Specialties & ConditionsNeurosurgery Research
Pediatric Neurosurgery Research
The clinical faculty at Lurie Children's Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery are active in research in basic science, translational research, clinical outcomes, education, health services research, and health policy.
Tord Alden, MD has a unique clinical practice with tertiary referral clinics in:
- endonasal endoscopic pediatric skull base surgeries (with ENT partner Jeffrey Rastatter, MD)
- brachial plexus (with pediatric surgery partner Rashmi Kabre, MD)
- mucopolysaccharoidoses (with genetics specialist Barbara Burton, MD)
- complex spine surgery (with orthopedic surgery/spine surgery division at Lurie Children's)
- epilepsy surgery as part of the level 4 NAEC Pediatric Epilepsy Center at Lurie Children's
Open clinical trials include intrathecal delivery of enzymatic therapy for patients with mucopolysaccharoidoses (clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT03771898), SBIR for partnership with hydrocephalus shunt device startup Rhaeos Inc, membership in the Park-Reeves consortium studying Chiari and syringomyelia, as well as multiple clinical outcomes projects.
Robin Bowman, MD is director of the multidisciplinary Spina Bifida Program, which is a recognized CDC registry site, one of only seven main sites in the country. The fetal surgery program is part of her expertise in spina bifida and hydrocephalus. Her research involves the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Spina Bifida Registry as well as clinical outcomes over three decades of institutional experience with this challenging disease. New on the horizon are multicenter grants with postnatal management of patients who had fetal myelomeningocele repair.
Arthur DiPatri, MD is focused on education, with dedication to resident and fellow education at Lurie Children's. He is also engaged with ongoing faculty level peer education for pediatric neurosurgeons in Bolivia, where he has visited on a yearly basis for the past decade with the Solidarity Bridge group for enduring knowledge and skill transfer in global pediatric neurosurgery. He participates in clinical research studies as it pertains to the advancement of pediatric neurosurgery care at Lurie Children's.
Sandi Lam, MD, MBA, has multiple arms in the research enterprise:
- Clinical research work encompasses her clinical focus pediatric epilepsy surgery, cerebrovascular surgery with emphasis in minimally invasive surgical techniques and in development of multidisciplinary patient-centered clinical programs.
- Health services research works includes aspects of quality improvement and outcomes research, and using big data analytics to understand and improve health care utilization and delivery. This focus intersects with health policy and advocacy for elevation of pediatric health, improving access to care, and advancing pediatric neurosurgery especially pediatric epilepsy surgery.
- Global pediatric neurosurgery is also an important focus over the past 10 years, with ongoing clinical training relationships in Kenya and subSaharan Africa along with international neurosurgery collaborations in Asia.
Ongoing open clinical trials for our division include collaborations with pediatric neurooncology, pediatric epilepsy, genetics, pediatric surgery, among others multicenter initiatives, including HCRN-Q, TROPHY registry for neonatal IVH of prematurity, Park-Reeves consortium, MRg-LITT registry for laser ablation in epilepsy surgery, and PERC pediatric epilepsy consortium.
See a list of over 350 publications from the pediatric neurosurgery group!