UCSF Neurosurgery

UCSF neurologist and pain medicine specialist Prasad Shrivalkar, MD, PhD, standing in front of a whiteboard. Photo: Anastasiia Sapon.

One of the biggest challenges to treating chronic pain lies in reliably measuring how much pain someone is feeling. But @shirvalkarlab.bsky.social has shown that they can predict when someone’s going to be in significant pain by tracking their brain activity: magazine.ucsf.edu/can-we-train... 🧪 🧠🟦

Meet the Little Brain Region that Helps You Say What’s on Your Mind Researchers discovered that a different part of the brain handles stringing sounds and words together into coherent sentences. The information could help people who have had strokes and lost the abili...

Research led by @changlabucsf.bsky.social at @ucsanfrancisco.bsky.social identifies a new, vital role for a brain region called the the middle precentral gyrus (mPrCG) in planning and coordinating the muscle movements required to speak. #Neuroskyence 🧪
www.ucsf.edu/news/2025/07...

We’re honored to be named among the top two neurosurgery programs nationwide and the Best in the West by @usnews.com! 🎉 It's a privilege caring for our patients and their families, and we thank our entire team for hard work and dedication. @ucsfhealth.bsky.social www.ucsfhealth.org/lp/us-news-2...

UCSF Health Ranks Among Nation's Best for 2025-26 U.S. News & World Report ranked UCSF No. 1 in CA & Top 20 in the nation.

👏 The rankings are in! We’re proud to be among the nation’s #BestHospitals — and the No. 1 hospital in California and San Francisco, according to @usnews.com! 🎉

Looking for a motivated postdoc to join our team for research in multimodal foundation models for medicine! I'll be at #ACL2025 #ACL2025NLP next week, please reach if you you are interested in learning more! Details here: docit.ucsf.edu/news/were-hi... @aclmeeting.bsky.social

Graphic that depicts an overview of the study in which UCSF researchers modeled and optimized DBS settings to improve walking in patients with Parkinson's, identifying key insights abut the neurophysiology of walking along the way.

A new study led by @doriswang.bsky.social's lab developed a systematic way to quantify key aspects of gait in patients with #Parkinsons and used machine learning to identify personalized deep brain stimulation (DBS) settings to improve walking: www.ucsf.edu/news/2025/07...
@ucsfhealth.bsky.social 🧠📈

Our latest research on the neural basis of speech-motor sequencing is now published in @nathumbehav.nature.com! Check out this high-level explainer video and read the full paper here: t.co/YKJlabr3yb

"A transcriptomic, proteomic, and functional genetic atlas dissects neurofibromin function in the peripheral nervous system" now in @pnas.org Harish Vasudevan Lab @ucsfcancer.bsky.social @neurosurgucsf.bsky.social www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

A new @nathumbehav.nature.com study from @changlabucsf.bsky.social identifies a key role for the middle precentral gyrus in coordinating the muscle movements required to speak, challenging the longstanding view that Broca's area controls this process: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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Glioblastoma Awareness Day - National Brain Tumor Society Join Us On the seventh annual Glioblastoma Awareness Day, July 16, 2025, we gather to amplify the voices, experiences, and urgent needs of everyone living with glioblastoma, one of the most complex, t...

Learn about more ways to take action today: braintumor.org/gbmday @braintumor.org

Graphic for Glioblastoma Awareness Day, July 16, 2025, showing a cartoon icon of a brain, a grey ribbon, and the UCSF Brain Tumor Center logo. Glioblastoma is the most common primary malignant brain tumor, with more than 13,000 Americans receiving a diagnosis each year. Source: Source: Price M, et al. CB.TRUS Statistical Report: Primary Brain and Other Central Nervous System Tumors Diagnosed in the United States in 2017-2021. Neuro Oncol. 2024 Oct 6;26 (Supplement_6):vi1 -vi85. doi: 10.1093/neuonc/noae145.

Join us and the entire brain tumor community in raising awareness about the most common, treatment-resistant brain cancer and supporting the research efforts into developing improved therapies. Support our work at UCSF: giving.ucsf.edu/fund/brain-t...
#btsm #GBMDay @ucsfcancer.bsky.social

Gene networks decode human brain architecture from health to glioma Dr. Michael C. Oldham's innovative gene coexpression analysis methods have transformed our understanding of brain cell diversity. His work spans from mapping cellular signatures in healthy brains ...

Fantastic profile of Dr. Michael Oldham @ucsanfrancisco.bsky.social | Gene networks decode human brain architecture from health to glioma www.eurekalert.org/news-release... via @eurekalert.bsky.social

Award graphic announcing Shawn Hervey-Jumper, MD, as the winner of the 2025 Abhijit Guha Award from the Section on Tumors of the AANS/CNS and the Society of Neuro-Oncology.

Congratulations to @herveyjumper.bsky.social for being named this year's recipient of the Abhijit Guha Award! 🎉 This award recognizes his accomplishments as a neurosurgeon-scientist and his role as a mentor in the field of neuro-oncology. #SNO2025 @neuroonc.bsky.social @ucsfcancer.bsky.social

Next-Gen Brain Implants Offer New Hope for Depression AI improves deep brain stimulation to offer new hope for personalized depression treatment.

People with clinical depression have limited options if meds don't work for them. One technology that has long been on the horizon is #deepbrainstimulation. Elie Dolgin did a deep dive on the most cutting-edge versions of these brain implants🧵 spectrum.ieee.org/deep-brain-s...

Graphic showing microscopy image in the background and photos of the publication's lead authors (L to R): Takahide Nejo, PhD (first author), Saritha Krishna, PhD (second author), Shawn Hervey-Jumper, MD (co-senior author), Hideho Okada, MD, PhD (co-senior author). Text includes publication citation: Glioma-neuronal circuit remodeling induces regional immunosuppression. Nejo T et al. (2025) Nat Comm. 16(1): 4770.

In @natcomms.nature.com, Takahide Nejo, PhD & the Okada lab worked with Saritha Krishna, PhD & @herveyjumper.bsky.social to show how the complex interaction between #glioblastoma and immune cells suppresses pro-inflammatory immune responses and drives tumor growth: www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧪

Graphic showing photos of the 2025-2026 class of fellows in front of a background image of UCSF's Parnassus campus. Top row (L to R): Niall Buckley, MD (Spine); Corinna Fukushima, MD (Neuro-Oncology); Conor Grady, MD (Spine); Jay Kumar, MD, MBA (Spine). Bottom row (L to R): Keaton Piper, MD (Functional Neurosurgery); Rahul Sastry, MD, MPH (Spine); Stefanie Stallard, MD (Neuro-Oncology); Alexander Suarez-Jew, MD (Peripheral Nerve).

Please join us in welcoming our new class of neurosurgery and neuro-oncology fellows to the team! 👋 @ucsfcancer.bsky.social @ucsfhealth.bsky.social

New paper with @herveyjumper.bsky.social and Vardhaan Ambati! It shows that causal (DCS+) language cortex in glioma patients has greater ECoG information encoding (higher entropy and linguistic decoding). DCS+ sites showed stronger oscillations and high gamma, enabling prediction of DCS sites.

Looking for a motivated postdoc to work at the intersection of multimodal foundation models and medicine! If you're excited about exploring real-world data and transforming clinical care, please apply! @ucsfdocit.bsky.social @ucsf-bchsi.bsky.social @neurosurgucsf.bsky.social @ucsfcancer.bsky.social

Very excited to share our newest publication on identifying neurophysiological signatures of improved gait using bidirectional DBS devices!

John Andrews, MD, John Yue, MD, neurosurgeon Sandeep Kunwar, MD, neurosurgery department chair Edward Chang, MD, and Tom Wozny, MD smile for a group photo.

Chief resident John Andrews, MD (center) and his parents (right) speak with pediatric neurosurgeon, Kurtis Auguste, MD (left).

Chief resident Tom Wozny, MD speaks with his fellow residents.

UCSF neurosurgeon, Ethan Winkler, MD, PhD (right) congratulates chief resident John Yue, MD (left).

A big congratulations to our outstanding residency graduates John Andrews, MD, John Yue, MD, and Tom Wozny, MD! 🎉 Please join us in wishing them the best in the next steps of their promising careers as neurosurgeons. #UCSFGrads #UCSFProud #neurosurgery

Movement-responsive deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease using a remotely optimized neural decoder - Nature Biomedical Engineering An adaptive deep brain stimulation algorithm delivers targeted stimulation increases during movement using brain motor signals.

Happy to share our latest study led by Tanner Dixon and our team @ucsfhealth.bsky.social and @neurosurgucsf.bsky.social out today in Nature BME! Movement Responsive, AI programmed, BCI-aDBS improves naturalistic movements and reduces excessive movements at rest in PD.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Graphic that depicts an overview of the study in which researchers modeled and optimized DBS settings to improve walking in patients with Parkinson's, identifying key insights abut the neurophysiology of walking along the way. Text banner includes the publication citation: Modeling and optimizing deep brain stimulation to enhance gait in Parkinson's disease: personalized treatment with neurophysiological insights. Fekri Azgomi H et al. NPJ Parkinsons Dis. 2025 Jun 18;11(1): 173.

New in npj Parkinson's Disease, @doriswang.bsky.social's lab presents an AI approach for identifying personalized deep brain stimulation (DBS) settings to improve walking. The findings lay the groundwork for adaptive DBS systems that adjust in real-time: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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We're proud to be the only California hospital @childrenstumor.bsky.social recognized as both a comprehensive NF-1 and schwannomatosis center. Our adult clinic works closely with the pediatric NF-1 clinic to seamlessly transition patients to adult care. ucsfh.org/3TwvsHh

YouTube video by UCSF Neurosurgery Impact of Glioma Molecular Profiling | UCSF Neurosurgery Community Grand Rounds

How is genetic testing affecting the diagnosis & management of gliomas? Watch Drs. Jennie Taylor, Shawn Hervey-Jumper & Harish Vasudevan, discuss treating different tumor subtypes with surgery & targeted therapies in our Community #GrandRounds: youtu.be/UvRtuqz_fwA
#MedSky @ucsfcancer.bsky.social

John Andrews, MD, during a corpus callosotomy surgery.

John Andrews, MD, with UCSF neurosurgeon Edward Chang, MD, during a corpus callosotomy surgery.

John Andrews, MD, shown looking down during a corpus callosotomy surgery.

Congratulations to graduating neurosurgery chief resident John Andrews, MD, who will be starting a pediatric neurosurgery fellowship at @childrensphila.bsky.social! 🎉🎓 #UCSFGrads #UCSFProud

Close-up of John Yue, MD, during a stereoelectroencephalography (sEEG) procedure.

John Yue, MD, performing stereoelectroencephalography (sEEG).

John Yue, MD, looks through a microscope during a pituitary tumor resection.

Congratulations to graduating neurosurgery chief resident John Yue, MD, who will be staying in our department next fall as an assistant professor working with the neurotrauma team at @zsfgcare.bsky.social! 🎉🎓 #UCSFGrads #UCSFProud

Close-up of chief resident Thomas Wozny, MD, during a bypass surgery.

Chief resident Thomas Wozny, MD, shown performing a bypass surgery.

Chief resident Thomas Wozny, MD, with cerebrovascular neurosurgeon Luis Savastano, MD, PhD, during a bypass surgery to treat moyamoya disease.

Congratulations to graduating neurosurgery chief resident Thomas Wozny, MD, who will be starting a spine fellowship at the University of Miami! 🎉🎓 #UCSFGrads #UCSFProud

Out now in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Edward Chang MD, Anthony Lee MD, PhD & team use a pericranium sling—patient’s own tissue—to move vessels off the trigeminal nerve during MVD. No implants, fewer risks, elegant solution. thejns.org/view/journal...
#Neurosurgery #MedSky #SurgSky

Ad for the UCSF Neurosurgery CME course being held in Sonoma, CA August 7-9, 2025. The subheading above his photo during a surgery says, Learn from the Best; Philip Starr, MD, PhD, PhD: Functional Neurosurgery.

Register now for our Neurosurgery Update! 🧠 Learn about the latest neurosurgical advances through case presentations from experts across all specialties, including guest speakers from @neurosurgerynm.bsky.social, @clevelandclinic.bsky.social, & more ➡️ neurosurgeryupdate.ucsf.edu
#CME #MedEd #MedSky

Chemicals used in firefighting and pesticides linked to most common and deadly brain tumors Causes of gliomas, the most common type of deadly brain tumor, remain a mystery despite improvements in understanding glioma risks. Firefighters have a higher rate of these cancerous tumors, so we exp...

A new study finds exposure to halokanes (found in firefighting chemicals/pesticides/solvents) may be linked to gliomas, a deadly brain tumor. Glioma Registry + EaRTH Pilot @neurosurgucsf.bsky.social @ucsfcancer.bsky.social @yalecancer.bsky.social @yalesph.bsky.social prheucsf.blog/2025/06/10/c...