Juan J. Cardona, M.D.

Bio

Juan 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.