School of Medicine


Showing 41-60 of 95 Results

  • Stephen Lawrence McKenna, MD

    Stephen Lawrence McKenna, MD

    Clinical Professor (Affiliated), Neurosurgery
    Staff, Neurosurgery Operations

    BioDr. Stephen McKenna is a founding member of the Stanford Partnership for Spinal Cord Injury and Repair. He is currently the Chief of the Rehabilitation Trauma Center; as well as, the site director of the Advanced SCI Medicine Fellowship at SCVMC.

    As a Neurocritical Care physician, Dr. McKenna specializes in ventilator-dependent Spinal Cord and Traumatic Brain Injury, as well as neuromuscular diseases. He has led first-in-human clinical trials ranging from vaccines for HIV to stem cell-derived oligodendrocyte progenitor cell-based therapies for SCI. Dr. McKenna is Chairman of the Respiratory Section of the International Standards to Document Autonomic Function after SCI (ISAFSCI) and co-chair of the American Spinal Cord Injury Association (ASIA) Research Education Subcommittee.

    Clinical Focus:
    Spinal Cord Injury
    Traumatic Brain Injury
    Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
    Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS)
    Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis
    Neuromyelitis Optica (Devic disease)

    Professional Education:
    Board Certification: Neurocritical Care, UCNS (2008)
    Board Certification: Internal Medicine, ABIM (2005)
    Internship & Residency: Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (2002,2005)
    Medical Education: Stanford University School of Medicine (2002)

    Book Chapter:
    Shah A, Shem K, McKenna SL, Berlly M. Management of Respiratory Failure in Spinal Cord Injury. Spinal Cord Medicine (Hardcover) by Steven, M.D. Kirshblum (Editor) Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2011

    Selected Publications:
    Exploration of surgical blood pressure management & expected motor recovery in individuals with traumatic SCI.
    Ehsanian R, et al, McKenna SL.
    Spinal Cord. 2020 Mar;58(3):377-386. PMID: 31649323

    A Novel Pharyngeal Clearance Maneuver for Initial Tracheostomy Tube Cuff Deflation in High Cervical Tetraplegia.
    Ehsanian R, et al, McKenna S.
    Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2019 Sep;98(9):835-838. PMID: 30973517

    Burden of Care Implications & Association of Intracranial Hypertension with Extremely Severe Post-traumatic Amnesia After TBI: A 5-Year Retrospective Longitudinal Study.
    Quach NT, et al
    Front Neurol. 2019 Jan 29;10:34. PMID: 30761071

    Venous Thromboembolism is Associated with Lack of Vitamin D Supplementation in Patients with SCI & Low Vitamin D Levels.
    Ehsanian R, et al
    PM R. 2019 Feb;11(2):125-134. PMID: 30300766

    Pulmonary outcomes following specialized respiratory management for acute cervical SCI: a retrospective analysis.
    Zakrasek EC, et al, McKenna SL
    Spinal Cord, 2017; Feb 21. PMID: 28220822

    Dose Response Effect of Exposure to Hypotension on Expected Neurological Recovery in Individuals with Traumatic SCI.
    ARCHIVES OF PM&R
    Reza, E., et al, McKenna, S.
    2016: DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2016.09.016

    Combined SCI & TBI: recovery of forelimb function after unilateral cervical SCI is retarded by contralateral traumatic brain injury (TBI), & ipsilateral TBI balances the effects of SCI on paw placement.
    EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
    Inoue T, et al.
    2013 Oct 248: 136-47. PMID: 23770071

    Functional electrical stimulation in SCI respiratory care.
    TOPICS IN SPINAL CORD REHAB.
    R Jarosz, et al, S McKenna
    2012:Vol. 18, No. 4, 315-321. PMID: 23459661

    Impact of mean arterial blood pressure during the first seven days post SCI.
    TOPICS IN SPINAL CORD REHAB.
    J Cohn, et al
    2010: DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1310/sci1503-96

    Successful Pregnancy & Delivery in a C1 ASIA A spinal cord injured Woman: The Role of Coordinated Care Between PM&R & Obstetrics Services: A Case Report.
    PM&R
    Lin C, et al
    2010: DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pmrj.2010.07.461

    The impact of project closure on HIV incidence and mortality in a cohort of couples in Lusaka, Zambia.
    AIDS CARE
    Stephenson R, et al
    2008 Jul;20(6):683-91. PMID: 18576170

    Rapid HIV testing & counseling for voluntary testing centers in Africa.
    AIDS
    McKenna SL et al
    1997 Sep;11 Suppl 1:S103-10. PMID: 9376093

  • Ryan Nitta

    Ryan Nitta

    Senior Research Scientist, Neurosurgery

    Current Role at StanfordThe main project of the Li lab is to elucidate the signaling pathways responsible for maintaining and initiating brain tumor growth. Previously the Li lab has identified an interesting protein, known as casein kinase 2, which plays an integral role in adult brain tumor growth. My goal is to expand on this initial finding and determine if casein kinase 2 could be a therapeutically relevant drug target in adult brain tumors and whether this protein plays a role in pediatric brain tumors. The role of the candidate would be the lead researcher on these projects, as well as managing and leading the undergraduate and medical students in the lab. In addition, I am responsible for maintaining the laboratory and assisting in grant writing.

  • Juan J. Cardona, M.D.

    Juan J. Cardona, M.D.

    Visiting Instructor, Neurosurgery

    BioJuan J. Cardona, M.D. completed his medical school education at Institución Universitaria Visión de las Américas in the “coffee axis” in Pereira, Colombia. During this time, he led the neurosciences research group focusing on neuroanatomy, co-founded a student interest group devoted to promoting early exposure in surgical specialties of interest, completed national and international sub-internships in neurosurgery and neurology, and pioneered clinical electives centered on neurosurgery at the end of his internship. He was instrumental in advancing research practices at his university, where he held the positions of both Director of Scientific Development and Research in Surgical Sciences.

    After graduating and being determined to pursue a neurosurgery residency in the United States, he honed his English skills at Florida Atlantic University before undertaking postgraduate medical education. Posteriorly, he delved into the investigative paradigm termed “reverse translational anatomy research” during his Clinical Anatomy Fellowship at the Department of Neurosurgery at Tulane University, where he dedicated two years to advanced training and research on neurosurgical anatomy under the mentorship of Dr. R. Shane Tubbs and Dr. Joe Iwanaga. Throughout his tenure, he actively participated within the department and completed a clinical and surgical observership at East Jefferson General Hospital in New Orleans under the guidance of Dr. Aaron S. Dumont and Dr. Johnny Delashaw. Subsequently, he joined the Clinical Neuro-Oncology Laboratory at the Department of Neurosurgery at Stanford University to study the indications and outcomes of stereotactic radiosurgery as a noninvasive treatment modality under the leadership of Dr. Steven D. Chang and Dr. David J. Park.

    His diverse interests span all areas of neurosurgery, particularly in cerebrovascular, endovascular, and skull base surgery, peripheral nerve disease, CNS and PNS tumors, and cutting-edge neurosurgical techniques. Such interests have led to his authorship or co-authorship of over 50 peer-reviewed publications. Moreover, this work has resulted in 23 national and international presentations, where he has received multiple awards. In addition, he has served as an invited reviewer for numerous peer-reviewed articles across five leading journals and was a support reviewer for Chapter 47 in the 43rd edition of Gray’s Anatomy.

  • Patrick Pezeshkian, MD, FAANS

    Patrick Pezeshkian, MD, FAANS

    Clinical Associate Professor (Affiliated), Neurosurgery

    BioAfter completing his residency training in neurosurgery and a fellowship in Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery at UCLA, Dr. Pezeshkian joined the faculty at Kaiser Permanente Neurosurgery & Neuroscience department at Redwood City, California.

    Dr. Pezeshkians’ areas of expertise and neurosurgical focus are Deep Brain Stimulation surgery for movement and neuropsychiatric disorders, adult epilepsy surgery,, neuromodulation procedures for chronic refractory craniofacial pain syndromes and peripheral nerve surgeries for tumors and trauma.

    Dr. Pezeshkian is the Regional Director of the Functional Neurosurgery Program at the Northern California Kaiser Permanente healthcare system.