Neurosurgery Residency Program
at Saint Barnabas Medical Center

Neurosurgical Faculty

Neurosurgery Residency Program

Neurosurgical Faculty At Saint Barnabas Medical Center

Joseph M. Koziol, M.D., F.A.C.S. is the Associate Director of Neurosurgery residency program.

In addition to his extensive training in general surgery and neurosurgery at UMDNJ in Newark, NJ, he also received a specialized training at the University of Pittsburgh. His specialty includes, in addition to general microsurgery and minimally invasive spine surgery, complex spine surgery and spine reconstruction for both degenerative and neoplastic diseases of the spine. He is the Director of complex spine surgery program at the Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery at Saint Barnabas Medical Center. He performs routine stereotaxic procedures as well as stereotaxic radiosurgery and he is the Director of Functional Neurosurgery.


Arthur Gilman, M.D. trained in neurosurgery at the Eastern Virginia Medical School where he was also a Fellow in neuroscience and at Ohio State University. His specialty is general neurosurgery with emphasis on microsurgery and CSF pathology. Dr. Gilman is the director of CSF pathology center at Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery with interest in endoscopic intraventricular procedures.  He is heavily involved in volunteer work and has participated in neurosurgical projects in South America and Africa where he spends time every year performing surgery and teaching local neurosurgeons in medically deprived areas.


Werner Doyle, M.D. is the Director of Epilepsy surgery program. He was trained in neurosurgery at the New York University Medical Center, New York and received fellowship at the Laurence Berkeley Lab, University of California. His fellowship in epilepsy surgery was completed at Yale Medical School.  His practice is dedicated to epilepsy surgery. He is part of the Comprehensive Epilepsy program of the Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery, the largest Epilepsy Center in New Jersey. Dr. Doyle is Associate Professor of clinical neurosurgery at NYU where he also has a busy clinical practice.  He published over 90 peer reviewed articles and abstracts. He authored several book chapters and developed an original computer assisted navigational device.


Arno Fried, M.D. is the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery of the Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery at both SBMC and NBIMC. His past academic appointments include being the Residency Program Director at Cleveland Clinic and Associate Professor of Neurosurgery and Pediatrics at both Brown University and New York Medical College. He was also the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at New York Medical College at Valhalla, NY. In addition to his position at the INNS he is also the Departmental Chairman and Associate Residency Program Director as well as the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Hackensack University Medical Center. Dr. Fried received his neurosurgery training at the Albert Einstein Medical Center and Montefiore Hospital in New York and completed his pediatric neurosurgery fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Fried  is nationally and internationally acclaimed neurosurgeon and the recipient of multiple awards.  He published over 60 articles, abstracts and book chapters and lectures extensively.

Mostafa El Khasab, M.D. received his training at the Neurosurgery University Hospital in Bonn, Germany. His postgraduate training was completed at University of Manchester in the United Kingdom and Beuamont Hospital in Dublin, Ireland. He completed his pediatric neurosurgery fellowship at University of Texas in Dallas, Texas in 2007. He is a member of Advanced Neurosurgeons Associates.


Ronald Benitez, M.D. is an Interventional Neurovascular neurosurgeon who performs neurovascular procedures at SBMC. He is a member of the Atlantic Neurosurgical Specialists group.  He received his training in general neurosurgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia where he also received his fellowship in cerebrovascular and interventional neurosurgery. The procedures he performs include intravascular coiling of aneurysms, obliteration of AVMs and decreasing vascularity in tumors as well as clot extraction and intra-arterial clot lysis in patients with acute stroke. He published a number of peer reviewed articles, written several books and lectures extensively.


David Wells-Roth, M.D. is an Interventional Neurovascular Neurosurgeon who performs neurovascular procedures at SBMC. He received his neurosurgical training at Weill Medical Center of Cornell University in New York where he also received a two year fellowship training in Interventional Radiology.  He is a member of the Atlantic Neurosurgical Group. The procedures he performs include intravascular coiling of aneurysms, obliteration of AVMs and decreasing vascularity in tumors as well as clot extraction and intra-arterial clot lysis in patients with acute stroke. He published a number of peer reviewed articles, written several books and lectures extensively.


Lyle Gessner, M.D. is the director of Neuroradiology and Radiology Residency Program Director at SBMC. His specialty includes interpretation of MRIs, CT scans and other radiological procedures pertaining to the neurological diseases. He is closely involved with the training of neurosurgery residents in interpretation of neurodiagnostic studies and routinely attends neurosurgery weekly Grand Rounds. He received his general radiology training at Robert Wood Johnson University of the UMDNJ and his fellowship in neuroradiology at New England Medical Center. Prior to his accepting the position of Director of Neuroradiology at SBMC, he was a neuroradiologist at Montefiore Medical Center in New York and at New England Medical Center in Massachusetts.  He published several articles and was involved in Phase II/III Acute Stroke trials.


Ray Pak, D.O. is the Director of Pain Service at the Pain Institute located at the Ambulatory Care Center (ACC) of the SBMC. He is an anesthesiologist who received his DO degree from the UMDNJ School of Osteopathic Medicine and had trained in anesthesiology at SBMC. He performs over 700 pain procedures per year and participates in training of the neurosurgery residents in pain procedures and osteopathic principles during their rotation on his service.


David Conyack, D.O. received his training in Anesthesia at Temple University in Philadelphia where he also received his fellowship in Pain Management.  He performs over 700 pain procedures per year and is involved together with Dr. Pak in training the neurosurgical residents in pain management and osteopathic principles.


Neurosurgical Faculty At Hackensack University Medical Center

Arno Fried, M.D. is Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery, Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Associate Program Director, Neurosurgery Residency Program.  (see under SBMC)



Daniel Walzman, M.D. did his surgical internship at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York. He went on to complete his Neurosurgical training there as well. In addition to the full array of neurosurgical procedures, he has a particular focus on treatment of cerebrovascular disorders and has completed a total of 2 years of training in Endovascular Neurosurgery/Interventional Neuroradiology at Beth Israel North Hospital in New York.  He is now Chief of Endovascular Neurosurgery at Hackensack University Medical Center. He performs minimally invasive embolization procedures for the treatment of intracranial aneurysms and AVM’s.  When minimally invasive techniques are not possible, he also performs open surgical procedures for the treatment of aneurysms and AVM’s.


Hooman Azmi, M.D. completed his neurosurgical training at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey where his main focus of research was functional magnetic resonance imaging and its applications to neurosurgical procedures, intraoperative MRI, as well as elucidation of mechanisms of epileptogenesis. In June 2006, Dr. Azmi was selected as the Center for Neurosurgical Restoration’s Clinical Fellow at the Cleveland Clinic to pursue his clinical interest of surgical treatment of movement disorders.  In addition to movement disorder surgeries, Dr. Azmi was actively pursuing his investigative interests at the Cleveland Clinic, using his expertise in neuroimaging to refine targeting techniques for deep brain stimulation for patients with movement disorders.  Dr. Azmi returned to New Jersey in 2007, to establish Centers for the Treatment of Movement Disorders at Hackensack University Medical. Dr. Azmi specializes in the surgical treatment of Parkinson’s disease, other movement disorders and spasticity.  Dr. Azmi’s other areas of expertise relate to the surgical treatment of various chronic pain syndromes including failed back syndrome, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, complex regional pain syndrome, trigeminal neuralgia, atypical facial pain and other chronic facial pains and headaches.  He is also trained in the treatment of epilepsy, brain tumors and aneurysms, complex spine and peripheral nerve surgeries.


Patrick A. Roth, M.D. earned his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine where he graduated as a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society in 1987.  He did his residency in Boston with a Tuft’s and Harvard affiliated hospital program and graduated as chief resident in 1994.  His publications include textbook chapters on cancer in neurosurgery, techniques in spine surgery, hydrocephalus and Chiari malformations. Currently, Dr. Roth is Vice-Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at Hackensack University Medical Center.  Dr. Roth is dedicated to the improvement in the treatment of spinal disorders utilizing minimally invasive techniques in the operating room.  He was among one of the first surgeons in the area to employ computer assisted surgery, robotic surgery on the spine, percutaneous fusions of the spine and same day treatment of cervical and lumbar disc surgery.


Viswanathan Rajaraman, M.D. came to the U.S. in 1994 for a fellowship in the surgical and non-surgical treatment of complex spinal disorders and research at the Christ Hospital and Mayfield Neurological Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio. After deciding to permanently relocate to the US, Vishy completed residency requirements as Chief Resident at North Carolina Baptist Hospital and Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC and at University Hospital, UMDNJ, Newark, NJ. He then obtained a fellowship in surgical Neurooncology at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.  Dr Rajaraman specializes in the management of benign and malignant tumors of the brain, spinal cord and the vertebral column, stereotactic radiosurgery, trigeminal neuralgia, out patient surgeries for cervical and lumbar disc herniation and peripheral nerve surgery. He established and developed the Neurooncology programs at Hackensack University Medical Center and Valley Hospital, NJ. He introduced routine use of intra-operative speech, cortical and sub-cortical motor mapping, and awake craniotomy. He also initiated brachytherapy for malignant brain tumors using the Gliasite Radiation Therapy System. He is the Principal Investigator for the Celldex Vaccine trial in the management of patients with Glioblastoma.  He is Chief of division of Neurooncology at the Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center.


George J. Kaptain, M.D. is a board certified neurological surgeon who joined North Jersey Brain and Spine Center in 2003. He received both his medical degree and his neurosurgical training at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia.  His sub-specialty interests include skull base and neuroendocrine surgery as well as complex spinal surgery.  He completed fellowship training in skull-base surgery at the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, Oregon as well as an orthopedic spine fellowship in Charlottesville, Virginia.  He was the chief of skull-base surgery at Loma Linda University School of Medicine in Loma Linda, California from 2001-2003 and is currently the chief of skull-base surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, New Jersey.


Dr. Vingan received his Neurosurgical training at SUNY Health Sciences Center-Downstate and Kings County Hospital, and completed residency in April of 1992. During his residency, he did extensive research in the field of fetal tissue transplantation for nervous system regeneration.  Dr.Vingan’s major specialty interests include minimally invasive spinal surgery, neurotrauma and vascular neurosurgery. He applies minimally invasive techniques for cervical, thoracic and lumbar spinal pathology. He has introduced many new technologies into the area. He performs endoscopic cranial and spinal techniques, and the Minimal access surgical approaches of XLIF and AXIALIF, for lumbar spinal reconstruction.  He acts as Chief of Neurosurgical Trauma and Critical Care at Hackensack University Medical Center.


 

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