our gamma knife team
Our Gamma Knife team at USC University Hospital and the Keck School of Medicine of USC includes neurosurgeons, radiation oncologists, medical physicists, radiation therapists and nurses. This expert staff adheres to the highest standards of patient care and is committed to giving patients all the information, support, and care they need.
Michael L. J. Apuzzo, MD, Ph.D (hon)
Academic Neurosurgeon, Innovator, Futurist
Dr. Michael L. J. Apuzzo is the Edwin M. Todd/Trent H. Wells, Jr., Professor of Neurological Surgery Radiology Oncology, Biology and Physics at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and Director of the USC University Hospital Gamma Unit Facility. He is also Director of the Department of Neurological Surgery’s Radiosurgery Program and Director of Neurosurgery at the USC Kenneth Norris Jr. Cancer Hospital.
One of the world’s best known and respected neurological surgeons, he is universally recognized as a surgeon, innovator, researcher, academician and futurist. He has been called “Neurosurgery’s principal intellectual catalyst” by Sweden’s Karolinska Institute.
Receiving his education at Yale College, Boston University School of Medicine, McGill University and the Yale School of Medicine, he subsequently obtained special fellowship training in nuclear medicine, nuclear physics and diving and submarine medicine at the United States Navy’s Post Graduate School at Groton Connecticut before serving with distinction in the Nuclear Powered Submarine Service receiving both the United States Surgeon Generals Award for Scholastic Achievement and Fleet Admirals Commendation for Distinctive Service on hazardous extended Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarine patrols in the Arctic, Mediterranean and Black Seas.
Among his many other accomplishments in neurological surgery, he was an original pioneer in the field of imaging directed stereotactic surgery and worked to create, test and popularize instrumentation and methods that are employed worldwide for brain navigation and complex surgeries. These include the development of techniques of stereotactic radiosurgery for the treatment of brain tumors and vascular malformations. Apuzzo directed the team at Norris Cancer Hospital who performed North America’s first radiosurgical procedure more than twenty-years ago. Subsequently, he has accrued one of the world’s most extensive experiences in the radiosurgical treatment of brain and spinal tumors and vascular malformations as well as the management of pain, epilepsy and other functional syndromes. He has directed the Radiosurgical Program at USC since its inception in 1984.
He established one of the nation’s first brain tumor immunology laboratories studying important molecular biological relationships between cancer and the host’s immune system. This lead to important studies of brain cellular grafting in Parkinson disease and other functional disorders establishing new concepts in “neurorestoration” and the current investigational area of cellular and molecular neurosurgery with stem cell and other advanced restorative methods.
Based on these and other experiences, he has contributed more than 700 works to the medical literature along with 50 edited volumes dealing with a variety of topics including minimally invasive neurosurgery, stereotactic neurosurgery, microneurosurgery, neurooncology, epilepsy, operating room design and the future of the field. His atlas texts Brain Surgery: Complication Avoidance and Management and Surgery of the Third Ventricle are considered modern classics and are employed as references worldwide.
He has been the recipient of numerous recognitions, honors and awards both nationally and globally including among others the Career Achievement Award from the World and American Societies for Stereotactic and Functional Surgery, the Herbert Olivercrona Medal from the Karolinska Institute (Stockholm Sweden), the Sixto Obrador Medal from the World Health Organization (presented by Sophia Queen of Spain), the William Beecher Scoville Prize from the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies, The GAGNA A. & Ch. VAN HECK Prize (for the contribution of new concepts in the treatments of untreatable diseases), from the Belgian National Research Foundation and Guest Laureate Status by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons- an honor considered the principle academic accolade in neurosurgery.
From 1991 to 2009 , he was Editor of the leading and innovative international journals NEUROSURGERY, Operative NEUROSURGERY, and the Internet publication NEUROSURGERY-Online. Now he is Editor-in-Chief of WORLD NEUROSURGERY the Official Journal of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies.
He is the principle neurosurgical consultant for the USC Trojans Athletic Department and team neurosurgeon for Superbowl Champion the New York Football Giants.
Steven L. Giannotta, M.D.
Dr. Steven L. Giannotta, Chair of Neurological Surgery, joined the University of Southern California Department of Neurosurgery in 1980. He earned his medical degree and did his residency at the University of Michigan. He is involved in many local, national and international committees and organizations.
Dr. Giannotta has gained recognition for his work in cerebrovascular disease of the brain and spinal cord. He has surgically treated over 1,000 intracranial aneurysms. In conjunction with his associates, Dr. Giannotta has developed a comprehensive approach to the gamut of cerebrovascular conditions. Techniques utilized in this comprehensive program include but are not limited to microsurgical clip ligation for aneurysms, coil embolization for aneurysms, microvascular excision, embolization, stereotactic radiosurgery using the Gamma Knife for arteriovenous malformations, carotid endarterectomy and extracranial to intracranial bypass procedures for cerebrovascular occlusive disease.
In addition, Dr. Giannotta is internationally recognized for his contributions to the development and teaching of cranial base surgery. He holds special expertise in the management of acoustic neuromas and meningiomas of the skull base. He has advocated for the comprehensive management of these tumors using advanced surgical techniques in conjunction with stereotactic radiosurgery.
Peter Gruen, M.D.
Dr. Peter Gruen is Associate Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
Dr. Gruen has been working with the Stereotactic Neurosurgery Team since its inception, participating in both Gamma Knife and CyberKnife procedures. His specialty interests include radiosurgical treatment of benign and malignant tumors of the brain and spinal cord. He received his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians in 1986.
Paul E. Kim, M.D.
Dr. Paul E. Kim is an Assistant Professor of Radiology of the Keck School of Medicine of USC in the Division of Neuroradiology and has been on the USC faculty since 1999.
Dr. Kim specializes in neurovascular imaging and spine imaging and is Director of Spinal Imaging and Intervention in the Department of Radiology. He has authored and co-authored numerous journal and textbook publications on topics related to imaging of the brain and spine.
Charles Liu, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Charles Liu received his undergraduate education in chemical engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and completed his Ph.D. in chemical and biomedical engineering at Rice University, Houston, TX. He then received his medical education at Yale University and his neurosurgical training at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
Dr. Liu currently serves as the Director of Surgical Epilepsy and co-Director of the USC Pituitary and Anterior Skull Base Institute and is an integral member of the USC Cerebrovascular Team. In addition, he is an expert in the surgical treatment of adult brain tumors.
Dr. Liu conducts research in collaboration with the USC Stem Cell Institute and the California Institute of Technology. He has received numerous awards for his research and has contributed extensively to published literature.
Paul G. Pagnini, M.D.
Dr. Paul G. Pagnini joined the University of Southern California Radiation Oncology Associates in 2005 and is a board certified Radiation Oncologist. Dr. Pagnini is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Radiation Oncology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. He is the Director of the USC/Los Angeles County Residency Program in Radiation Oncology.
Dr. Pagnini received his B.S. from Stonehill College in Massachusetts in 1988 and his medical degree from Tufts University in Boston in 1992. He completed his residency in Radiation Oncology at Tufts/New England Medical Center in 1999 where he was Chief Resident in his final year. He was awarded a Research Fellowship from the American Society of Therapeutic Radiation Oncology, which enabled him to study the role of Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) for the treatment of cancers of the central nervous system.
After residency, Dr. Pagnini practiced radiation oncology at the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California from 1999 through 2001, and in private practice in San Mateo, California from 2001 through 2003. He is the former Medical Director of the Radiation Oncology Department of St. Bernardine’s Medical Center in San Bernardino, CA, where he practiced with Valley Radiotherapy Associates from 2003 through 2005. He has been published in the areas of IMRT, 3-D Conformal Radiation Therapy, and Gamma Knife Radiosurgery. Dr. Pagnini's clinical areas of expertise include using 3-D Conformal Radiation Therapy, IMRT and radiosurgery for the treatment of gastrointestinal and central nervous system tumors.
Mairead C. Rusch, RN
Mairead Rusch, RN , is the Nursing Coordinator for the Gamma Knife Unit for USC University Hospital.
Nurse Rusch received her degree in nursing from Los Angeles County School of Nursing and earned her BSN from California State University Los Angeles. Afterward, she began her nursing career at USC University Hospital, becoming Staff Nurse in USC’s Surgical Intensive Care Unit and then Charge Nurse of USC University Hospital’s Neuro Intensive Care Unit.
Nurse Rusch served as an active duty army officer in the United States Nurse Corp during the first Gulf War, and in the mid-nineties also supported Operation Smile as a recovery room nurse in both Kenya and Russia.
Cheng Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Cheng Yu, Professor of Clinical Medicine, initially joined the Keck School of Medicine of USC in March 1994 to serve as a medical physicist. He briefly joined the Stanford University School of Medicine in 2006 as a Clinical Professor and Chief of Robotic Radiosurgery Physics.
Dr. Yu completed his undergraduate studies in physics in China before coming to the United States in 1986. He earned his doctorate in solid state physics at Michigan Technological University in 1991 and did a post-doctorate fellowship in radiation oncology at the University of Chicago in 1994.
Dr. Yu's research interests at USC focus on comparative dosimetry of radiosurgery modalities, such as linac-based, Gamma Knife and CyberKnife radiosurgery systems. Clinically, Dr. Yu is involved in treatment planning and machine calibrations, as well as supervising quality assurance of the equipment.
Chi Shing Zee, M.D.
Dr. Chi Shing Zee is Professor of Radiology and Neurosurgery, Director of Neuroradiology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. He participates on the editorial boards for “Neurosurgery,” “Chinese Journal of Radiology,” “Chinese Computed Medical Imaging” and “Practical Radiology Journal.”
Dr. Zee has authored over 100 scientific articles and has edited three books, with a fourth one in publication. His research interests include head trauma, brain tumors, stereotactic brain surgery, infectious diseases and vascular diseases. His main research topics currently underway include “Evaluation of head trauma patients with DTI” sponsored by the US Army, “Evaluation of head trauma in ex-NFL players” sponsored by the National Football League and “Vasculopathy associated with sickle cell anemia” sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.
Vladimir Zelman, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Vladimir Zelman is Co-Chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and Director of the Division of Neuroanesthesia at LAC-USC Medical Center and USC University Hospital.
Dr. Zelman graduated from Novosibirsk Medical Institute in the former Soviet Union. Afterward, he completed residency and fellowship in Anesthesiology and Critical Care at UCLA. He is an expert in neuroanesthesia for stereotactic procedures and has performed in this capacity for forty years both in the U.S. and former Soviet Union.
Dr. Zelman is the author of numerous manuscripts and book chapters on neuroanesthesia and neuroprotection.