkinson's disease, and deep brain stimulation. He has more than 10 publications and over 350 citings.
Intra-axial Tumor Lecture
Led by:
Nduka Amankulor, M.D.
Department of Neurosurgery
Presidential Associate Professor of Neurosurgery and Attending Physician
Dr. Amankulor earned his Doctor of Medicine at Yale University and completed neurosurgery residency at Yale New Haven Hospital. He completed a both a Post-Doctoral fellowship in Cancer Genetics and Biology, as well as a Neurosurgical Oncology Fellowship in brain and spine oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Amankulor served for 9 years as an Assistant Professor in Neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where he also acted as Director of Neurosurgical Oncology, attending neurosurgeon, and principal investigator and has received numerous awards for his work. He now serves as Chief of Neurosurgical Oncology and Director of the Penn Brain Tumor Center at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.
Skull Base Lecture
Led by:
Christina Jackson, MD
Department of Neurosurgery
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Attending Physician
Dr. Christina Jackson is an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at Penn Medicine. She specializes in open skull base surgery, minimally invasive surgery, endoscopic skull base and pituitary surgery, and complex brain tumor surgery. Dr. Jackson is uniquely fellowship-trained in both open and endoscopic endonasal skull base approaches and aims to select the most effective and less invasive approach to each individual patient.
Dr. Jackson’s active research includes developing novel immune based therapies for brain tumors and skull base tumors as well as optimizing outcomes for patients with skull base tumors.
Nithin D. Adappa, MD
Department of Otorhinolaryngology
Professor of Otorhinolaryngology and Attending Physician
Dr. Adappa is fellowship director in the Division of Rhinology and Skull Base Surgery and surgical director of the AERD Center, treating Aspirin Exacerbated Respiratory Disease (Samter’s triad). He specializes in revision sinus surgery, focusing on challenging frontal and sphenoid sinuses, and manages surgical care for benign and malignant sinonasal tumors and cerebrospinal fluid leaks. Collaborating with neurosurgeons, he removes brain tumors via nasal and sinus approaches. Dr. Adappa has authored over 250 peer-reviewed papers and edited the “Atlas of Endoscopic Sinus and Skull Base Surgery.” His research centers on topical therapies for chronic rhinosinusitis and outcomes in sinonasal and skull base tumors. He is an active member of the American Rhinology Society and frequently presents his work nationally and internationally.
Vascular Lecture
Led by:
Visish Mani Srinivasan, MD
Department of Neurosurgery
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Attending Physician
Dr. Srinivasan treats cerebrovascular disease through microsurgical and endovascular techniques. He is passionate about managing stroke, aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, and cavernous malformations. He strives to provide optimal treatment, whether through open surgery, endovascular intervention, or non-surgical management. Whenever possible, Dr. Srinivasan employs minimally invasive techniques to preserve function and enhance recovery. Additionally, he leads a translational research lab focused on these same diseases, continuously learning from his patients and exploring new therapeutic frontiers.
Spine Lecture
Led by:
James M. Schuster, M.D., Ph.D.
Department of Neurosurgery
Professor of Neurosurgery and Attending Physician
Suturing Workshop
Led by:
Elizabeth L. Malphrus, MD, MPP
Department of Plastic Surgery
PGY-6, Chief Resident
Dr. Malphrus is an integrated plastic surgery resident. After graduating with a bachelor’s in neuroscience from Columbia University, she pursued a career in health policy, including serving as the Study Director for a National Academies consensus study titled Vital Signs: Core Metrics for Health and Health Care Progress. She also holds a master’s in public policy from Georgetown University. Her experience working in health policy inspired her to pursue an MD at George Washington University, where she developed a strong interest in plastic and reconstructive surgery.
Course Wrap Up & Feedback
Course introduction 5:15-5:45pm (in-person and online)
Skills session 5:45-7:15pm (in-person only)
Life in Neurosurgery - Group Reflection Session
Life in Neurosurgery - Group Reflection Session
Vascular
Vascular
Dr. Visish Srinivasan - Penn Neurosurgery (learn more at https://www.pennmedicine.org/providers/profile/visish-srinivasan)
Dr. Bryan Pukenas - Penn Interventional Neuroradiology (learn more at https://www.pennmedicine.org/providers/profile/bryan-pukenas)
In person and online.
Spine
Spine
Dr. Jon Yoon - Penn Neurosurgery (learn more at https://www.pennmedicine.org/providers/profile/jang-yoon)
Dr. Casper - Penn Orthopedic Surgery (learn more at https://www.pennmedicine.org/providers/profile/david-casper)
In person and online.
Trauma Panel
Trauma Panel
Dr. James Schuster- Penn Neurosurgery (learn more at https://www.pennmedicine.org/providers/profile/james-schuster)
Dr. Danielle Sandsmark - Penn Neuro Critical Care (learn more at https://www.pennmedicine.org/providers/profile/danielle-sandsmark)
Dr. Niels Martin - Penn Trauma Surgery (learn more at https://www.pennmedicine.org/providers/profile/niels-martin
Skull Base
Skull Base
Dr. Christina Jackson - Penn Neurosurgery (learn more at https://www.pennmedicine.org/providers/profile/christina-jackson)
Dr. Nithin Adappa - Penn ENT (learn more at https://www.pennmedicine.org/providers/profile/nithin-adappa)
Peripheral Nerve
Peripheral Nerve
Dr. Eric Zager - Penn Neurosurgery (learn more at https://www.pennmedicine.org/providers/profile/eric-zager)
Dr. Scott Levin - Penn Orthopedic Surgery (learn more at https://www.pennmedicine.org/providers/profile/l-scott-levin)
Life in Neurosurgery - Group Reflection Session
Life in Neurosurgery - Group Reflection Session
Functional Neurosurgery
Functional Neurosurgery
Dr. Iahn Cajigas- Penn Neurosurgery (learn more at https://www.pennmedicine.org/-/media/mpd/providers/cajigas_iahn?mw160&mh=215)
Dr. Pavan Vaswani- Penn Neurology (learn more at https://www.pennmedicine.org/providers/profile/pavan-vaswani)
Intra-axial Brain Tumors
Intra-axial Brain Tumors
Dr. Nduka Amankulor - Penn Neurosurgery (learn more at https://www.pennmedicine.org/providers/profile/nduka-amankulor)
Dr. Richard Phillips - Penn Neuro-Oncology (learn more at https://www.pennmedicine.org/providers/profile/richard-phillips)
Epilepsy
Epilepsy
Dr. Isaac Chen - Penn Neurosurgery (learn more at https://www.pennmedicine.org/providers/profile/h-isaac-chen)
Dr. Ramya Raghupathi - Penn Neurology (learn more at https://www.pennmedicine.org/providers/profile/ramya-raghupathi)
Pediatric Neurosurgery
Pediatrics Neurosurgery
Dr. Greg Heuer - CHOP Neurosurgery (learn more at https://www.chop.edu/doctors/heuer-gregory)
Dr. Julie Moldenhauer - CHOP Obstetrics (learn more at https://www.chop.edu/doctors/moldenhauer-julie-s)