Sandeep Kunwar
Sandeep Kunwar, MD Medical Director - Board certified in neurosurgery and renowned for his work in minimally
invasive neurosurgery, Dr. Kunwar is co-medical director of the Gamma
Knife® Program, the centerpiece of Washington Hospital’s Taylor
McAdam Bell Neuroscience Institute.
In addition to his focus on Gamma Knife radiosurgery, Dr. Kunwar specializes
in minimally invasive brain and spine surgery. His innovative work in
these fields and pioneering research in drug delivery to the brain have
brought him national and international recognition. He has performed more
than 1,500 minimally invasive operations, and has developed a minimally-invasive
approach to skull-based tumors, applying this approach to maximize recovery
for transcranial and spine patients as well.
In addition to his leadership of the Gamma Knife program, he serves as
medical director of the Institute’s Transphenoidal Center and co-medical
director of its Movement Disorders Program.
Dr. Kunwar is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha medical society and a recipient
of the Preuss Resident Research Award and the Ronald Bittner Tumor Award
from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the Congress
of Neurological Surgeons. He has served as the lead principal investigator
in a number of international multi-institutional clinical trials, including
the largest surgical based drug trial for brain tumors (PRECISE trial).
In 2006, Dr. Kunwar began his private practice in Fremont, California,
and joined the medical community at Washington Hospital Healthcare System.
He also continues to serve as Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery
in the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of California,
San Francisco, which he joined in 1999. While there, he developed one
of the busiest surgical programs in San Francisco and was selected by
world-renowned neurosurgeon, Charles Wilson, MD, to take over his pituitary
surgery practice after his retirement. Dr. Kunwar received his medical
degree and neurosurgical training at the University of California, San
Francisco School of Medicine.