NELSON M. OYESIKU, MD, MSc (Lond.), PhD, FACS is Professor and Chair, Department of Neurological Surgery and Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology) at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and was named president of the Brain Tumor Foundation (BTF) on April 10, 2024.

Dr. Oyesiku is Professor and Chair, Department of Neurological Surgery and Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology) at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He was previously Professor of Neurological Surgery and Medicine (Endocrinology) at Emory University, Atlanta, GA and the Inaugural Daniel Louis Barrow Chair in Neurosurgery, Vice-Chairman, Dept of Neurological Surgery and Director of the Neurosurgical Residency Program.  Dr Oyesiku’s clinical expertise is pituitary medicine and surgery. Dr Oyesiku was co-director of the Emory Pituitary Center and has developed one the largest practices entirely devoted to the care of patients with pituitary tumors in the country and has performed over 4,700 pituitary tumor operations. Dr. Oyesiku obtained his MD from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He obtained an MSc in Occupational Medicine from the University of London, UK and completed a PhD in Neuroscience at Emory University. He completed his Surgery Internship at the University of Connecticut-Hartford Hospital and obtained his neurosurgical training at Emory University, Atlanta.  He is board-certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery. He received an NIH K08 Award and Faculty Development Award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation was a recipient of an NIH R01 award and PI of the NIH/NINDS R25 Research Education Program for Residents and Fellows in Neurosurgery. Dr Oyesiku has served on several NIH Study Sections. Dr Oyesiku’s research is focused on the molecular pathogenesis of pituitary adenomas, and tumor receptor imaging and targeting for therapy.

Dr Oyesiku has served on various state, regional, national and international committees for all the major neurosurgical organizations. He has served on the Board of Directors and as Chairman of the American Board of Neurological Surgery. He was on the ACGME-Residency Review Committee of Neurosurgery. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and has served on its Board of Governors.  Dr. Oyesiku has been President of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. He has served as Secretary/Treasurer and President of the Georgia Neurosurgical Society, President of the Society of University Neurosurgeons, and Vice-President of the American Academy of Neurological Surgeons. He is President of the International Society of Pituitary Surgeons. He is President of the World Federation of Neurological Surgeons.

Dr Oyesiku is Editor-in-Chief of NEUROSURGERY, OPERATIVE NEUROSURGERY and NEUROSURGERY OPEN – leading journals in neurosurgery.  He is author of over 180 scientific articles and book chapters.

He has been selected by his peers as one of The Best Doctors in America and was selected by the Consumer Research Council of America as one of America’s Top Surgeons. He is named in Marquis Who’s Who in America. He is a member of the Honor Medical Society – Alpha Omega Alpha.  He was awarded the “Gentle Giant Award” by the Pituitary Network Association for his services to Pituitary Surgery and Medicine. He is on the Medical Advisory Board of the Cushing’s Support and Research Foundation. He has been visiting professor and invited faculty at several departments of neurosurgery in the United States and abroad.

Dr. Mark M. Souweidane is internationally recognized as a leader in pediatric neurosurgery, with a career focus on CNS tumors of childhood. He is the Vice Chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the Weill Cornell Medical College and Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Dr. Souweidane received his Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Michigan and his Medical Doctorate Degree from Wayne State University. He completed his neurosurgery training at NYU Medical Center under the mentorship of Dr. Fred Epstein and completed his fellowship in pediatrics at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. Dr. Souweidane is board-certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery and the American Board of Pediatric Neurological Surgery. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr. Souweidane’s clinical and scholarly contributions have helped define the contemporary fields of minimally invasive endoscopic surgery and direct drug delivery for brain tumors. In 2017,  Dr. Souweidane was selected by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to serve as the Neurological Surgery Special Expert on its Brain Malignancies Steering Committee (BMSC) and was appointed to the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) CNS Steering Committee. He is the past chair of the editorial board for Journal of Neurosurgery Pediatrics.

President Emeritus Dr. Philip E. Stieg

Dr. Philip E. Stieg is a world-renowned, board-certified neurosurgeon with expertise in cerebrovascular disorders, brain tumors, and skull base surgery. He is the Margaret and Robert J. Hariri Professor of Neurological Surgery, Chairman and Neurosurgeon-in-Chief at New York-PresbyterianIWeill Cornell Medical Center.  He is the chairman and founder of the Weill Cornell Medicine Brain and Spine Center, the leading center for patient care in New York City. He has appeared on the list of Castle Connolly’s “Best Doctors in America” every year for more than two decades. Dr. Stieg is internationally known as a lecturer dedicated to the training of other neurosurgeons and is the host of the podcast called This Is Your Brain With Dr. Phil Stieg, which explores the many wonders of the brain.

Dr. Stieg is a widely published author and internationally known lecturer and is routinely named by Castle Connolly Medical as one of the nation’s Top Doctors. Dr. Stieg is frequently featured in the media for his expertise and commentary on breaking news in healthcare, and he was the creator and host of the successful NPR radio show “How to Save Your Life.” Dr. Stieg is also one of the editors of the definitive textbook on AVMs, Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations. He is a past president of the Brain Tumor Foundation and the New York board of the American Heart Association. He is also a past Chairman of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (AANS/CNS) and former President of the Society of University Neurosurgeons in addition to serving as an advisor to the Defense Department on brain injury. Dr. Stieg is board-certified in Neurological Surgery.

Dr. Stieg’s highly regarded podcast, This Is Your Brain, provides engaging conversations with experts and patients about how the brain works, what can go wrong, and how to meet the challenges of brain disorders. Visit drphilstieg.com for more information.

TRAINING
Dr. Stieg received his B.S. degree from the University of Wisconsin at Madison (1974), his Ph.D. in Anatomy and Neuroscience from Union University (1980), and his M.D. from the Medical College of Wisconsin in 1983. He trained at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School (Parkland Memorial Hospital) with Drs. Duke Samson and Hunt Batjer after completing a fellowship in cell transplantation for restorative neurological function at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. Dr. Stieg joined the faculty of the Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Children’s Hospital of Boston in 1989, after completing his postgraduate training.

RESEARCH
Dr. Stieg’s research interests include cerebral protection as well as restorative function. He is also interested in neural transplantation and neuronal regeneration after stroke. His initial studies focused on understanding the mechanisms of injury in the central nervous system after trauma. His laboratory was one of the first to develop and characterize primary cultures of astroglial cells. Dr. Stieg’s expertise in cerebrovascular disorders combines with his research interests in stem cell biology and cerebral transplantation for restoring neurological function. Dr. Stieg has implemented a multifaceted approach to the management of neurosurgical disorders such as carotid artery disease, vascular malformations, aneurysms, epilepsy, brain tumors, trauma, pediatric disorders, spinal cord problems, and functional diseases, including Parkinson’s disease.

BTF Chairman Michael Schreiber

Michael Schreiber became determined to help brain tumor patients and their families after living through his own father’s battle with a brain tumor. He has been actively involved in all aspects of BTF since its inception in 1998.

An influential business and community leader, Michael is President of Royal Farms, a privately owned real estate management firm. Under his leadership BTF has created and implemented many innovative programs including the unprecedented Road to Early Detection initiative, and the national expansion of that campaign, Sponsor-A-City.