Joseph Chen, MD, PhD FAANS

Board Certification: American Board of Neurological Surgery, 2004

Licensure: Medical Board of California, 1995

Education:

• Bachelor of Arts, Biology - Johns Hopkins University
• Masters, Physiology and Biophysics - New York University
• Ph.D, Physiology and Biophysics - New York University
• Medical Degree - New York University
• Internship - Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center
• Residency - Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center

Work Experience:

• Adjunct Associate Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine

Professional Memberships:

• American Board of Neurological Surgery, diplomate
• American Association of Neurological Surgeons, fellow
• Western Neurosurgical Society, member
• California Association of Neurological Surgeons, director

Professional Interests:

Dr. Chen’s practice emphasis includes cranial microsurgery, stereotactic radiosurgery, craniofacial pain, as well as cranial and spinal trauma. He has authored over 40 peer-reviewed scientific publications and has been an invited speaker at both domestic and international neurosurgical forums.

Charles Liu, PhD, MD, FAANS

Board Certification:

• American Board of Neurological Surgery

Licensure:

• Medical Board of California (current)

Education:

• BSE, Chemical Engineering - University of Michigan, Ann Arbor - 1987
• PhD, Chemical/Bioengineering - Rice University, Houston, TX - 1993
• MD - Yale University - 1996
• Residency, Neurological Surgery, University of Southern California-affiliated hospitals - 2003

Professional Memberships:

• Congress of Neurological Surgeons, member
• American Association of Neurological Surgeons, member
• Society of University Neurosurgeons, member
• Neurosurgical Society of America, member

Work Experience:

• Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine

About Dr. Liu:

Dr. Liu is engaged in a broad spectrum of efforts that brings together the fields of engineering and medicine to develop systems-level solutions to challenges that lead to human suffering due to loss of nervous system function over the life-span. He began his professional career in engineering seeking to solve medical problems by finding engineering solutions. He sought an education in medicine to gain a fundamental understanding of human disease. He then trained in neurosurgery and became a recognized expert in complex intracranial surgery, epilepsy surgery, spinal neurosurgery, neurotrauma, and neurorehabilitation. He has also made key contributions in a large number of internationally visible “first-in-human” applications of transformative technologies to restore neurological function. He is currently a full-professor of neurosurgery, neurology, urology, biomedical engineering, and physical therapy and biokinesiology at the University of Southern California, where he also serves as the Director of the USC Neurorestoration Center. He is also the Director of Neurorecovery Programs at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center. He has worked in close partnership with multiple private and public sector health systems to craft creative solutions to issues related to access to specialty services in underserved communities. For example, he has provided principal leadership in the establishment of the USC Epilepsy Consortium, a unique patient-centered partnership for epilepsy care that connects over 20% of the National Association of Epilepsy Centers registered programs in California, including the first and only adult epilepsy center in Central California at Kern Medical in Bakersfield. He has made a large number of contributions to the published literature and delivered numerous key-note lectures nationally and internationally. He serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Clinical Neuroscience and directs a large number of collaborative research projects funded by federal and nonfederal agencies, including NIH, NSF, DARPA, and PAC-12 Conference. He is also the Head Team Neurosurgeon for the USC Department of Athletics and is the neurosurgical consultant to the Rose Bowl Game. In Visalia, Dr. Liu is working in close partnership with Kaweah Delta Health Care District and neurosurgeons in the Central Valley to provide greatly-needed acute-care neurosurgery services as well as subspecialty neurosurgical services to patients in Tulare County and beyond, maximizing the shared resources of local institutions and those in the Los Angeles Basin.

Jonathan Russin, MD

Board Certification:

• American Board of Neurological Surgery

Licensure: Medical Board of California

Education:

• Bachelor of Science, Drew University
• Master of Humanities, Drew University
• Medical Degree - New Jersey Medical School, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
• Internship, General Surgery - University of Southern California
• Residency, Neurosurgery - University of Southern California
• Fellowship, Cerebrovascular and Skull Base Neurosurgery - Barrow Neurosurgical Institute

Accolades:

• Michael L.J. Apuzzo Research Award

Work Experience:

• Assistant Professor of neurological surgery at the University of Southern California-Los Angeles
• Associate Director at the Center for Neurorestoration in Los Angeles
• CNS Abstract Review/Selection Committee for the Cerebrovascular Section
• Student Family Health Care Clinic
• Himalayan Health Exchange.
• Lab Coordinator for microvascular and skull base work.

Professional Memberships:

• American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), member
• Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), member
• AANS Joint Cerebrovascular Section, member

Professional Interests:

Dr. Russin has contributed to numerous professional publications on a variety of clinical topics and has participated in various presentations and abstracts. His research is ongoing. He was a second team Lacrosse selection for the All Middle Atlantic Conference Selection and earned the Eagle Scout award.

A Year After Lifesaving Brain Surgery, Patient Gets Doctor to Run - Read more...

Brian Lee, MD, PhD

Board Certification:

• American Board of Neurological Surgery

Licensure: Medical Board of California

Education:

• Bachelor of Science, Psychobiology - University of Southern California
• Ph.D, Computational Neuroscience - California Institute of Technology
• Medical Degree - University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine
• Residency, Neurosurgery - University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine
• Fellowship, Stereotactic and Functional Epilepsy - University of California, San Francisco

Work Experience:

• He has served as team neurosurgeon for the USC Athletics and Football Team
• Participated in filming the feature length movie “Ping Pong Playa” with Academy Award-winning director Jessica Yu
• Produced short films featured at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington
• Co-owner of Venom Sportswear, LLC
• Owner and Editor of DSL/Cable Webserver
• John Muir High School, teacher and lab experiment designer and supervisor through the Caltech Community Connection, Pasadena
• Supplemental Instruction Leader in biology at USC
• Emmanuel Arts High School, biology teacher
• Designed and supervised lab experiments through the On-Ramp to Science program, Los Angeles

Professional Memberships:

• North American Neuromodulation Society, member
• Congress of Neurological Surgeons, member
• American Association of Neurological Surgeons, member
• Vision Sciences Society, member
• MENSA International, member
• Society for Neuroscience, member
• American Medical Association, member
• California Medical Association, member

Community Service:

• Los Angeles Habitat for Humanity, volunteer, construction crew leader
• Mentored high-risk youth at Martin Luther King Elementary in the Los Angeles Joint Education Project obtaining eye exams and glasses for students with vision problems.

Accolades:

• Michael L.J. Apuzzo Prize for Creativity and Innovation
• Abstract and Poster Winner, American Association of Neurological Surgeons-Pediatric Section, and North American Neuromodulation Society
• USC Football Team Physician Award
• Selected “Consultant of the Year by LAC+USC Emergency Department
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute five-year pre-doctorate fellowship
• “Top Graduate Students in the World,” Academy of Achievement
• Delegate to the 42nd lnternational Achievement Summit in Washington
• Salerni Collegium Scholarship
• Baxter Foundation Medical Student Research Fellowship
• USC Trustee Scholar Full Scholarship

Dr. Brian Lee is a neurosurgeon with a strong background in brain-machine interfaces whose objective is to develop a practice evenly devoted to patient care and lab research. A key pursuit is the development of a cognitive-based neural prosthesis for paralyzed patients. He also has experience as a community volunteer and as a filmmaker.

Bryan Oh, MD

Board Certification:

• American Board of Neurological Surgery, November 2011

Licensure: Medical Board of California

Education:

• Bachelors of Science, Biological Sciences and German Studies, Stanford University, 1996
• Medical Degree - Stanford University, 2001
• Residency - University of Southern California
• Fellowship - University of Southern California

Work Experience:

• Faculty member at the University of Texas at Houston Medical School
• Director of Neurotrauma for the busiest Level One Trauma Center in the United States

Professional Memberships:

• The Congress of Neurological Surgeons, member
• The American Association of Neurological Surgeons, member

Professional Interests:

• Trauma, degenerative spine disease, and neurorestoration.

Vivek Mehta, MD

Board Certification

• Board Eligible: American Board of Neurological Surgery

Licensure

• Medical Board of California

Education

• Medical School - The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine - Baltimore, MD
• Residency - University of Southern California - Los Angeles, CA
• Fellowship - University of Southern California - Los Angeles, CA

Dr. Mehta received his medical degree at The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine. He completed his Surgical Epilepsy Fellowship at the University of Southern California and completed his Residency in Neurosurgery from University of Southern California. He served as staff/attending Neurosurgeon at Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center.

Certificates and Affiliations

• Congress of Neurological Surgeons
• American Association of Neurological Surgeons
• North American Spine Society
• California Association of Neurological Surgeons

Richard Williams, MD

Board Certification

• American Board of Neurological Surgery

Licensure

• Medical Board of California

Education

• Brigham Young University, Graduated 1980 - Provo, Utah

Work Experience

• Medical Clinic of Sacramento, Staff Neurosurgeon - July 1990 to July 1991
• Kaiser Permanente Sacramento, Staff Neurosurgeon - July 1991 to July 1993
• Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills - Staff Neurosurgeon and Chief of Neurosurgery - July 1993 to August 2012
• Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles - Staff Neurosurgeon - August 2012- present

Professional Interests

Dr. Richard Williams has over twenty years of busy neurosurgical experience. He has been a Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery at the of California, Davis, for 20 years. He is a diplomat of the American Board of Neurological Surgery. His past responsibilities have included time as hospital Chief of Neurosurgery, as well as over twenty years of volunteer service at the Conejo Free Clinic.

Dr. Williams graduated as valedictorian of the School of Science and Mathematics at Brigham Young University, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry and a Bachelor of Science in Zoology. He earned his Medical Degree from Stanford University, and completed his Surgical Internship at Duke University. His neurosurgical training was completed at the University of California Davis, where he has had a long association as a Clinical Professor.

His clinical interests include cranial tumors, trauma, hydrocephalus, and surgical disease of the spine. He considers his primary responsibility to help patients with disease of the nervous system cope with, understand, and recover from their disease. He is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the North American Spine Society, and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

Professional Memberships

• American Association of Neurological Surgeons
• Congress of Neurological Surgeons
• American College of Surgeons

Darrin J. Lee, M.D., Ph.D.

Board Certification:

• American Board of Neurological Surgery

Licensure: Medical Board of California

Education:

• Sc.B., Neuroscience (Honors), Brown University, Providence, RI
• A.B., Philosophy, Brown University, Providence, RI
• Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, MA
• M.D. (Distinction in Research), University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, Irvine, CA
• Ph.D. Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA

Clinical Work Experience:

• Neurological Surgery Resident, Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA
• Chief Neurological Surgery Resident, Department of Neurological Surgery,
• University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA
• William P. Van Wagenen Fellow, Division of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
• Assistant Professor, Departments of Neurological Surgery and Psychiatry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

Professional Memberships:

• American Medical Association
• American Association for the Advancement of Science
• American Association of Neurological Surgeons
• Congress of Neurological Surgeons
• Society for Neuroscience
• National Neurotrauma Society
• American Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery
• Ad hoc review: Neurosurgery
• Ad hoc review: Journal of Neurosurgery
• Ad hoc review: Brain Stimulation
• International Parkinson and Movement Disorders Society
• European Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery
• American Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery Mentor-Mentee Program
• Ad hoc review: Operative Neurosurgery

Accolades:

• UC Davis Neurological Surgery Pre-Clinical Research Award, UC Davis
• UC Davis Medical Center GME High Value Care Competition Award Winner, Sacramento, CA
• Harold Rosegay Young Investigator Award, San Francisco Neurological Society
• GME High Value Award, 1st place abstract winner at the UC Davis Healthcare Quality Forum, Sacramento, CA
• William P. Van Wagenen Fellow, University of Toronto
• American Academy of Neurological Surgery Emerging Investigator Scholar American Association of Neurological Surgeons Young Clinician Investigator Award

Dr. Lee is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in stereotactic and functional neurosurgery for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, tremor, dystonia, epilepsy and pain. As a William P. Van Wagenen fellow, he completed a stereotactic and functional neurosurgery fellowship at the University of Toronto under the mentorship of Dr. Andres Lozano and now specializes in neuromodulation, including deep brain stimulation, spinal cord stimulation, and peripheral nerve stimulation. He is an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at the Keck School of Medicine of USC with an associate appointment in the Department of Psychiatry.

Dr. Lee also treats adult hydrocephalus, including normal pressure hydrocephalus and idiopathic intracranial hypertension (pseudotumor cerebri). He has an ardent clinical interest in developing treatments for cognitive and psychiatric disorders, including deep brain stimulation for obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia and has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles on various neurosurgical and basic science topics relating to deep brain stimulation for cognitive dysfunction and psychiatric disorders.

Philosophy of Care: Visiting a physician can be a daunting experience, especially when it involves brain surgery. Dr. Lee is humbled by the opportunity to provide neurosurgical care to my patients. He will ensure his patients are well informed throughout their care, including diagnosis, treatment options, surgery, and post-operative care. Dr. Lee is dedicated to providing safe and well-informed care that is supported by evidence-based medicine and enhanced by state-of-the-art technology.