Neurosurgery Conference Features UCSF Health Experts

Neurosurgery experts from UCSF Health will present new research and clinical findings at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) Annual Scientific Meeting in Boston, April 25-28. The annual conference brings together leading neurosurgery researchers and clinicians, helping to shape clinical practices and research directions for a global audience.

The theme of AANS2025, “Power of One, Impact of Many,” highlights how individual contributions can drive significant change across various facets of the field of neurological surgery, with a single innovative technique or a breakthrough in research enhancing patient outcomes and advancing understanding of neurological disorders.

This year’s scientific program features the latest developments in clinical research by experts from UCSF’s Department of Neurological Surgery. UCSF investigators and clinicians will participate in presentations in such areas as neuroendocrine tumor genomics, glioma biomarkers and glioblastoma classification, challenging cranial surgery, and spine tumor surgery.

UCSF Presentations (all times EDT):

Saturday, April 26, from 7:55 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

Robert Osorio, MD, UCSF resident physician in the Department of Neurological Surgery, presents “Single Nuclear RNA Sequencing of Pituitary Neuroendocrine Tumors Challenges Their Current Classification Schema” from 8:22 a.m. to 8:29 a.m. during Plenary Session I.

Osorio’s talk focuses on pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs). These tumors are currently classified and subtyped based on how pathologists stain the tumors when looking at them under a microscope. But clinical data suggest there are better ways to classify them which haven't been discovered. In this study, the researchers used single nucleus RNA sequencing to study about a half a million cells taken from pituitary tumors and from normal pituitary glands, and analyzed the tissue from a gene expression, transcriptomic analysis, and developmental analysis standpoint. Osorio reports on the study’s finding which could open the door to new diagnostic and therapeutic insights.

During the conference, Osorio will also be presented with the “Columbia Softball Skull Base Award” which is given to a high-ranking abstract related to skull base surgery by a resident or medical student. This award carries a $1,000 honorarium.

Saturday, April 26, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Praveen Mummaneni, MD, MBA, co-director of the UCSF Spine Center and vice chair of the UCSF Department of Neurological Surgery, is moderator for the spine session “Does Everyone with Adult Scoliosis Need T10 to the Pelvis? Update on Modern Adult Scoliosis Management.” This session provides an in-depth update on the latest strategies for managing adult scoliosis, focusing on surgical decision-making and treatment options. Expert faculty will explore key considerations in spinal fusion levels, the role of minimally invasive techniques, and when short-segment fusion may be appropriate. The session will conclude with insights from top abstracts in the field, offering a comprehensive review of modern adult scoliosis management. Several UCSF authors will present during this session including:

Nima Alan, MD, neurosurgeon and UCSF assistant professor of Neurological Surgery, or AMBATI, presents “Analysis of patient satisfaction 24-months after surgery for grade 2 spondylolisthesis: A QOD Study” from 4:29 p.m. to 4:34 p.m. during this session. Patient satisfaction with treatment is an important quality metric. This multicenter study examined demographic, surgical, and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) that correlate with patient satisfaction two years after surgery for grade 2 spondylolisthesis.

Vardhaan S. Ambati, MS, UCSF medical student and member of the UCSF Neuroinformatics Lab, presents “Does Preoperative Embolization Help to Lower Surgical Blood Loss in Nonvascular Metastatic Spine Tumor Surgery?” from 4:41 p.m. to 4:46 p.m. The study aimed to identify if embolization prior to resection of spinal column metastases originating from non-vascular (not renal, hepatocellular, and thyroid) tumors improves blood loss. Ambati reports on the impact of embolization prior to resection of non-vascular spinal column metastases on EBL or pRBC transfusion rates. Ambati also presents, “Five Years Follow Up After MIS TLIF vs MIS Decompression for Grade 1 Spondylolisthesis: Is There Any Difference in Outcomes?” from 4:53 p.m. to 4:58 p.m. This study compares 5-year outcomes of MIS transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) versus MIS decompression alone for grade 1 spondylolisthesis.

Saturday, April 26, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Shawn Hervey-Jumper, MD, FAANS, neurosurgeon and UCSF professor of Neurological Surgery is moderator of the tumor session “Advances in Care Beyond the Scalpel” which focuses on advances in treatment for gliomas, including non-surgical methods and the latest in molecular diagnostics, artificial intelligence, augmented reality imaging, neural plasticity, and liquid biopsy.

Youssef Sibih, BA, UCSF medical student presents “Gladiator Project Award - Aperiodic Neural Activity is a Predictor of Diffuse Glioma Subtype," from 2:48 p.m. to 2:53 p.m. Gliomas disrupt cortical excitation-inhibition (E/I) balance, yet physiologically and molecularly validated biomarkers remain undefined. Sibih reports on using intraoperative electrocorticography recordings during resting state and language tasks, in the hopes of developing a framework to establish a physiologically relevant metric for glioma classification and highlight therapeutic avenues targeting circuit-level dysfunction. Sibih has been awarded the AANS Gladiator Project award for this study abstract. This award is given to a high scoring translational abstract on adult glioblastoma by a medical student, resident, fellow, or attending physician. It will be presented AANS and comes with a $1,000 honorarium.

Saturday, April 26, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Youssef Sibih, BA, also presents “Assessing the Impact of Access to Neurosurgical Oncology Providers on Survival Outcomes in Diffuse Glioma: A Nationwide County-Level Analysis” from 4:36 p.m. to 4:38 p.m. during the session “Incorporating Accurate and Ethical Coding into Neurosurgical Residency and Organized Labor in Neurosurgery.” In recent years, the field of neuro-oncology has experienced marked advances in the understanding of clinical, surgical, and molecular underpinnings of brain cancer. However, non-medical, socioeconomic drivers of patient outcomes, such as access to subspecialized neuro-oncology care, remains poorly understood. The research team set out to determine the density of neurosurgical oncologists and distance traveled to receive care in the U.S. and describe associations with disease-specific mortality. Sibih will report on ways to address these inequities to ensure more equitable care delivery for glioma patients.

Michael E. Tawil, BS, UCSF medical student, presents “Geographic Variation in Disability After Posterior/Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion for Grade 1 Degenerative Lumbar Spondylolisthesis: A Five-Year Quality Outcomes Database Study” from 4:39 p.m. to 4:41 p.m. during “Incorporating Accurate and Ethical Coding into Neurosurgical Residency and Organized Labor in Neurosurgery.” Previous studies have suggested regional variation in disability after surgery for lumbar spondylolisthesis. However, long-term data regarding this geographic variability after PLIF or TLIF has not been well described. This study uses the Quality Outcomes Database Grade 1 Spondylolisthesis Module to evaluate geographic variation across the U.S. in patients undergoing a Posterior/Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion for Grade 1 Spondylolisthesis.

Sunday, April 27, from 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Abraham Dada, BA, UCSF medical student, presents “Departure From Active Practice Among Male and Female Neurosurgeons, 2017-2022” during the session “Socioeconomic Oral Paper Posters.” Dada will report on the findings of the study which investigated disparities in the decline of active practice among neurosurgeons. The presentation will characterize factors associated with neurosurgeons leaving the Medicare workforce, using features like practice location, teaching hospital affiliation, gender, career stage, and rank of medical school.

Sunday, April 27, from 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Nathan Han, MD, UCSF neurosurgery spine fellow, presents “Intraoperative Tranexamic Acid Administration in Metastatic Spinal Tumor Surgery Does Not Result in Higher Rates of Thromboembolic Adverse Events” during “Tumor Oral Paper Posters.” TXA is frequently used in spine surgery to limit blood loss. However, use in patients undergoing spinal column tumor resection given their hypercoagulable state and systemic illness burden, necessitates further understanding with regards to safety profile and adverse effect of intraoperative TXA use.  Han reports on rates of adverse events for intraoperative TXA administration in patients undergoing metastatic spinal column tumor resection.

Sunday, April 27, 2025, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Poojan Shukla, BS, UCSF medical student and member of the Wang Lab at UCSF, presents “A Single Cell Atlas of Glioblastoma Under Bevacizumab Treatment Reveals Mechanisms of Antiangiogenic Therapy Resistance” from 2:52 p.m. to 2:57 p.m. during “Spine Oncology: Improving Outcomes through Innovation.” Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common primary intracranial brain tumor and is associated with a poor prognosis. Although GBM is a highly vascular tumor, anti-angiogenic therapies such as bevacizumab have not improved survival in these patients despite their success in other cancers. In this study, the research team sought to investigate the mechanisms of GBM's resistance to bevacizumab by performing single-cell RNA sequencing on tumor tissue taken from patients at the time of their brain tumor surgery before treatment with bevacizumab and after experiencing progression while on bevacizumab. Shulka reports on several key findings of this study.

Sunday, April 27, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Mummaneni, MD, presents “Cases with Neuromonitoring Alerts: Intramedullary Cord Tumor” from 1:43 p.m. to 1:52 p.m. during the spine session “Yikes! What Do I Do Now?” This session will cover how expert surgeons manage complications with a focus on neuromonitoring. Neuromonitoring dilemmas and situations are discussed in different types of cases and scenarios.

Sunday, April 27, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Anthony DiGiorgio, DO, MHA, assistant professor in the UCSF Department of Neurological Surgery, presents “Cervical Vertebral Artery Injury During ACDF” from 3:38 p.m. to 3:44 p.m. during the spine session “Surgical Mishaps.” During this session, experts in spine surgery will discuss how they handle complications. Discussion of both rare and common complications will take place with lively interactive participation over spine surgery complications.

Sunday, April 27, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Line Jacques, MD, MSc, neurosurgeon and UCSF professor of Neurological Surgery, presents “Developing Enticing Education for Residents and Fellows” from 4:18 p.m. to 4:26 p.m. during “Developing Peripheral Nerve Leaders.” This session provides insight and advice on the development of mentorship and leadership in peripheral nerve careers, including how to grow multidisciplinary clinics, clinical and lab research.

Monday, April 28, from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

Nima Alan, MD, neurosurgeon and UCSF assistant professor of Neurological Surgery presents “Giant Calcified Thoracic Discs” from 9:12 a.m. to 9:20 a.m. during “Difficult Spine Cases: Case Presentations, Surgical Nuances and Complication Avoidance Strategies.” Thoracic disc herniations are rare and surgically complex due to anatomical challenges and proximity to the spinal cord. Nima’s presentation underscores the growing support for mini-open lateral retropleural surgery as a safe and effective approach for management of giant calcified thoracic disc herniations.

Praveen Mummaneni, MD, MBA, presents “Multilevel Continuous Cervical OPLL” from 8:00 a.m. to 8:08 a.m. during this session, sharing a case presentation of a complex spinal surgery case.

Monday, April 28, from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

Mitchel Berger, MD, FACS, FAANS, director of the UCSF Brain Tumor Center and director of the UCSF Center for Neurological Injury and Repair, presents Glioma Difficult Cases from 9:05 a.m. to 9:14 a.m. during the Can’t Miss Monday session “Difficult Cranial Cases: Case Presentations, Surgical Nuances and Complication Avoidance Strategies.” Berger is a pioneer of intraoperative brain mapping. His work has enabled surgeons to perform more extensive resection of tumor with less chance of producing sensorimotor or language deficit. UCSF’s Hervey-Jumper serves as the moderator for this session.

Monday, April 28, from 9:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.

Hervey-Jumper, MD, presents “Intraaxial Tumor Complications” from 11:00 a.m. to 11:04 a.m. during “Cranial M&M: Case Presentations, Thoughtful Reflections and Strategies for Avoidance.” This session will focus on the complications that can arise during cranial surgeries and will feature a combination of open and endovascular cases. Comprehensive views of complications across different subspecialties will be presented by nationally respected senior neurosurgeons.

Please visit AANS2025 for complete meeting abstract and session information.