Faculty & Staff
Neurosurgery Faculty
Clinical Faculty
Frederick Lang, M.D., FACS
Professor and Chair | Director, Brain Tumor Center Executive Committee
Areas of Expertise: Surgery for primary and metastatic brain tumors, surgery for insular brain tumors, surgery for tumors in eloquent brain regions, viral therapies for brain tumors
Contact: Jennifer Dao, Executive Assistant, 832–748–5990
Jeffrey S. Weinberg, M.D., FACS
Professor and Deputy Chair | Vice Chair of Clinical Operations
Areas of Expertise: Surgery for primary and metastatic brain tumors, pediatric brain tumors, computer-assisted surgery for biopsy and tumor resection, surgery for tumors in eloquent brain regions, Gamma Knife radiosurgery
Contact: Wendy Williams, Program Coordinator, 713-834-6218
Christopher A. Alvarez-Breckenridge, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Areas of Expertise: Spinal tumors, metastatic disease involving the brain and spine and immunotherapy
Alvarez-Breckenridge Laboratory
Contact: Eddie Gonzalez, Senior Administrative Assistant, 713-792-8825
Franco DeMonte, M.D., FRCS(C), FACS
Professor
Areas of Expertise: Surgery of benign and malignant skull base tumors, meningioma, acoustic neuroma, Gamma Knife radiosurgery
Contact: Jennifer Everts, Program Coordinator, 713-563-8706
Chibawanye I. Ene, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Areas of Expertise: Surgery for primary and metastatic brain tumors in eloquent brain regions, Laser interstitial thermal therapy, Gamma Knife Radiosurgery, viral and macrophage therapies for brain tumors
Contact: Eddie Gonzalez, Senior Administrative Assistant, 713-792-8825
Sherise D. Ferguson, M.D.
Professor | Associate Vice President, Ambulatory Operations | Center Medical Director of MD Anderson West Houston Campus
Areas of Expertise: Primary brain tumors, eloquent cortex surgery, awake surgery, brain mapping, brain metastasis, Gamma Knife radiosurgery
Contact: Eddie Gonzalez, Senior Administrative Assistant, 713-792-8825
Betty Kim, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Areas of Expertise: Primary and metastatic brain tumors, nanomedicine and immunotherapy for brain tumors, Gamma Knife radiosurgery
Contact: Alexandra Smith, Operations Manager
Gil Kimchi, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Areas of Expertise: Open and minimally invasive spine surgery, surgery for malignant tumors of the spine (primary and metastatic), surgery for benign tumors of the spine (primary and malignant), microsurgery for spinal tumors, treatment of vertebral fractures, surgery for degenerative spinal disease and deformity correction
Contact: Eddie Gonzalez, Senior Administrative Assistant, 713–792–8825
Ian E. McCutcheon, M.D., FRCS(C), FACS
Professor | Director, Neuroendocrine Program
Areas of Expertise: Surgery of pituitary neoplasms, spinal and brain tumors, neurofibromatosis, Gamma Knife radiosurgery
Contact: Jennifer Everts, Program Coordinator, 713-563-8706
Robert North, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor | Education Program Director
Areas of Expertise: Brachial plexus and peripheral nerve tumors, nerve reconstruction, nerve transfers for functional restoration, nerve entrapments including carpal tunnel syndrome, cubital tunnel syndrome, and peroneal neuropathy
Contact: Wendy Williams, Program Coordinator, 713-834-6218
Contact: Stephanie Hood, Education Program Manager, 713-563-1908
Sujit Prabhu, M.D., FRCS (Ed)
Professor
Areas of Expertise: Surgery for primary and metastatic brain tumors, surgery for tumors in eloquent brain regions, brain mapping, laser interstitial thermal therapy, Gamma Knife radiosurgery
Contact: Jennifer Everts, Program Coordinator, 713-563-8706
Shaan Raza, M.D.
Professor | P8 Inpatient Medical Director
Director, Skull Base Tumor Program
Areas of Expertise: Open and endoscopic skull base surgery, surgery for benign tumors (meningiomas, schwannomas), surgery for pituitary tumors (pituitary adenomas, craniopharyngiomas) and surgery for malignant tumors (chordomas, chondrosarcomas, sinonasal cancers)
Contact: Jennifer Everts, Program Coordinator, 713-563-8706
Laurence D. Rhines, M.D.
Professor | Director, Spine Tumor Program
Areas of Expertise: Surgery for primary and metastatic spinal tumors, spine stereotactic radiosurgery
Contact: Jennifer Everts, Program Coordinator, 713-563-8706
Claudio Tatsui, M.D.
Professor
Areas of Expertise: Surgery for spine and spine tumors, application of local delivery technologies to the treatment of brain and spinal tumors, laser interstitial thermal therapy for spine
Contact: Wendy Williams, Program Coordinator, 713-834-6218
Christopher Young, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Areas of Expertise: Endovascular and open cerebrovascular surgery for brain aneurysms, arteriovenous malformation (AVM), carotid stenosis, cavernoma, hemorrhagic and ischemic strokes, chronic subdural hematomas, intraarterial therapy for brain tumors
Contact: Jennifer Everts, Program Coordinator, 713–563–8706
Research Faculty
Kadir Akdemir, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Areas of Expertise: Brain and spine tumor and heterogeneity computational biology and genetics
Contact: Wendy Williams, Program Coordinator, 713-834-6218
Joseph McCarty, Ph.D.
Professor | Vice Chair of Research
Areas of Expertise: Mechanisms of glioma cell invasion and blood vessel co-option, roles for cell adhesion receptors and the extracellular matrix in brain development and cancer, glial regulation of the blood-brain barrier in development and disease
Contact: Wendy Williams, Program Coordinator, 713-834-6218
Mei Rui, D.M.A.
Assistant Professor
Director, Music-in-Medicine initiative
Areas of Expertise: Music medicine, the neurophysiological mechanisms and impact of defined music intervention in clinical cohorts, evidence-based repertoire selection methodologies
Contact: Eddie Gonzalez, Senior Administrative Assistant, 713-792-8825
Adjunct Clinical Faculty
Peter Kan, M.D.
Clinical Associate Professor - Endovascular Program
Areas of Expertise: Cerebrovascular and neuroendovascular surgery
Patrick Karas, M.D.
UTMB
Samuel (Trey) McClugage III, M.D.
Clinical Professor - Pediatrics
Brandon Miller, M.D., Ph.D.
Clinical Professor - Pediatrics
Manish Shah, M.D.
Clinical Professor - Pediatrics
Omar Tanweer, M.D.
Endovascular Program
Ashwin Viswanathan, M.D.
Clinical Associate Professor - Pain Management
Areas of Expertise: Functional neurosurgery and surgical management of pain, neuroablative techniques for cancer pain management, neuromodulation for chronic pain, deep brain stimulation and motor cortex stimulation
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Research Faculty
Jeffrey Siewerdsen, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Imaging Physics
Division of Diagnostic Imaging
Neurosurgery Advanced Practice Providers and Staff
Advanced Practice Providers
Leadership
Susan Boutte, APRN, FNP-BC
- Manager, Advanced Practice Providers
- Supports Franco DeMonte, M.D.
Queena Gonzalez, APRN, NP-C, CCRN
APP Supervisor
Supports Claudio Tatsui, M.D., and Betty Kim, M.D., Ph.D.
Outpatient
Rabia Ali, MSN, APRN, AGACNP
Supports Franco DeMonte, M.D., and Shaan Raza, M.D.
Binu Antony, APRN, FNP-BC
Supports Ian McCutcheon, M.D., and Christopher Young, M.D., Ph.D.
Ufuoma Avbovbo, DNP, APRN, NP-C
Supports Sherise Ferguson, M.D., and Chibawanye Ene, M.D., Ph.D.
Audrey Hartnett, MSN, APRN, NP-C, AOCNP
Supports Andrew A. McDougall Brain Metastases Clinic
Cheryl Martin, APN, FNP-C
APP for Skull Base Surveillance Clinic
Mehreen Mehmood, APRN, FNP-BC
Supports Robert North, M.D., Ph.D.
Outpatient
Tilu Ninan, APRN, ANP-C
Supports Christopher Alvarez-Breckenridge, M.D., Ph.D., and Gil Kimchi, M.D.
Amber Smith, MSN, APRN, FNP-C
Supports Sujit Prabhu, M.D.
Tijana Stolte, MSN, APRN, FNP-C
Supports Shaan Raza, M.D.
Justine Tran, APRN, FNP-BC
Supports Frederick Lang, M.D., and Jeffrey Weinberg, M.D.
Laurel Westcarth, MBA, MS, APRN-BC
Supports Laurence Rhines, M.D., and Gil Kimchi, M.D.
Inpatient
Gina Bradley, APRN, CNRN, CCM
Ameika Connor, APRN, FNP-BC
Administrative and Research Leadership
Patrick Browning, J.D., M.H.A., F.A.C.H.E.
Department Administrator
Alexandra Smith, M.B.A.
Operations Manager
David Cogdell, M.S.
Program Director, Brain Tumor Center
Rajvi Gandhi, M.S., C.S.A.F.
Administrative Director
Preeti Ramadoss, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Research Planning and Development
Joanna Drennen
Program Director
Caroline Brennan, M.A.
Program Manager
Stephanie Hood
Program Manager, Education