WHAT WE DO
NEUROSURGERY
We strive to provide the best medical care possible for our patients,driven by Mayo Clinic's motto: "The needs of the patient come first." Our team is proud to represent the three shields representing the Mayo Clinic, wich is to excel in education, research, and patient care.
We are part of an integrated, multidiciplinary team of doctors and health care profesionals who provide individualized care for each patient. We are constantly seeking new knowledge to improve diagnosis, therapies and outcomes for patients with various brain an nervous system disorders.
RESEARCH
Our projects
In our laboratory, we strategically attack cancer from multiple angles in order to find new therapies. Our principal projects include developing novel therapeutics for glioblastoma including cellular therapy, studying cell migration and invasion, designing models of brain and spine cancers, and establishing a human tissue bank. The operating room functions as an extension of our laboratory.
FUNDING
Dr. Quinones-Hinojosa's laboratory at Mayo Clinic leads and contributes to brain tumor stem cell research that's funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and other sources.
COVER ARTICLES
Check out the cover articles from Dr. Quinones' Stem Cell Research Laboratory.
Mission: Brain Foundation
Mission: BRAIN Bridging Resources & Advancing International Neurosurgery" is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit foundation comprised of world-renowned neurosurgeons, medical providers, nurses, and volunteers from Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, Weill-Cornell, the University of Guadalajara and the University of California San Francisco. The dedicated members of this organization travel around the world to bring surgical expertise, medical supplies, and educational resources to patients and families who are in dire need. The goal of Mission: BRAIN is to give hope to suffering patients and their families while building bridges between nations to allow for the exchange of knowledge and creation of a self-sustaining network between students and physicians from other countries around the world. Since 2011, Mission: BRAIN has performed over 40 neurosurgeries, free of charge, and held several teaching seminars. This year, teams are going to Guadalajara, Mexico City, Haiti and the Philippines, and the foundation is planning future missions to Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. Together will continue building bridges and saving lives!
Mission:BRAIN teamcontinues to lead a dedicated and world-renowned team of surgeons, medical staff and volunteers to developing communities around the world.
MENTORING: FACULTY MEMBERS
Angela Bohnen, M.D
Neurosurgery Faculty at Centura Health
Jorge Navarro Bonnet, M.D.
Oncology Neurosurgeon at Media Sur, Mexico City
Eva Pamias-Portalatin, M.D.
Neurosurgery Faculty at University of Pittsburg medical center
Deppendra Mahato, D.O.
Neurosurgery Faculty at Riverside University Health System
Kaisorn Chaichana, M.D.
Assistant Professorof Neurosurgery at Mayo Clinic, Florida.
Hugo Guerrero-Cazares, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Neuroscience at Mayo Clinic, Florida
David Chesler, M.D, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery and Pediatrics at Stony Brook University
Maryam Rahman, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at University of Florida
Nestoras Mathioudakis, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University
Shaan Raza, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgical Oncology at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
James Frazier, M.D.
Neurological and Spine Faculty at Baltimore Neurosurgery and Spine Center
João Paulo Almeida, M.D.
Neurosurgery Faculty at Institute of Neurological Sciences Hospital Beneficencia Portuguesa de Sao Paulo Sao Paulo, Brazil
Yun Feng, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Pharmacology at Jiangsu University
Mingxin Zhu, M.D.
Neurosurgery Faculty at Tongji Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
RESIDENTS & FELLOWS
Diogo Garcia, M.D.
Research Fellow at Neurosurgery Department, Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida
Gaetano DeBiase, M.D.
Research Fellow at Neurosurgery Department, Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida
Paola Suarez-Meade, M.D.
Research Fellow at Neurosurgery Department, Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida
TIto Vivas-Buitrago
Research Fellow at Neurosurgery Department, Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida
Karim ReFaey, M.D.
Research Fellow at Neurosurgery Department, Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida
Sujan K. Mondal, Ph.D
Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Pittsburg
Sagar Shah, Ph.D
Postdoctoral Fellow at Cornell Universit
Maarten Rotman, Ph.D
Research Associate-Office of Entrepreneurship at Mayo Clinic Florida
Yuxin LI
Attending Doctor of Neurosurgery at General Hospital of Jinan Military Area, China
Ernesto Cabrera-Aldana, M.D.
The National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery in Mexico – Neurosurgery Resident
Young Lee, M.D.
University of California, San Francisco – Neurosurgery Resident
Sara Ganaha, M.D.
Neurosurgery Clinical Fellow at Mount Sinai, New York
Juan Carlos Martinez-Gutierrez, M.D.
Massachusetts General Hospital – Neurology Resident
Alejandro Ruiz-Valls, M.D.
Johns Hopkins – Post-Doctoral Fellow
Wendy Bautista, M.D., Ph.D.
Mexico – Post-Doctoral Fellow
Ignacio Jusué-Torres, M.D.
Johns Hopkins – Neurosurgery Post-Doctoral Fellow
Tomas Garzon-Muvdi, M.Sc., M.D.
Johns Hopkins University – Neurosurgery Resident
Elizabeth Ogando-Rivas, M.D.
General Hospital of Mexico – Neurosurgery Resident
Eric Goulin Lippi Fernandes, M.D.
VU University Medical Center Amsterdam, Netherlands – Neurosurgery Resident
Sofia Y. Ligard, M.D.
University of Kansas Medical Center – Family Medicine Resident
Sara Abbadi, Ph.D.
TBD – Postdoctoral Fellow
Ameer Abutalab, M.D.
University of Maryland – Internal Medicine Resident
Pragathi Achanta, Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University – Postdoctoral Fellow
Hadie Adams, M.D.
The Netherlands – Postdoctoral Fellow
Joaquin Camara-Quintana, M.D.
Yale University – Neurosurgery Resident
Vivian Capilla, Ph.D.
Andalusian Molecular Biology and Regenerative Medicine Centre – Postdoctoral Fellow
Linda Chen, M.D.
Johns Hopkins University – Radiation Oncologist Resident
Bowen Jiang, M.D.
Johns Hopkins University – Neurosurgery Resident
Thomas Kosztowski, M.D.
Johns Hopkins University – Spine Oncology Fellow
Qian Li, Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University – Anesthesiology Fellow
Eric Momin, M.S., M.D.
Baylor College of Medicine – Neurosurgery Resident
Debraj Mukherjee, M.D.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center – Neurooncology Fellow
Ahmed Mohyeldin, M.D., Ph.D.
Ohio State University – Neurosurgery Resident
Courtney Pendleton, M.D.
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital – Neurosurgery Resident
Sussan Salas, M.D.
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital – Neurosurgery Resident
Neda Isabel Sedora-Roman, M.D.
Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Hospital – Radiology Resident
QingYang (Kristy) Yuan, M.D.
Washington University School of Medicine – Neurology Resident
Hasan Zaidi, M.D.
St. Joseph’s Hospital – Neurooncology Fellow
Grettel Zamora-Berridi, M.D.
Massachusetts General Hospital – Anesthesiology Resident
Deepak Atri, M.D.
Johns Hopkins – Medicine Resident
MEDICAL STUDENTS
Hatice Basdag, B.S., M.H.S., M.S.
Johns Hopkins University – M.D. Candidate
Sean Dangelmajer, B.S.
Stanford School of Medicine – M.D. Candidate
Saksham Gupta, B.S.
Harvard University – M.D. Candidate
Elizabeth Wu, B.S.
Johns Hopkins University – M.D. Candidate
Lakesha Johnson, B.S.
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine – M.D. Candidate
Lyonell Kone, B.S., M.H.S
Johns Hopkins University – M.D. Candidate
Alexandra Larsen, B.S.
Harvard University – M.D. Candidate
Julia Litzky B.S.
The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth – M.D./Ph.D. Candidate
Alex Liu, B.S.
UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas – M.D. Candidate
Brian Liu, B.S.
Stanford School of Medicine – M.D. Candidate
Christopher Mancuso, B.A., M.H.S.
Nova Southeastern University College – D.O. Candidate
Ashwini Niranjan, B.S.
Johns Hopkins University – M.D. Candidate
David Purger, B.S.
Stanford School of Medicine – M.D./Ph.D. Candidate
Olindi Wijesekera, B.A., M.S.
Boston University – M.D. Candidate
Ram Sundaresh, B.S., M.S.
Yale University – M.D. Candidate
Eric Weaver, B.A., M.S.
Johns Hopkins University – M.D. Candidate
Cheetel Algoe
University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
Andres Ramos Fresnedo
Medical student at Anahuac University in Mexico City
Gaetano De Biase
Medical student at the “Sacred Heart” Catholic University in Rome, Italy
Paola Suárez Meade
Medical Student at Anahuac University in Mexico City
GRADUATE STUDENTS & POSTBACCALAUREATES
Akhila Denduluri, B.S., M.S.
Biomedical Engineering Consulting – TBA
Bill Ruff, B.S.
Yale University – Ph.D. Candidate
Candice Shaifer, Ph.D.
Founder/Principal of BioLance Writing and Editing
Christopher Smith, Ph.D.
Scientist at Meso Scale Discovery
Guillermo Vela, B.A., M.S
CEO and Cofounder of Nebulab
Keila Alvarado, B.S., M.S.
Polytechnic University of Valencia – Ph.D. Candidate
Liron Noiman, B.A.
UCSF – Ph.D. Candidate
Nate Tippens, B.S.
Cornell University – Ph.D. Candidate
Roxana Magaña Maldonado, B.S., M.S.
National Autonomous University of Mexico/Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía – Ph.D. Candidate
Roxana Mesias, B.A., M.A.
Mount Sinai – Senior Research Coordinator
Sooji Lee, B.A., M.S.P.H.
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health – Project Manager
Tom O’Donnell, B.S.
Johns Hopkins University – Research Technician
Vanessa Valdivia, B.S.
M.D. Applicant
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
Chris Figueroa
Johns Hopkins University – B.S. Candidate
Leslie Sibener
Johns Hopkins University – B.S. Candidate
Sural Ranamukhaarachchi
University of California San Diego – B.S. Candidate
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
Darren Wang
Jonathan Perera
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Young Lee
Congratulations to our research team member Young Lee on matching at University of California San Francisco for neurosurgery! (March 2016)
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Juan Carlos
Congratulations to our post-doctoral fellow Juan Carlos Martinez Gutierrez on matching in neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital! (March 2016)
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Sagar Shah
Congratulations to our research team member Sagar Shah for receiving his PhD focused on “YAP-driven networks in cancer.”We are incredibly proud of his accomplishments and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors in science (March 2016). Also, Sagar was selected to speak on behalf of the Class of 2016 at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Convocation Ceremony! (May 2016) Watch his entire speech here!
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Rafael de la Garza
Congratulations to Rafael de la Garza on matching at Albert Einstein Montefiore Medical Center for neurosurgery! (March 2016)
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Amanda Placone
Congratulations to Amanda Placone for receiving her engineering PhD degree emphasized on "Astrocyte activation and its influence on the brain tumor microenvironment" We are extremely proud of you and this tremendous accomplishment! (March 2016)
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Emily Lavell
Congratulations to our lab team member Emily Lavell for being accepted in the Master Program of Health Science in Health Economics Program at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health! We are very proud of you! (March 2016)
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Kyle Inman
Congratulations to Kyle Inman for being selected by the Scholarly Concentrations to give an oral presentation about the management of NF2-driven meningiomas with YAP inhibitor Verteporfin
at Johns Hopkins. (February 2016)
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Dr. Kaisorn Chaichana
Congratulations to Dr. Kaisorn Chaichana for receiving the Passano Physician Scientist Award. This award represents acknowledgment of his achievements, support for his research, and a commitment to his career progress as a clinician scientist. (December 2015)
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Myungjun Ko
Congratulations to PhD candidate Myungjun Ko for his acceptance to to the Nanotechnology for Cancer Research Pre-doctoral Fellowship! (October 2015)
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Jordina Rincon-Torroella
Congratulations to my phenomenal fellow Jordina Rincon-Torroella on matching for neurosurgery residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital (March 2016). She also received the A. Earl Walker Outstanding International Fellow Award! (June 2015)
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Eric Weaver
Congratulations to my student Eric Weaver on his acceptance to Johns Hopkins Medical School! (March 2015)
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Akhila Denduluri
Congratulations to my student Akhila Denduluri on her acceptance to Johns Hopkins' Biomedical Engineering PhD program and on the completion of her Masters! (May 2015)
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Carmen Cut
Congratulations to MD/PhD student Carmen Cut for receiving her engineering PhD degree focused on "Real-time, label-free optical property mapping for detection of human brain cancer infiltration," which was one of Johns Hopkins Medicine’s 2015 Research Highlights! (March, 2016). She has also received the prestigious George M. L. Sommerman Engineering Excellence in Teaching Award for Graduate Teaching Assistants at the Whiting School of Engineering for outstanding performance as a teaching assistant. This award is given to one teaching assistant per year at the Whiting School of Engineering based on student and faculty nominations. (April 2014).
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Sean Dangelmajer and Alexandra Larsen
Congratulations to my two students, Sean Dangelmajer and Alexandra Larsen, for their acceptance to Harvard Medical School, my alma mater! (March 2014)
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Olindi
Congratulations to Olindi, a student in my laboratory, for her multiple acceptances to medical schools, including Boston University and the University of Maryland. (March 2014)
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Dr.Christopher Smith
Congratulations to Dr.Christopher Smith, on obtaining his PhD in Biomedical Engineering for his work on stem cell migration. Chris has been a hardworking and dedicated member of my lab since 2006. He was recently the recipient of two awards: The Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Institute award for cancer research, as well as the Parcell Laboratories award for stem cells and regenerative medicine research. We are incredibly proud of his accomplishments and wish him the best of luck for his promising future in science.
