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BCM Neurosurgery @bcmneurosurgery.bsky.social · 5d

Please join is congratulating the #BCMNeurosurgery and
@bcmhouston.bsky.social residents, postdocs and students who've been selected to present their works at #2025CNS! 👏

#MedEd #Neurosurgery #NeurosurgeryResearch 🧠🔬

Shivani Singla, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Associate

Title: Targeting the DREAM-MMB Cell Proliferation Switch in Meningioma 3D Organoids: Insights Into Progression and Relapse

BCM Neurosurgery @bcmneurosurgery.bsky.social · 5d

Please join is congratulating the #BCMNeurosurgery and
@bcmhouston.bsky.social residents, postdocs and students who've been selected to present their works at #2025CNS! 👏

#MedEd #Neurosurgery #NeurosurgeryResearch 🧠🔬

Elizabeth Ledbetter
Medical Student

Title: Short-Term Outcomes Following Surgical Resection of Pediatric Primary Benign Tumors of Spine

Timon Merk, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Associate

Title: A Complementary Electrophysiological Biomarker of OCD Response to DBS Within GPi

Vijay Nitturi
Medical Research Pathway

Title: Automating Evaluation of Evidence and Recommendations in Congress of Neurological Surgeons Guideline Preparation Using a Large Language Model

Gabriel Reyes
Medical Student

Title: Machine Learning-Based Forecasting of Clinician-Selected Stimulation Parameters from Responsive Neurostimulation Neural Recordings

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BCM Neurosurgery @bcmneurosurgery.bsky.social · 5d

Please join is congratulating the #BCMNeurosurgery and
@bcmhouston.bsky.social residents, postdocs and students who've been selected to present their works at #2025CNS! 👏

#MedEd #Neurosurgery #NeurosurgeryResearch 🧠🔬

Eric Goethe, M.D.
PGY-6

Title(s):
-Speech and Cognitive Outcomes After Resection of Dominant Inferior Parietal Lobule Gliomas
-Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Treatment of Large Small Cell Lung Cancer Brain Metastases
-Surgical Resection as First Local Treatment for Melanoma Brain Metastasis in the Immunotherapy Era

Kasra Mansourian
Medical Student

Title: Feasibility of Nationwide Remote Chronic Neural Data Collection from Recording-Enabled Deep Brain Stimulation Systems

Vigi Katlowitz, M.D., Ph.D.
PGY-6

Title(s):
-Attention Is All You Need in the Brain
-Learning and Language in the Unconscious Human Hippocampus

Sean Lau
Medical Student

Title(s):
-Comparison of Deep Learning Transformer Models for Automated Spine Clinic Screening
-Identification of DNA Methylation Patterns in Aggressive Meningiomas

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BCM Neurosurgery @bcmneurosurgery.bsky.social · 5d

#2025CNS kicks off in #LosAngeles next weekend, and we're immensely proud of the many #BCMNeurosurgery and
@bcmhouston.bsky.social residents, postdocs and students who've been selected to present their works at this year's meeting! 👏

#MedEd #Neurosurgery #NeurosurgeryResearch 🧠🔬

Will Baltazar
Medical Student

Title: Risk Factors Associated With Scoliosis Progression in Children with Cerebal Palsy Receiving Intrathecal Baclofen

Jeffrey Chen, M.D.
PGY-3

Title: Comparison of Outcomes Between Bifrontal Vs.Decompressive Craniectomy in Traumatic Brain Injury: A Single Level I Trauma Center's Experience

Sai Chilakapati, M.D.
PGY-3

Title: Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy at Texas Children's Hospital: Expanded Indiciations and Evolution in Practice Over 12 Years

Alex Flores, M.D.
PGY-6

Title: Identifying Patients and Specific Vertebrae at Risk for Metastatic Vertebral Fractures Remains a Clinical Challenge: A Subgroup Analysis of Current Practices

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BCM Neurosurgery @bcmneurosurgery.bsky.social · 10d

📆 Join us for a special #WorldSpineDay webinar on Thursday, Oct. 16 at 12pm CST 📆

@bcmhouston.bsky.social and #BCMNeurosurgery spine expert Dr. Cyrus King discusses managing back and neck pain and prepping for your visit at the #BCMSpineCenter.

Register: tinyurl.com/3z2nmy57 💻

BCM Neurosurgery @bcmneurosurgery.bsky.social · 12d

Today's #FridayFeeling: 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆 💙

As we wrap up #APPWeek, please join us in saying a special "thank you" to our talented and committed crew of NPs, who play a critical role in providing the highest level of care to our #BCMNeurosurgery #BCMSpineCenter patients!

BCM Neurosurgery @bcmneurosurgery.bsky.social · 14d

Happy #ResearchAdministratorDay!

Today we give special recognition to our #BCMNeurosurgery research admin team, whose support for our PIs and their labs and commitment to our mission paves the path to improving the treatment of central and peripheral nervous system disorders 🔬🧠❤️

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BCM Neurosurgery @bcmneurosurgery.bsky.social · 22d

But the day's not over yet — here's still time to make a 𝙗𝙞𝙜 impact: tinyurl.com/4tftkmuy

#BCMNeurosurgery #GiveBigDay

BCM Neurosurgery @bcmneurosurgery.bsky.social · 22d

🎉 𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕖! 🎉
Thanks to the generosity of our #BCMNeurosurgery community, we've met Chairman Dr. Ganesh Rao's #GiveBigDay match challenge, raising funds for:
🔬 groundbreaking research
🏥 high-quality patient care
🧠 resident training

#BCM #Baylor125

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BCM Neurosurgery @bcmneurosurgery.bsky.social · 26d

On Tuesday, @bcmhouston.bsky.social will hold its inaugural #GiveBigDay in honor of 125 years of #BCM!

Join Dr. Ganesh Rao and #BCMNeurosurgery as we raise support for:
→neurosurgical research🔬
→high-quality patient care🏥
→training for future neurosurgeons🧠

Give: tinyurl.com/4tftkmuy

Join BCM Neurosurgery for Give Big Day 2025!

A Message from Dr. Ganesh Rao:

Friends and Colleagues —
In celebration of its 125th anniversary, Baylor College of Medicine will hold its inaugural Give Big Day this Tuesday, September 16.
In honor of this day of giving, I pledge to match any donations made directly to the Department of Neurosurgery, dollar for dollar, up to $2,500. I invite all members of the BCM Neurosurgery community — faculty, staff, residents, students, alumni and more — to join me in this initiative.
Funds raised will directly support research for treatments of nervous system disorders, high-quality neurosurgical patient care and the training of future neurosurgeons.
Thank you for your continued support and generosity. With your help, we look forward to advancing the field of neurosurgery for the next 125 years and beyond.

BCM Neurosurgery @bcmneurosurgery.bsky.social · 28d

September is #BrainAneursym Awareness Month, and the team at #BCMNeurosurgery and St. Luke's Health wants you to know the warning signs of a ruptured brain aneurysm.

👉 To learn more, visit bcm.edu/neurosurgery (📞 713.798.4696) to schedule an appointment with our experts today.

BCM Neurosurgery @bcmneurosurgery.bsky.social · 28d

September is #BrainAneursym Awareness Month, and the team at #BCMNeurosurgery and St. Luke's Health wants you to know the warning signs of a ruptured brain aneurysm.

👉 To learn more, visit bcm.edu/neurosurgery (📞 713.798.4696) to schedule an appointment with our experts today.

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BCM Neurosurgery @bcmneurosurgery.bsky.social · Sep 2

In a recent video paper featured in JoVE, Dr. Vladimir Didenko and his team assess DNase activity by ratiometric fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET).

#BCMNeurosurgery

app.jove.com/v/67134/asse... *

*Subscription required.

Assessment of DNase Activity by Ratiometric Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer

The present protocol describes a simple and sensitive ratiometric Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) assay for the detection and quantitative ...

app.jove.com

Reposted by BCM Neurosurgery

Rice Neuroengineering Initiative @riceneuro.bsky.social · Sep 2

Congratulations @nicoleprovenza.bsky.social from
@bcmneurosurgery.bsky.social and @riceneuro.bsky.social
who is the recipient of a $3.7m R01 award from NIH/NIMH for her project, "Neurophysiological investigation of the approach-avoidance axis in OCD: applications to neuromodulation."🎉

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BCM Neurosurgery @bcmneurosurgery.bsky.social · Aug 22

Meet our 2⃣8⃣ incredible residents, who represent the future of neurosurgical care and research ⤵️

Learn more about our #NeurosurgeryResidency program → tinyurl.com/2bu3kbet

#NeurosurgeryAwarenessMonth #MedEd

PGY-4 Residents:
Panayotis Apokremiotis, M.D.; Jordan Guntin, M.D.; Tyler Hughes, M.D.; Somto Ngwudike, M.D.

PGY-5 Residents:
Sricharan Gopakumar, M.D.; Sumeeth Jonathan, M.D., Ph.D.; Diana Le, M.D.; Rajan Patel, M.D.

PGY-6 Residents:
Alex Brenner, M.D.; Alex Flores, M.D.; Eric Goethe, M.D.; Vigi Katlowitz, M.D., Ph.D.

PGY-7 Residents:
Himanshu Sharma, M.D., Ph.D.; Hudin Jackson, M.D.; John McGinnis, M.D., Ph.D.; Rita Snyder, M.D.

BCM Neurosurgery @bcmneurosurgery.bsky.social · Aug 22

As part of #NeurosurgeryAwarenessMonth, we're highlighting #BCMNeurosurgery's 3 pillars of #healthcare 🏥, #education 🧠 and #research 🔬

This week we're shining a special spotlight on our 2⃣8⃣ incredible residents, who represent the future of neurosurgical care and research ⤵️

The residency program at BCM Neurosurgery has a history as one of the largest and most respected neurosurgery training programs in the country. Swipe through to meet our residents.

PGY-1 Residents
L-R: Nangorgo (Oumar) Coulibaly, M.D.; Collin English, M.D.; Mireya Rahman, M.D.; Kevin Wu, M.D.

PGY-2 Residents:
L-R: Adrish Anand, M.D.; Som Chaturvedi, M.D.; Nisha Dabhi, M.D.; Pedram Maleknia, M.D.

PGY-3 Residents:
Luis Carrete, M.D.; Jeffrey Chen, M.D.; Sai Susheel Chilakapati, M.D.; Samantha Varela, M.D.

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BCM Neurosurgery @bcmneurosurgery.bsky.social · Aug 21

We're excited to welcome Dr. Michael Steinmetz of the @clevelandclinic.bsky.social as tomorrow's 3rd Annual Spinal #Neurosurgery Lecturer!

#BCMNeurosurgery #NeurosurgeryResidency #MedEd #GrandRounds

Tomorrow we welcome Dr. Michael Steinmetz of the Cleveland Clinic as our 3rd Annual Spinal Neurosurgery lecturer!

Reposted by BCM Neurosurgery

From the Labs at Baylor College of Medicine @bcmfromthelabs.bsky.social · Aug 20

A team from #TexasChildrensHospital, Baylor College of Medicine @bcmhouston.bsky.social provided new breakthrough treatment for patient with rare #NeurologicalDisorder. #AADC @bcmneurosurgery.bsky.social #GeneTherapy www.texaschildrens.org/content/news...

Texas Children’s Provides New Breakthrough Treatment for Patient with Rare Neurological Disorder | Texas Children's

Texas Children’s is pleased to announce that a three-year-old girl has been successfully treated with the first-ever FDA-approved gene therapy treatment for AADC deficiency.

www.texaschildrens.org

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BCM Neurosurgery @bcmneurosurgery.bsky.social · Aug 18

"I was drawn to #BCMNeurosurgery because of its reputation to be one of the highest clinical volume sites in the country... Sub-Is get to see a variety of different cases and interact with diverse patient populations."

Learn more: tinyurl.com/3nyejkz7

#MedEd #Neurosurgery

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BCM Neurosurgery @bcmneurosurgery.bsky.social · Aug 13

Learn about neurosurgical subspecialties and meet the experts at #BCMNeurosurgery 🧠

Visit bcm.edu/neurosurgery 💻 or call 713.798.4696 📞 to schedule an appointment with one of our experts today.

#NeurosurgeryAwarenessMonth #Neurosurgery #NeuroX

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Functional Neurosurgery

The team at Baylor Medicine uses targeted therapies to improve quality of life. Our surgeons are experts in deep brain stimulation (DBS), a surgical procedure used to treat a variety of movement disorders such as Parkinson’s Disease. Additionally, our neurosurgeons are experts in utilizing state-of-the-art treatments for patients with other neurological movement disorders, neuropsychiatric disorders and pain conditions.

Meet Our Experts:
-Sameer Sheth, M.D., Ph.D. (Director of Research)
-Ashwin Viswanathan, M.D. (Director of Stereotactic and Functional Surgery)

Pain Including Trigeminal Neuralgia

Our approach to pain management focuses on providing the least-invasive treatment to improve quality of life. Our multidisciplinary team treats disorders, including chronic pain, trigeminal neuralgia, cancer pain, spasticity and neck and back pain with treatments such as spinal cord stimulation, microvascular decompression and more.

Meet Our Expert:
-Ashwin Viswanathan, M.D. (Director of Stereotactic and Functional Surgery)

Pituitary Disorders

The Baylor Medicine Pituitary Center offers comprehensive and expert care for all pituitary-related disorders, including all tumors of the pituitary and sellar region as well as other conditions affecting the pituitary gland, including Acromegaly, Cushing’s Disease and Prolactinoma. Our multidisciplinary team creates tailored treatment plans that utilize our professional experience, collaborative nature and motivation to provide exceptional patient care.

Meet Our Expert:
-Ali Jalali, M.D., Ph.D.

Spine Neurosurgery

Our spine neurosurgeons are specialists who treat the full range of spine disorders with the latest techniques. As part of the comprehensive Baylor Medicine Spine Center, our spine neurosurgeons work closely with pain medicine physicians, physiatrists, therapists and other healthcare specialists to offer personalized care to meet the needs of our patients.

Meet Our Experts:
-Cyrus King III, M.D.
-Justin Lee, M.D., Ph.D.
-Alexander Ropper, M.D. (Director of Spine Surgery)

BCM Neurosurgery @bcmneurosurgery.bsky.social · Aug 13

At #BCMNeurosurgery, our specialists provide the full range of brain and spinal surgeries.

Through our affiliation with Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center, we offer our patients truly expert and compassionate care for any neurosurgical problem, no matter how rare or complex.

Learn more ⤵️

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Learn about neurosurgical subspecialties at Baylor Medicine and meet our skilled team of experts.

Skull Base Tumor Neurosurgery

Our team of experts is experienced in treating all forms of benign and malignant tumors that occur within the adult brain and at the base of the skull, including acoustic neuromas, brain metastases, gliomas, meningiomas and pituitary adenomas.

Meet Our Experts:
-Ali Jalali, M.D., Ph.D.
-Akash Patel, M.D. (Director of Brain Tumor Surgery)
-Ganesh Rao (Chair of Neurosurgery)

Cerebrovascular and Stroke Neurosurgery

The cerebrovascular specialists at Baylor Medicine are dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of patients with disorders of the arteries and vessels in the brain, neck and spine, such as acute ischemic stroke, brain aneurysms, brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) and more.

Meet Our Experts:
-Naser Jaleel, M.D., Ph.D.
-Omar Tanweer, M.D. (Director of Cerebrovascular and Endovascular Neurosurgery)

Epilepsy Neurosurgery

For patients with epilepsy who cannot attain good seizure control with medications, epilepsy surgery is an important option. At the Baylor Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, our multidisciplinary team of experts evaluates patients for surgical candidacy. Epilepsy surgeries include anterior temporal lobectomy, extratemporal resections, brain mapping, awake craniotomy, vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) therapy and more.

Meet Our Expert:
-Sameer Sheth, M.D., Ph.D. (Director of Research)

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BCM Neurosurgery @bcmneurosurgery.bsky.social · Aug 4

#DYK? August is #NeurosurgeryAwarenessMonth 🧠

Join us all month as we spotlight the #BCMNeurosurgery surgeons, residents, researchers, staff and students who work tirelessly to treat our patients and advance the field of #neurosurgery and neurosurgical hashtag#research

→ bcm.edu/neurosurgery

August is Neurosurgery Awareness Month! Join us all month as we spotlight the BCM Neurosurgery surgeons, residents, staff, researchers and students who work tirelessly to treat our patients and advance the field of neurosurgery and neurosurgical research.

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BCM Neurosurgery @bcmneurosurgery.bsky.social · Aug 4

𝙀𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙖! 𝙀𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙖! 📰

The summer edition of our #BCMNeurosurgery newsletter is in! From new treatments for #brain #aneurysms at Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center 🧠 to graduation celebrations 🎉 to #research grants 🔬 and more, things are heating up at BCM Neurosurgery 👉 tinyurl.com/4xdayzny

Reposted by BCM Neurosurgery

Nicole Provenza @nicoleprovenza.bsky.social · Aug 1

I’m very excited to share that I got the NOA for my first R01 to study approach-avoidance behaviors after DBS for OCD! We have an awesome team: Sameer Sheth, Wayne Goodman, Eric Storch, and Ben Hayden at BCM, and Han Yi at JHU APL. 🧠⚡️@bcmocd.bsky.social @bcmhouston.bsky.social @jhuapl.bsky.social

BCM Neurosurgery @bcmneurosurgery.bsky.social · Aug 1

#NEWS: Dr. @nicoleprovenza.bsky.social is the recipient of a new $3.7m R01 award from the #NIH & #NIMH for her project, "Neurophysiological investigation of the approach-avoidance axis in OCD: applications to neuromodulation" 🧠

#DBS #OCD #DeepBrainStimulation #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #Research

Project Title:
Neurophysiological investigation of the approach-avoidance axis in OCD: applications to neuromodulation

Project Narrative:
Despite FDA approval for deep brain stimulation (DBS) for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in the form of a Humanitarian Device Exemption, this therapy remains underutilized and poorly understood. Based on the pathologically avoidant phenotype underlying OCD and the pro-approach behavior required to overcome fear-based avoidance, we conceptualize our study of the neurophysiological underpinnings of OCD by tracking behavior and ventral striatum neural activity along the approach-avoidance axis. Doing so would create a foundational understanding of the neurobehavioral effects of DBS that will generalize to other disorders characterized by dysregulation of behavior along the approach-avoidance axis.

$DBS and OCD: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has a lifetime prevalence of 2-3% and is a major cause of global disability. OCD is characterized by obsessions (i.e., unwanted intrusive thoughts) and compulsions (i.e., repetitive ritualistic behaviors), and exemplifies a pathologically avoidant phenotype where greater degrees of avoidance are associated with greater symptom severity and treatment resistance. In the 20-40% of OCD patients that are treatment refractory, deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the ventral capsule and ventral striatum (VC/VS) is an effective therapy that achieves significant benefit in 66% of patients. While VC/VS DBS does not acutely relieve OCD symptoms, DBS often produces a “pro-approach” response including an increase in talkativeness, a desire to engage in activities, extroversion, and affiliative behavior. Our central therapeutic hypothesis is that VC/VS DBS achieves eventual benefit in OCD by providing the “boost” in pro-approach behavior that allows individuals to overcome their pathological fear-based avoidance. Thus, we focus on the approach-avoidance axis as one of the critical neurobehavioral axes underlying the pathophysiology of OCD. Our overall goal is to develop a mechanistic understanding of DBS for OCD by rigorously investigating the relationship between clinical symptoms, behaviors (i.e., approachful vs. avoidant), and neurophysiology.$

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BCM Neurosurgery @bcmneurosurgery.bsky.social · Aug 1

#NEWS: Dr. @nicoleprovenza.bsky.social is the recipient of a new $3.7m R01 award from the #NIH & #NIMH for her project, "Neurophysiological investigation of the approach-avoidance axis in OCD: applications to neuromodulation" 🧠

#DBS #OCD #DeepBrainStimulation #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #Research

$DBS and OCD: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has a lifetime prevalence of 2-3% and is a major cause of global disability. OCD is characterized by obsessions (i.e., unwanted intrusive thoughts) and compulsions (i.e., repetitive ritualistic behaviors), and exemplifies a pathologically avoidant phenotype where greater degrees of avoidance are associated with greater symptom severity and treatment resistance. In the 20-40% of OCD patients that are treatment refractory, deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the ventral capsule and ventral striatum (VC/VS) is an effective therapy that achieves significant benefit in 66% of patients. While VC/VS DBS does not acutely relieve OCD symptoms, DBS often produces a “pro-approach” response including an increase in talkativeness, a desire to engage in activities, extroversion, and affiliative behavior. Our central therapeutic hypothesis is that VC/VS DBS achieves eventual benefit in OCD by providing the “boost” in pro-approach behavior that allows individuals to overcome their pathological fear-based avoidance. Thus, we focus on the approach-avoidance axis as one of the critical neurobehavioral axes underlying the pathophysiology of OCD. Our overall goal is to develop a mechanistic understanding of DBS for OCD by rigorously investigating the relationship between clinical symptoms, behaviors (i.e., approachful vs. avoidant), and neurophysiology.$

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