Faculty and Specialties

Adult Neurosurgery
UCHealth/Anschutz Medical Campus

Neurosurgeons		Specialties
	Kathryn Beauchamp, MD Assistant Professor	Neurosurgery
	Robert Breeze, MD Professor and Vice Chair	Endovascular Surgery, Skull Base Surgery
	Kerry Brega, MD Associate Professor and Director, Residency Program	Neurosurgery at the Denver VA
	David Case, MD Associate Professor	Endovascular Surgery, Neuro-Critical Care
	Luis Cava, MD Associate Professor	Neuro-Critical Care
	Daniel Craig, MD Assistant Professor	Neurosurgery
	Rachel A. Davis, MD, DFAPA Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neurosurgery	Functional/Stereotactic
	Christopher Domen, PhD Associate Professor	Neuropsychology
	Michael Finn, MD Associate Professor	Spine Disorders
	Michael Greher, PhD Professor of Clinical Practice	Neuropsychology
	Brian Hoyt, PhD  Associate Professor	Neuropsychology
	Drew Kern, MD, MS Associate Professor	Functional/Stereotactic
	Daniel Kramer, MD Assistant Professor	Functional neurosurgery (movement disorders, epilepsy) & general neurosurgery
	Peter Lennarson, MD Associate Professor	Spine Disorders
	Kevin Lillehei, MD Professor and Ogsbury-Kindt Chair Department of Neurosurgery	Brain Tumors, Pituary and Peripheral Nerve
	Michelle Miranda, PhD Assistant Professor, Neurosurgery	Neuropsychology
	Joie Molden, PhD Neuropsychologist and Assistant Professor	Dementia worry, attitudes toward aging and dementia, and neuropsychological factors related to functional neurosurgery
	Robert Neumann, MD Associate Professor and Director, Neuro-Critical Care	Neuro-Critical Care
	Steven Ojemann, MD Associate Professor and Director, Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery	Stereotactic and Functional
	D Ryan Ormond, MD, PhD Associate Professor and Director, Brain Tumor Program	Brain Tumors
	Christopher Roark, MD Associate Professor	Endovascular Surgery
	John Sampson, MD, Ph.D, MBA Richard D. Krugman Endowed Chair Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs Dean, University of Colorado School of Medicine	Neuro-Onc
	Joshua Seinfeld, MD Professor and Director, Endovascular Neurosurgery	Endovascular Surgery
	Amelia Nelson Sheese Ph.D., ABPP Associate Professor	Neuropsychology
	Timothy Ung, MD Assistant Professor	Neuro Oncology and Gamma Knife
	Jason Weedman, MD Assistant Professor	Neuro critical care
	Jens-Peter Witt, MD Associate Professor and Director, Neurosurgery Spine	Spine Disorders
	A Samy Youssef, MD, PhD Professor and Vice Chair, Education, Director, Complex Cranial and Skull Base Surgery	Complex Cranial & Skull Base Surgery

Nurse Practitioners/Physician Assistants
UCHealth Hospitals

Faculty Advanced Practice Providers		Specialties
	Azin Alizadehardebili, PA-C Senior Instructor	Functional & Movement Disorders
	Terri Baker, PA-C Instructor	Spine Disorders
	Amanda Brill, MSN, ACNP-BC Assistant Professor	Endovascular Surgery, Skull Base Surgery
	Colin Catel, MMS, PA-C Assistant Professor	Adult Brain Tumor
	Lawrence Cloutier, PA-C Instructor	Spine Disorders
	Michelle DeGrave, PA-C Instructor	Spine Disorders
	Helen French, PA-C, MPAS Senior Instructor	Complex Cranial & Skull Base Surgery
	Elizabeth Humes, PA-C Senior Instructor	Functional & Movement Disorders
	Marci Klaassen, NP Instructor	Endovascular Surgery
	Marisa Marsolek, PA-C Instructor	Neuro-Critical Care
	Evelyn Ongechi, NP Instructor	Neuro-Oncology
	Sonemala Phommatha, PA-C Senior Instructor	Spine Disorders
	Rachel Reem, PA-C Instructor	Neuro-Critical Care
	Jason Rich, PA Instructor	Endovascular Surgery
	Jodi Sagastume, MMS, PA-C	Neuro Critical Care
	Robin Saiki, DNP, ACNP-BC Associate Professor	Endovascular Surgery, Skull Base Surgery
	Atsuhiro Saisho, PA-C Instructor	Neuro-Critical Care
	Ryan Williams, PA-C Instructor	Neuro-Critical Care
	Keep scrolling to see more Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants

UCHealth-Highlands Ranch/Longs Peak/Boulder Community Hospital Adult Neurosurgery

UCHealth-Highlands Ranch/Longs Peak/Boulder Community Hospital Adult Neurosurgery

Pediatric Neurosurgery
Children’s Hospital Colorado

Neurosurgeons		Specialties
	Allyson Alexander, MD, PhD Assistant Professor	Seizures or epilepsy, craniosynostosis, spina bifida, hydrocephalus, general pediatric neurosurgery
	Mohammed Alshareef, MD Assistant Professor	Pediatric spine surgery, brain tumors, general pediatric neurosurgery
	Michael Handler, MD The McMurry-Seebaum Chair in Pediatric Neurosurgery Associate Surgeon-in-Chief, Children's Hospital Colorado	Brain and Nervous System
	Todd Hankinson, MD Division Head, Pediatric Neurosurgery Professor of Neurosurgery	Brain, Nervous System and Brain Cancer
	Siddhartha Mitra, M.Sc (Hons), PhD Assistant Professor	Neural Stem Cells, Brain Tumor Immunology and Immuno-Oncology
	Thomas Ridder, MD Senior Instructor Colorado Springs	Pediatric and Adult General Neurosurgery
	Derek (Clay) Samples Assistant Professor- Colorado Springs	Specialty- Pediatric Neurosurgery
	Charles Wilkinson, MD Associate Professor	Brain and Nervous System, Trauma/Nerve Injuries

Adult Neurosurgery at Veteran Administration
Anschutz Medical Campus  

Neurosurgeons		Specialties
	Kerry Brega, MD   Associate Professor	Neurosurgery
	Donny (Mark) Melton, MD Assistant Professor	Neurosurgery

Nurse Practitioners & Physician Assistants
Children’s Hospital Colorado 

NPs & PAs
	Jennifer Coffman, CPNP-AC Instructor
	Chinonye Ihekweazu, MSN Instructor
	Rebecca Palis, PA-C Instructor (pediatric)
	Brooke Wiedman, MSN Instructor
	Rachel Schwartz, PA-C Instructor
	Susan Staulcup, MPH, MSPH
	Mitchell Tiedke, PA-C, MS Instructor

Adult & Pediatric Neurosurgery
Denver Health 

Neurosurgeons		Specialties
	Angela Downes, MD  Assistant Professor	Neurosurgery
	Fabio Grassia, MD Assistant Professor	Neurosurgery
	Muhammad Riaz, MD Assistant Professor	Neurosurgery

Research Faculty

Please click on Research & Innovation pages for more information

Researcher
	Judith Gault Associate Professor Judith.Gault@cuanschutz.edu
	Daniel Ramirez-Gordillo, PhD Assistant Professor Daniel.Ramirez-Gordillo@cuanschutz.edu
	Michael Graner, PhD   Professor Michael.Graner@cuanschutz.edu
	Ann-Charlotte (“Lotta”) Granholm-Bentley, PhD/DDS   Professor & Researcher, Neurosurgery Department  Ann-Charlotte.Granholm-Bentley@cuanschutz.edu
	Aurelie Ledreux, PhD Associate Professor & Researcher, Neurosurgery Department
	John Thompson, PhD    Associate Professor John.A.Thompson@cuanschutz.edu
	Cristin Welle, PhD  Professor  Vice Chair, Research. Vice Chair, Research Cristin.Welle@cuanschutz.edu
	Xiaoli Yu, PhD Associate Professor-Research Xiaoli.Yu@cuanschutz.edu

Administrative and Research Staff

Staff
	Pamela David Gerecht, PhD Senior Professional Research Assistant, Research Pamela.Davidgerecht@cuanschutz.edu
	Jennifer Hasenbalg Business Services Coordinator Jennifer.Hasenbalg@cuanschutz.edu
	Tom Huynh Business Administrator & Financial Services Specialist Tom.Huynh@cuanschutz.edu
	Jennifer Maitlen, RN BSN Manager, Clinical Research Jennifer.Maitlen@cuanschutz.edu
	Krystin Martinez Manager, Faculty Affairs & Education Krystin.Martinez@cuanschutz.edu
	Terra Ornelas, RN BSN Clinical Research Nurse, Clinical Research Terra.Ornelas@cuanschutz.edu
	Erica Scholl Education Coordinator erica.scholl@cuanschutz.edu
	Liz Seelenfreund, MBA, MA Director of Finance & Administration Liz.Seelenfreund@cuanschutz.edu
	Sarah Williams Research Grants and Contracts Administrator sarah.williams@cuanschutz.edu

Professor Emeritus
Dr. Glenn Kindt

Dr. Kindt was recruited from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he was acting Chairman of the Division of Neurosurgery.  He arrived at CU in 1981 and completely rebuilt a  the residency program in Neurosurgery and remained Chair of the Neurosurgery Department until 2000.  During that time he grew the department to 18 neurosurgeons, including four pediatric neurosurgeons, two neurologists, four research PhD’s, and two neuropsychologists.   Much of the foundation and reputation of the current Department of Neurosurgery is due to the leadership and vision provided by Dr. Kindt.

Professor Emeritus
Dr. David Kumpe

Joint Appointment: Radiology & Neurosurgery. During his long career at the University of Colorado  (1977 to 2019) Dr. Kumpe served as the Director of Interventional Radiology and later Neuro Interventional Radiology.  He established and developed both of these services - which are now indispensable in the functioning of the Anschutz Medical Center.   For years, he has been invited as an international speaker and author on both of these key clinical interventions (which have truly changed the outcomes for stroke and other vascular conditions on a global level).  It is seldom that a physician initiates one entirely new vital service during an academic career, and Dr. Kumpe did it twice. He accomplished this by creating a climate of open multidisciplinary cooperation with the referring surgical services. This led to the atmosphere of multidisciplinary cooperation between interventional radiology, interventional neuroradiology, interventional cardiology, vascular surgery, and neurosurgery we enjoy in our institution, which is quite unusual in major medical centers. To honor his career, the radiology department has created the David Kumpe Endowed Chair of Radiology, a $2M investment. Dr. Kumpe's biography

Distinguished Clinical Professor
Dr. Gary VanderArk

Dr. Gary VanderArk remains an active part of the neurosurgery department at the CU School of Medicine.  Gary is a retired  neurosurgeon, the former director of the neurosurgery residency program here, a book reviewer for AANS Neurosurgeon Online, and a rare community treasure.  Having won numerous awards for his philanthropic endeavors and non profit service, Gary not only founded Colorado Neurological Institute, but is still heavily involved at Doctors Care, a nonprofit that provides free medical care to the underserved.   In 2018, with the closing of the 35 year old Colorado Neurological Institute at Swedish Medical Center, The VanderArk Visiting Lectureship was established in his honor to help train new residents and fellows, and to bring together the entire regional neurosurgical community.

Professor Emeritus
Dr. Ken Winston

A medical school graduate of University of Tennessee in Memphis, Dr. Winston became acquainted with CU during his residency in general surgery.  From there he held appointments and positions at Harvard, several hospitals in the Boston area, and returned to Colorado and joined the neurosurgery faculty in 1988 where he became the head of pediatric neurosurgery at Children’s Hospital.  He also served in the US Public Health Service from 1964 to 1966, in Texas and California.   Some of his numerous professional affiliations include his membership with the Congress of Neurological Surgeons,  the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, and he is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (ACS).  He has more than 120 peer reviewed articles and publications and in 1992 he was proud to be named on the Endowed Winston-Lutz Fellowship in Stereotactic Radiosurgery at Harvard University.