Cedars-Sinai Neuroscience Institute

The Cedars-Sinai Department of Neurosurgery, Division of Neurology and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences provide clinical care for the full range of conditions affecting the brain and central nervous system. Neuroscience experts at Cedars-Sinai conduct path-breaking research, and use their clinical experience and research knowledge to teach the next generation of researchers and clinicians through residency, fellowship, CME and GME programs.

Research

Neuroscience researchers are delving deep into the mysteries of the brain by conducting basic, translational and clinical research. Researchers at the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute have made a number of significant advances:

• Developed methods to deliver anti-cancer therapeutics across the blood-brain barrier to tumors while leaving healthy brain unaffected
• Discovered new genetic markers that are related to tumor growth and spread
• Pioneered a promising brain tumor vaccine created from a patient's own brain tumor
• Developed a way to create stem cells from bone marrow
• Discovered that brain tumors have their own type of stem cell

The Division of Neurology's Rose Moss Neurogenetics Laboratory has received continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health for more than a decade. More than 100 research papers and many books and chapters have been published as a result of basic research performed by the division. Neurology research at Cedars-Sinai is focused on:

• Neurodegenerative disorders
• Genes involved in causing brain tumors
• Genes that lead to muscle diseases and epilepsy
• Neuropsychiatry and cognition, especially the genetic basis of attention deficit disorder
• Novel methods to identify epileptic regions in the brain using SPECT imaging and magnetic encephalography

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences researchers are focused on conducting basic research and clinical trials into the causes and treatment of depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and anxiety.

Clinical Care

In U.S.News & World Report's 2007 “America's Best Hospitals” issue, Cedars-Sinai once again ranked as one of the country's top hospitals in Neurosurgery and Neurology. Cedars-Sinai offers dedicated programs that diagnose and treat brain tumors, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, epilepsy, stroke, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, Parkinson's disease, addiction, pain, and conditions affecting the spine. Cedars-Sinai neuroscience programs offer comprehensive care for adult, teenage and pediatric patients.

Education

Cedars-Sinai offers a full range of educational programs, from continuing medical education to accredited residency and fellowship programs. The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences offers a fully approved, comprehensive, academically based residency program in psychiatry. The Department of Neurosurgery offers a neurological surgery residency program, and neuro-oncology and surgical neuro-oncology fellowships.

Leadership

Keith L. Black, MD
Chairman, Department of Neurosurgery
Director, Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute
Ruth and Harvey Lawrence Chair in Neuroscience

Mark H. Rapaport, MD
Chairman, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences