School of Medicine
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Michael Jensen, MD, PhD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Neurosurgery
BioDr. Michael Jensen is a neurosurgeon at Stanford Health Care. He also serves as a clinical assistant professor and director of endoscopic spine surgery in the Department of Neurosurgery, Division of Spine Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Dr. Jensen specializes in endoscopic and minimally invasive spine surgery for degenerative conditions, herniated discs, spinal stenosis, and spine-related pain, with experience in more than 2,000 procedures throughout his career. As Director of Endoscopic Spine Surgery at Stanford, he focuses on motion-preserving techniques that shorten recovery and restore function. He also employs advanced imaging and meticulous surgical planning to make spinal fusion safer and promote lasting healing. Dr. Jensen’s care philosophy emphasizes precision, collaboration, and open communication—ensuring that every patient understands their options and feels confident in their care.
As a physician-scientist, Dr. Jensen focuses his research on improving the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of spine care. He has studied how cost-sharing policies, treatment timing, and prescribing patterns affect outcomes for patients with neck and back pain. He has also explored the use of machine learning and predictive modeling to guide clinical decision-making in neurosurgery. Currently, Dr. Jensen works with the Endoscopic Spine Research Group to improve patient pain control and functional recovery after endoscopic spine surgery.
Dr. Jensen has presented his work at national meetings, including those of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and the Society of Lateral Access Surgery. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications in journals such as The Spine Journal, JAMA Network Open, and World Neurosurgery. His research spans clinical care, health economics, and translational science, reflecting his commitment to advancing neurosurgical practice and improving patient outcomes.
Dr. Jensen is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. -
Siddhartha Joshi, PhD
Senior Research Scientist, Neurosurgery
BioI am a neuroscientist with over 20 years of experience in empirical, hypothesis-driven research. My knowledge and expertise cover a wide range of topics and methods within systems neuroscience including sensory perception, neurophysiology and neuroanatomy, eye-movements and pupillometry. My research is focused on how the brain represents and uses sensory information to drive goal-directed behaviors and in exploring how intrinsic neuromodulatory systems influence the neural circuits that drive such behaviors. At Stanford, I am looking to channel my experience towards studying human neural signals that underlie computations governing pain and attention.
My work thus far [1-4] supports the idea that there is a need for simultaneous measurements of behavior, brain state and large-scale cortical activity to understand how the brain’s circuits: (i) are modulated by ascending sympathetic activation and (ii) provide top-down control of descending sympathetic control. These are technically challenging experiments [3,4] that have thus far largely been explored in animal models. My current goal is to leverage opportunities to directly measure human brain activity via electrodes implanted for monitoring epilepsy. Towards this end, I will use state-of-the-art neurophysiological, behavioral, pupillometric techniques combined with quantitative analyses.
Representative publications:
1. Joshi S, Gold JI (2020) Pupil Size as a Window on Neural Substrates of Cognition. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 24(6), 466-480. PMCID: PMC7271902.
2. Joshi S (2024). Control of Pupil Responses. Encyclopedia of the Human Brain (Elsevier), Second Edition, Vol.1, 374-387.
3. Joshi S, Li, Y, Kalwani R, Gold JI (2016). Relationships between pupil diameter and neuronal activity in the locus coeruleus, colliculi and cingulate cortex. Neuron 89:221-234. PMCID: PMC4707070.
4. Joshi S, Gold JI (2022) Context-Dependent Relationships between Locus Coeruleus Firing Patterns and Coordinated Neural Activity in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex. eLife 11:e63490. PMCID: PMC8765756.
