UPMC and Pitt Neurosurgery at AANS 2025

UPMC and University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurosurgery faculty, residents, fellows and medical students will participate in a number of presentations, lectures and clinics at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons annual meeting scheduled for April 25-28 in Boston. The theme of this year's meeting is "Power of One. Impact of Many." For a complete list of all presentations at this year's conference, please visit the AANS 2025 Annual Meeting website.

Friday, April 25

Early in the Game: Tips for M1/2s
Practical Clinic
9:40 - 9:49 a.m.
Speaker: Nitin Agarwal

Saturday, April 26

From Drop to Ocean: Neurotrauma
Plenary I
8:15 - 8:23 a.m.
Speaker: David Okonkwo

SEEG-Guided Tailored Temporal Resections Improve Cognitive Outcomes With High Rates of Seizure Freedom
Stereotactic Functional Oral Paper Posters
12:15 - 1:30 p.m.
Presenting Author: Stephanie Casillo

Randall Smith Keynote Address and The Power of Optum Health in American Health Care
Topical Session
1:30 - 3:06 p.m.
Moderators: Sarah Bick, Nitin Agarwal

Advancing Neuromodulation Modality for Stroke: Deep Brain Stimulation of the Motor Thalamus for Speech and Swallowing Restoration
Medical Student Summer Research Fellowship Best Abstract Award
Session Abstracts: Neuromodulation for Novel Indications
2:40- 2:43 p.m.
Presenter: Lilly Tang

Clinical and Radiographic Factors Predict the Incidence, Severity and Timing of Vertebral Compression Fractures Following Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Spinal Metastases
Session Abstracts: Cervical Spine Debates
2:40- 2:43 p.m.
Presenter: Suchet Taori

The Impact of Non-Beta-Lactam Antibiotic Use and Beta-Lactam Allergy Status on Surgical Site Infections: An Analysis of 49,279 Surgical Procedures
Session Abstracts
2:43 - 2:45 p.m.
Presenter: Prateek Agarwal

Percutaneous Glycerol Rhizotomies Achieves Effective 5-year Pain Reduction in Patients with Trigeminal Neuralgia
Surgical Advances for Management of Pain Disorders
4:40 - 4:43 p.m.
Presenter: Shovan Bhatia

Sunday, April 27

Perioperative Serum Prealbumin as a Predictor Of Mortality In Trauma Patients Undergoing Posterior Cervical Decompression and Fusion
Spine Oral Paper Posters
12:15 – 1:30 p.m.
Presenting Author: Ektha Parchuri

Management of Repeat Brain Injury: A Discussion with an International Panel of Experts
Chuck Noll Lecture
1:40 - 2:00 p.m.
Speaker: David Okonkwo

Cases with Neuromonitoring Alerts: Deformity
Topical Session
1:53 – 2:02 p.m.
Speaker: David Okonkwo

Introduction to Bittner Lecture
Topical Session
3:44 - 3:49 p.m.
Presenter: Costas Hadjipanayis

Multimodal mapping of the Visual Word Form Area to Preserve Reading and to Delineate the Process of Recovery After Injury
Session Abstract
4:36 - 4:39 p.m.
Presenter: Arka Mallela

Onyx versus N‐Butyl Cyanoacrylate in Middle Meningeal Artery Embolization for Chronic Subdural Hematoma: An Institutional Experience of 234 Cases
Session Abstract
4:49 - 4:52 p.m.
Presenter: Prateek Agarwal

Monday, April 28

Training the Next Generation of Neurosurgeons in Robotics
Robotics in Neurosurgery
8:45 - 8:54 a.m.
Speaker: Hussam Abou-Al-Shaar

Case Presentations, Thoughtful Reflections and Strategies for Avoidance
Spine M&M
9:45 - 11:15 a.m.
Moderators: D. Kojo Hamilton, Kristen Jones

e-Posters

Spine Stereotactic Radiosurgery Provides Pain Relief and Durable Local Tumor Control for Lung Cancer Spine Metastases
Authors: Michael Kann, Samuel Adida, Suchet Taori, Shovan Bhatia, Steven Burton, John Flickinger, Roberta Sefcik, Peter Gerszten

C7-T1 Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion for Cerebrospinal Fluid Leak Repair
Authors: William Rabon, Benoy Sen, Hansen Deng, Rida Mitha, Nitin Agarwal, David Okonkwo, James Mooney

Patient and Operating Room Staff Perspectives and Satisfaction with 3D-Printed Preoperative Spine Models
Authors: William Rabon, James Mooney, Ricardo Fernández de-Thomas, Guatam Nayar, Anish Ghodadra, Vikas Agarwal, D. Kojo Hamilton, Nitin Agarwal

Enhancing Precision: The Application of Exoscope Technology in Spine Surgery. 
Authors: William Rabon, Zayaan Tirmizi, Rohit Kumar, James Mooney, Ricardo Fernández de-Thomas, Costas Hadjipanayis, Nitin Agarwal

Stratification of Martial Arts-Related Brain and Spine Injuries Presenting to the Emergency Room throughout the U.S.
Authors: William Rabon, Zayaan Tirmizi, Benjamin Carnovale, Raj Swaroop Lavadi, James Mooney, D. Kojo Hamilton, Joseph Maroon, Vincent Miele, Nitin Agarwal

Microsoft Copilot Accurately Extrapolates SRS-22r Pain and Management Satisfaction Outcomes based on Clinical History
Authors: Aditi Choudhary, Nicole Don, Benjamin Carnovale, William Rabon, Raj Swaroop Lavadi, Rida Mitha, Rohit Kumar, Oliver Tang, Ricardo Fernández de-Thomas, James Mooney, D. Kojo Hamilton, Nitin Agarwal

Perioperative Serum Prealbumin as a Predictor of Mortality and Length of Stay in Patients Treated with Posterior Cervical Decompression and Fusion
Authors: Sohan Rao, Ektha Parchuri, Joseph Hudson, Samuel Adida, Mohamed Ali H Jawad-Makki, Shovan Bhatia, Alex Crane, Caroline Lindsey, Anna Slingerland, Andrew Legarreta, Roberta Sefcik, Daryl Fields, Peter Gerszten, Nitin Agarwal, David Okonkwo, D. Kojo Hamilton

Low Preoperative Serum Prealbumin Levels Correlate with Longer Length of Stay in Patients Undergoing Lumbar and Thoracic Spine Procedures.
Authors: Sohan Rao, Ektha Parchuri, Ricardo Fernández-de Thomas, Jhair Alejandro Colan, Peter Gerszten, David Okonkwo, Thomas Buell, D. Kojo Hamilton, Nitin Agarwal

Hemoglobinopathy Alters Inflammatory Response to Traumatic Brain Injury: A Pilot Study of Berkeley Sickle Cell Mice
Authors: Sohan Rao, Ektha Parchuri, Brock Gjesdal, Jeremy Henchir, Zack Rohde, Madison Parry, C. Edward Dixon, Shaun Carlson

Current Evidence on Spinal Fusion in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease
Authors: Ektha Parchuri, Sohan Rao, James Mooney, Nitin Agarwal, D. Kojo Hamilton

Two-minute Semantic Test Predicts Intraoperative Engagement in Non-Aphasic Patients
Authors: Amelia Stepniak, Daniel Miller, Pascal Zinn, Costas Hadjipanayis, George Zenonos, Natalie Sherry

Mixed Reality Guided Pedicle Screw Placement
Authors: Shovan Bhatia, Nikhil Sharma, Regan Shanahan, Michael Kann, Samuel Adida, Arka Mallela, Vincent Miele, Peter Gerszten, Jacob Biehl, Edward Andrews

Characterizing the B-cell Receptor Landscape Across Pediatric Brain Tumors
Authors: Amelia Stepniak, Brent Schlegel, Stephen Frederico, Sydney Jackson, Qinglin Kong, Chloe Kuminkoski, Costas Hadjipanayis, Ian Pollack, Itay Raphael, Dhivyaa Rajasundaram, Gary Kohanbash

Characterizing Compartmental Neuroinflammatory Responses to Traumatic Brain Injury & Celastrol Administration
Authors: Brock Gjesdal, Sohan Rao, Ektha Parchuri, Zack Rohde, Madison Perry, Jeremy Henchir, Shaun Carlson, C. Edward Dixon