The Stanford Stroke Center

Neurology and Neurocritical Care

Stroke Center neurologists focus their efforts on treating and preventing ischemic stroke.

Faculty

	Gregory W. Albers, MD Director, Stanford Stroke Center Coyote Foundation Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences Dr. Albers has been the Director of the Stanford Stroke Center since its inception in 1992. He is a leader in the clinical care of stroke patients as well as cerebrovascular research and education. Dr. Albers has published over 150 articles in the medical literature and has been the principal investigator of more than 50 clinical studies. He has chaired multiple consensus panels that have published national and international guidelines for stroke treatment and prevention. Under his guidance, the Stroke Center has trained over two dozen clinical stroke specialists; many of these individuals are directing stroke centers at academic institutions thoughout the country. Dr. Albers’ current research focus is the use of new MRI techniques to expand the treatment window for administration of intravenous thrombolytic therapy. He is currently leading an National Institutes of Health funded multicenter clinical trial investigating the role of diffusion and perfusion MRI in identifying patients who are most likely to benefit from stroke therapies.

	Christine A.C. Wijman, MD, PhD Director, Critical Care Neurology Associate Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences Dr. Wijman has been the Director of the Stanford Neurocritical Care Program since its inception in 2001. She is an expert in Neurocritical Care and Stroke and oversees the care of critically-ill patients with cerebrovascular and other neurologic disorders in the intensive care unit. She also directs the Stanford Neurocritical Care fellowship training program focused on the training of specialists in Neurointensive Care. Dr. Wijman serves as the Stanford principal investigator for several clinical trials; including the use of a new medication designed to stop brain hemorrhages shortly after they occur, the use of a medication to dissolve blood clots in the ventricles of the brain, and the use of brain cooling to decrease injury caused by stroke. Her research interests include evaluating the causes and optimal treatment of brain hemorrhages, the use of hypothermia for the treatment of stroke and brain injury, predicting outcome in comatose survivors after cardiac arrest, studying the process of brain swelling and secondary injury after brain hemorrhage, and prognostication of critically-ill neurologic patients.

	Marion S. Buckwalter, MD, PhD Assistant Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, and Neurosurgery Dr. Buckwalter joined the Stroke Center in 2002 after her fellowship training at University of Caifornia 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.

	Anna Finley Caulfield, MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences Dr. Finley Caulfield joined the Stanford Stroke Center in 2004 from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. She is specialty-trained both in stroke and neurocritical care. She cares for acute stroke patients and other neurologically critical ill patients in the intensive care unit. Currently, her research interests include hypothermia after cardiac arrest and comparing health care provider's predications of future neurological function in neurologically critical ill patients to their 6-month outcome.

	Maarten Lansberg, MD, PhD Assistant Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences Dr. Lansberg joined the Stanford Stroke Center in 1997. His main clinical and research interest is the acute treatment of stroke patients. His research has focused on defining the utility of modern imaging techniques for the evaluation of acute stroke. These techniques include diffusion-weighted MRI, perfusion-weighted MRI and Xenon CT perfusion. The ultimate goal of his research is to develop more effective treatment strategies for stroke patients.

	Neil E. Schwartz, MD, PhD Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences Dr. Schwartz joined the Stanford Stroke Center in 2004 as a Fellow in Vascular Neurology. Currently, his primary focus is the care of patients with cerebrovascular disease in both the inpatient and outpatient setting. His clinical duties also extend to critically ill patients in the Neurointensive Care Unit with ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes. His research interests include the study of novel MRI techniques for the diagnosis of acute stroke, and the use of diffusion- and perfusion-weighted MR imaging and xenon CT for the prediction of symptomatic vasospasm after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

	Chitra Venkatasubramanian, MBBS, MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences Dr. Venkatasubramanian joined the Stanford Stroke Center in 2005 as a Fellow in vascular neurology and neurocritical care after completing successive residency training in internal medicine in India and neurology residency at Stanford University Medical Center. She cares for neurologically critically ill patients in the intensive care unit and patients with acute stroke and TIA in the inpatient stroke unit. She also sees outpatients in a stroke clinic and conducts follow-up of patients discharged from the neurological ICU, in the “Outcomes clinic”. Her research focuses on the study of the natural history and clinical significance of brain swelling that occurs after a hemorrhagic stroke using MRI techniques and biomarkers. Her other research interest is the study of cerebral microbleeds in patients with TIA and ischemic stroke.

Fellows

	Archana Purushotham, MD, PhD Cerebrovascular Fellow Dr. Purushotham is specializing in Stroke Neurology. She completed her residency training at the University of Arizona and the Cleveland Clinic. She earned a PhD in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Minnesota, conducting functional MRI studies of the human motor cortex. In addition, she holds a Master's degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai. Her research interests lie in the broad area of imaging studies in stroke, applying imaging modalities to more effectively treat stroke patients both in the acute phase, and in the post-stroke recovery period.

	Edgar Samaniego, MD Cerebrovascular/Neurocritical Care Fellow Dr. Samaniego attended medical school at Universidad Central del Ecuador and completed his neurology residency at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Currently, he is doing a fellowship in Stroke and Neurocritical care. His main interests are neurocritical care and interventional neurology. His current research is diffusion and perfusion-weighted MR imaging for the prediction of symptomatic vasospasm after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Nurses

	Connie Wolford, RN, MSN, NP Nurse Coordinator Connie joined the Stroke Center in June 2006 as the TIA Clinic nurse coordinator. She was the founding coordinator of the Stanford TIA Clinic and continues to oversee the daily operations of the clinic. She provides clinical staffing for various stroke clinics including ICU Outcomes. Connie also helps coordinate research studies that focus on risk stratification of TIA patients.

	J.J. Baumann, RN, MS, CNS Stroke Clinical Nurse Specialist After finishing her masters in critical care/trauma nursing at UCSF, JJ joined the Stanford Stroke Center in 2005. In collaboration with the attending physicians in the emergency department, the neurocritical care unit, and stroke center, JJ provides expert and complex nursing care to patients and their families, including evaluation, monitoring of treatment plans, and patient and family education. In addition to her work at the hospital, JJ takes a special interest in community education of stroke. Her passion for this is rooted in her past experience as an EMT/firefighter.

Clinical Research Staff

	Didem Aksoy Research Associate Didem joined the Stroke Center in the summer of 2008. She holds a BS degree in Electrical Engineering and MS degree in Biomedical Engineering. She is currently involved in the studies investigating the process of brain edema and secondary injury following intracerebral hemorrhage.

	Irina Eyngorn Clinical Research Coordinator Irina Eyngorn joined the Stanford Stroke Center in 2001. She coordinates several ongoing clinical trials at the Stroke Center. Currently, she is involved in studies predicting outcome in comatose survivors after cardiac arrest, using MRI and biomarkers, and assessing the utility of diffusion- and perfusion-weighted MRI and Xenon CT perfusion for the evaluation of acute stroke patients.

	Madelleine Garcia Clinical Research Coordinator Madelleine Garcia is a Clinical Research Coordinator at the Stanford Stroke Center. She has been with the Stroke Center since 1998. She oversees secondary stroke prevention trials and maintains the stroke database which includes all patients seen by the Stroke Center.

	Stephanie Kemp Program Manager Stephanie Kemp is the Program Manager for the Stanford Stroke Center. She joined the Stroke Center in 1993 and has extensive experience in regulatory management and FDA guidelines. She oversees the administrative and research staff as well as all clinical trials performed at the Stroke Center.

	Michael Mlynash Research Associate Michael 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.

	Jean-Marc Olivot, MD PhD Stroke Neurologist. Research Associate. Dr. Olivot is a French stroke neurologist who joined the Stanford Stroke Center in 2006. His research is focused on the utility of magnetic resonance imaging in cerebral hemorrhage; and on the evaluation of cerebral perfusion and ischemic penumbra in hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke. He is also interested in the relation between the coagulation system and acute stroke.

	Ryan Snider Clinical Research Coordinator Ryan Snider joined the Stroke Center in the summer of 2007 from Boston, where he attended Harvard University and spent 3 years at Massachusetts General Hospital studying intracerebral hemorrhage, the most fatal and disabling form of stroke. After completing his work on the clinical trial of a drug designed to stop bleeding in the brain, Ryan returned to his native Bay Area to coordinate several acute studies for the Stanford team. His interest in novel therapeutic interventions for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke victims drew him to work on the DASH and MISTIE studies, the logistics of which he currently coordinates. Ryan hopes to further his pursuit of integrative approaches in stroke treatment and prevention locally during medical school.

	Demi Thai Clinical Research Coordinator Following a one-year research internship with the Surgery department at Stanford, Demi Thai joined the Stanford Stroke Center in the summer of 2007 with a growing enthusiasm for neurological science. Since then, her main role has been coordinating clinical trials relating to acute intracerebral hemorrhage and the treatment of hypertension in patients following ischemic stroke.

Administrative Staff

	Haihong Nguyen Administrative Associate Haihong Nguyen has been with the Stanford Stroke Center since January 2007. She provides administrative support to Dr. Christine Wijman, Director of the Stanford Neurocritical Care Program, and Drs. Neil Schwartz and Anna Finley Caulfield.

	Evelyn Ray Administrative Associate Evelyn Ray is an Administrative Associate, providing support to Dr. Gregory Albers, Director of the Stanford Stroke Center, and Drs. Maarten Lansberg and Chitra Venkatasubramanian. She has been at the Stroke Center since March 2003 and has been employed through the Stanford Hospital and Stanford University for 18 years.

Neurosurgery Stanford Stroke Center neurosurgeons continue to develop and refine innovative surgical therapies for stroke treatment and prevention.

	Gary K. Steinberg, MD, PhD Chair, Department of Neurosurgery Co-Director, Stanford Stroke Center Bernard and Ronni Lacroute-William Randolph Hearst Professor of Neurosurgery A founding director of the Stanford Stroke Center, Dr. Steinberg has practiced medicine at Stanford for more than 20 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.

	Steve Chang, MD Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery A recent addition to the Stanford Stroke Center neurosurgical team, Dr. Chang has already 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.

Neuroradiology Stanford Stroke Center’s interventional neuroradiologists treat both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke through endovascular techniques. Stanford radiologists have also been on the forefront of developing new imaging techniques to improve stroke diagnosis.

	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 has also employed endovascular techniques to treat ischemic cerebrovascular disorders. He has a broad experience with cerebral angioplasty, and he is currently developing a new laser therapy for vaporizing intracranial thrombi.

	Huy M. Do, MD Assistant 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.

	Michael Moseley, PhD Professor of Radiology Dr. Moseley, a physicist, is internationally recognized for discovering a new MRI technique (diffusion weighted imaging) that can visualize ischemic brain tissue in the hyperacute phase of stroke. This breakthrough is revolutionizing the approach to early stroke imaging.Working closely with Stanford Stroke Center clinicians, Dr. Moseley has made numerous important contributions to stroke diagnosis. He is currently refining an even newer technique, called perfusion-weighted imaging, which when combined with diffusion-weighted imaging, can be used to identify brain tissue at risk of stroke before irreversible injury takes place.

Intraoperative neurophysical monitoring The Intraoperative Neurophysiologic Monitoring program consists of a core group of neurologists and electrodiagnostic technicians who use different 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 Assistant 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.

	S. Charles Cho, MD Assistant Professor Neurology and Neurological Sciences Clinical Neurophysiology Dr. Cho recently joined the Intraoperative Monitoring Service at Stanford, transferring from the Massachusetts General hospital at the Harvard Medical School. 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.

Neuroanasthesia The Stanford Stroke Center neuroanesthesiologists continue to develop and refine ways to protect the brain from ischemia during neurosurgical and neuroradiological procedures to reduce the incidence of perioperative stroke.

	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.

	Rona Giffard, MD, PhD Vice-Chair for Research, Department of Anesthesia Associate 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.

Basic research Neuroscientists at Stanford continue to elucidate the basic mechanisms underlying ischemic neuronal injury and to assess the potential efficacy of novel therapies in animal stroke models.

	Pak Chan, PhD Professor of Neurosurgery Director, Neurosurgical Research Dr. Chan is an international noted investigator of the molecular mechanisms of cerebral ischemia. Dr. Chan’s laboratory examines the mechanisms underlying neuronal death following stroke and brain trauma, particularly the role played by reactive oxygen radicals. His laboratory employs novel molecular and genetic approaches that use transgenic mice and rats to elucidate the pathophysiology of ischemic neuronal injury. Dr. Chan holds numerous prestigious grants and contracts from the National Institutes of Health.

	Theo Palmer, PhD Assistant 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.