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Nader Sanai, MD
Director, Ivy Brain Tumor Center
- (602) 406-3181
- Fax: (602) 406-6110
More than 4,700 brain tumor operations performed since 2010
700 intraoperative language and motor mapping operations performed since 2010
More than 300 national and international lectures delivered on brain cancer
More than 20,000 research citations in brain tumor research
One of only three Barrow faculty elected to the American Academy of Neurological Surgeons
Nader Sanai, MD, is the Francis & Dionne Najafi Chair in Neurosurgical Oncology at Barrow Neurological Institute. An internationally acclaimed neurosurgeon and one of the nation’s highest-volume brain tumor surgeons, Dr. Sanai has built a specialty clinical practice devoted to patients with benign and malignant brain tumors, particularly those in high-risk areas. He is an expert in intraoperative brain mapping techniques, which identify and preserve areas of motor, sensory, and language function during brain surgery. In 2016, Dr. Sanai was elected to the American Academy of Neurological Surgeons, the most respected academic organization in neurosurgery.
Dr. Sanai oversees all brain tumor research at Barrow Neurological Institute. In 2018, he founded and directs the Ivy Brain Tumor Center, a not-for-profit drug development program for brain tumor patients. Its precision medicine program is the first of its kind worldwide and it specializes in clinical trials designed to accelerate drug development. The Ivy Center includes more than 50 scientists, clinicians, and clinical trial specialists and is a world leader in designing experimental treatments for brain cancer. In 2023, the Ivy Center and the biopharmaceutical company, GSK, reported promising results from a Phase 0 trial in newly diagnosed glioblastoma patients. To translate these findings into the first life-prolonging glioblastoma drug approval in decades, the Ivy Brain Tumor Center announced the initiation of a global Phase 3 clinical trial across 13 countries.
Dr. Sanai’s brain tumor research is funded by more than a dozen external granting agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), as well as foundational support from the Ben & Catherine Ivy Foundation. Dr. Sanai is one of only a handful of neurosurgeons in the United States serving as the principal investigator for multiple NIH and NCI R01 grants and the only neurosurgeon to have led multiple research studies reported in the journals Nature and The New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Sanai has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed publications and delivered over 300 national and international lectures in neuro-oncology. Collectively, Dr. Sanai’s published research has led to more than 30,000 total citations in academic literature.
Please call (602) 406-3181 to request an appointment with Dr. Sanai.

- Aetna
- Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Cigna
- Medicare Part B
- Mercy Care at the Phoenix and Chandler Locations
- MultiPlan/AMN/RAN
- United Healthcare
- 2009-2010: Fellowship, Barrow Neurological Institute, Skull Base Surgery
- 2007-2009: Postdoctoral Fellowship, UCSF, Neural Stem Cell Biology
- 2004-2009: Residency, UCSF, Neurosurgery
- 2003-2004: Internship, UCSF, General Surgery
- 1998-2003: MD with thesis, UCSF
- BS with thesis, University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Animal Physiology and Neuroscience, summa cum laude, 1998
- BA, UCSD, French Literature, summa cum laude, 1998
- Study Chair, Barrow 5-ALA Intraoperative Confocal Evaluation (BALANCE) Trial
- Co-Director, Brain Tumor Tissue Bank, Barrow Neurological Institute
- Member, St. Joseph’s Hospital Cancer Center Executive Council
- American Association of Cancer Research
- American Society of Clinical Oncology
- American Association of Neurological Surgeons
- Congress of Neurological Surgeons
- Society for Neuroscience
- American Brain Tumor Association
- National Brain Tumor Foundation
- Associate Editor, BMC Cancer
- Ad hoc reviewer, The New England Journal of Medicine, Neurosurgery, Journal of Neuro-Oncology, Neuro-Oncology, Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, Brain, Annals of Neurology, Frontiers in Neurogenesis, Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery
- Francis & Dionne Najafi Professorship in Neurosurgical Oncology, 2019
- J.N. Harber Distinguished Professorship in Neurological Surgery, 2017
- Membership, The American Academy of Neurological Surgery, 2016
- American Society for Clinical Oncology Career Development Award Top Abstract, 2015
- Academy Award, American Academy of Neurological Surgery, 2013
- Preuss Award, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, 2010
- National Brain Tumor Foundation Mahaley Award, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, 2010
- Honorable Mention, 2009 Academy Award, American Academy of Neurological Surgery, 2009
- Howard Naffziger Resident of the Year Award, UCSF Department of Neurological Surgery, 2009
- Guest Editor, Neurosurgery Clinics of North America, Neural Stem Cells Issue, 2007
- Kaiser Award for Clinical Research, San Francisco Neurological Society, 2007
- Invited Lecturer, Frye-Halloran Symposium on Neuro-Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Neurological Surgery, 2005
- Edwin F. Boldrey Award for Basic Science Research, San Francisco Neurological Society, 2004
- Dean’s Research Prize Finalist, UCSF, 1999
- Medical Scholars Program, UCSF, 1998-2003
- Senior of the Year, UCSD, 1997
- Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, 1997-present
- Provost’s Honors, UCSD, 1994-1998
- Department of Biology Honors Program, UCSD, 1994-1998
- Thurgood Marshall College Honors Program, UCSD, 1994-1998
A validated LC-MS/MS method for determination of neuro-pharmacokinetic behavior of niraparib in brain tumor patients.
Date: 08/2024
Authors: William Knight, Tigran Margaryan, Nader Sanai, Artak Tovmasyan
Quisinostat is a brain-penetrant radiosensitizer in glioblastoma
Date: 11/2023
Authors: Costanza Lo Cascio, Tigran Margaryan, Ernesto Luna-Melendez, James B. McNamara, Connor I. White, William Knight, Saisrinidhi Ganta, Zorana Opachich, Claudia Cantoni, Wonsuk Yoo, Nader Sanai, Artak Tovmasyan, Shwetal Mehta
Intraoperative in vivo confocal laser endomicroscopy imaging at glioma margins: can we detect tumor infiltration?
Date: 08/2023
Authors: Yuan Xu, Andrea M. Mathis, Bianca Pollo, Jürgen Schlegel, Theoni Maragkou, Kathleen Seidel, Philippe Schucht, Kris A. Smith, Randall W. Porter, Andreas Raabe, Andrew S. Little, Nader Sanai, Dennis C. Agbanyim, Nikolay L. Martirosyan, Jennifer M. Eschbacher, Karl Quint, Mark C. Preul, Ekkehard Hewer
Evaluation of two-stage designs of Phase 2 single-arm trials in glioblastoma: a systematic review
Date: 12/2022
Authors: Wonsuk Yoo, Seongho Kim, Michael Garcia, Shwetal Mehta, Nader Sanai
Simultaneous determination of LY3214996, abemaciclib, and M2 and M20 metabolites in human plasma, cerebrospinal fluid, and brain tumor by LC-MS/MS
Date: 08/2022
Authors: Tigran Margaryan, Mackenna Elliott, Nader Sanai, Artak Tovmasyan
- English

Barrow Brain and Spine
2910 North 3rd Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona 85013
Appointments with Dr. Sanai are on the 2nd floor in the Barrow Brain and Spine clinic.
Complimentary valet parking is available in front of the building. Additional parking is available by entering the parking structure across 3rd Avenue.
Enter via the doors at 2910 N. 3rd Ave. beneath the Barrow Neurological Institute sign. If you park in the parking structure, take the enclosed pedestrian bridge across 3rd Avenue, then enter through the doors on the right side of the bridge.
- (602) 406-3181
- Fax: (602) 406-6110

Nader Sanai, MD
Director, Ivy Brain Tumor Center
- (602) 406-3181
- Fax: (602) 406-6110
More than 4,700 brain tumor operations performed since 2010
700 intraoperative language and motor mapping operations performed since 2010
More than 300 national and international lectures delivered on brain cancer
More than 20,000 research citations in brain tumor research
One of only three Barrow faculty elected to the American Academy of Neurological Surgeons
Nader Sanai, MD, is the Francis & Dionne Najafi Chair in Neurosurgical Oncology at Barrow Neurological Institute. An internationally acclaimed neurosurgeon and one of the nation’s highest-volume brain tumor surgeons, Dr. Sanai has built a specialty clinical practice devoted to patients with benign and malignant brain tumors, particularly those in high-risk areas. He is an expert in intraoperative brain mapping techniques, which identify and preserve areas of motor, sensory, and language function during brain surgery. In 2016, Dr. Sanai was elected to the American Academy of Neurological Surgeons, the most respected academic organization in neurosurgery.
Dr. Sanai oversees all brain tumor research at Barrow Neurological Institute. In 2018, he founded and directs the Ivy Brain Tumor Center, a not-for-profit drug development program for brain tumor patients. Its precision medicine program is the first of its kind worldwide and it specializes in clinical trials designed to accelerate drug development. The Ivy Center includes more than 50 scientists, clinicians, and clinical trial specialists and is a world leader in designing experimental treatments for brain cancer. In 2023, the Ivy Center and the biopharmaceutical company, GSK, reported promising results from a Phase 0 trial in newly diagnosed glioblastoma patients. To translate these findings into the first life-prolonging glioblastoma drug approval in decades, the Ivy Brain Tumor Center announced the initiation of a global Phase 3 clinical trial across 13 countries.
Dr. Sanai’s brain tumor research is funded by more than a dozen external granting agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), as well as foundational support from the Ben & Catherine Ivy Foundation. Dr. Sanai is one of only a handful of neurosurgeons in the United States serving as the principal investigator for multiple NIH and NCI R01 grants and the only neurosurgeon to have led multiple research studies reported in the journals Nature and The New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Sanai has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed publications and delivered over 300 national and international lectures in neuro-oncology. Collectively, Dr. Sanai’s published research has led to more than 30,000 total citations in academic literature.
Please call (602) 406-3181 to request an appointment with Dr. Sanai.


Barrow Brain and Spine
2910 North 3rd Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona 85013
Appointments with Dr. Sanai are on the 2nd floor in the Barrow Brain and Spine clinic.
Complimentary valet parking is available in front of the building. Additional parking is available by entering the parking structure across 3rd Avenue.
Enter via the doors at 2910 N. 3rd Ave. beneath the Barrow Neurological Institute sign. If you park in the parking structure, take the enclosed pedestrian bridge across 3rd Avenue, then enter through the doors on the right side of the bridge.
- (602) 406-3181
- Fax: (602) 406-6110
- Aetna
- Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Cigna
- Medicare Part B
- Mercy Care at the Phoenix and Chandler Locations
- MultiPlan/AMN/RAN
- United Healthcare
- 2009-2010: Fellowship, Barrow Neurological Institute, Skull Base Surgery
- 2007-2009: Postdoctoral Fellowship, UCSF, Neural Stem Cell Biology
- 2004-2009: Residency, UCSF, Neurosurgery
- 2003-2004: Internship, UCSF, General Surgery
- 1998-2003: MD with thesis, UCSF
- BS with thesis, University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Animal Physiology and Neuroscience, summa cum laude, 1998
- BA, UCSD, French Literature, summa cum laude, 1998
- Study Chair, Barrow 5-ALA Intraoperative Confocal Evaluation (BALANCE) Trial
- Co-Director, Brain Tumor Tissue Bank, Barrow Neurological Institute
- Member, St. Joseph’s Hospital Cancer Center Executive Council
- American Association of Cancer Research
- American Society of Clinical Oncology
- American Association of Neurological Surgeons
- Congress of Neurological Surgeons
- Society for Neuroscience
- American Brain Tumor Association
- National Brain Tumor Foundation
- Associate Editor, BMC Cancer
- Ad hoc reviewer, The New England Journal of Medicine, Neurosurgery, Journal of Neuro-Oncology, Neuro-Oncology, Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, Brain, Annals of Neurology, Frontiers in Neurogenesis, Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery
- Francis & Dionne Najafi Professorship in Neurosurgical Oncology, 2019
- J.N. Harber Distinguished Professorship in Neurological Surgery, 2017
- Membership, The American Academy of Neurological Surgery, 2016
- American Society for Clinical Oncology Career Development Award Top Abstract, 2015
- Academy Award, American Academy of Neurological Surgery, 2013
- Preuss Award, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, 2010
- National Brain Tumor Foundation Mahaley Award, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, 2010
- Honorable Mention, 2009 Academy Award, American Academy of Neurological Surgery, 2009
- Howard Naffziger Resident of the Year Award, UCSF Department of Neurological Surgery, 2009
- Guest Editor, Neurosurgery Clinics of North America, Neural Stem Cells Issue, 2007
- Kaiser Award for Clinical Research, San Francisco Neurological Society, 2007
- Invited Lecturer, Frye-Halloran Symposium on Neuro-Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Neurological Surgery, 2005
- Edwin F. Boldrey Award for Basic Science Research, San Francisco Neurological Society, 2004
- Dean’s Research Prize Finalist, UCSF, 1999
- Medical Scholars Program, UCSF, 1998-2003
- Senior of the Year, UCSD, 1997
- Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, 1997-present
- Provost’s Honors, UCSD, 1994-1998
- Department of Biology Honors Program, UCSD, 1994-1998
- Thurgood Marshall College Honors Program, UCSD, 1994-1998
A validated LC-MS/MS method for determination of neuro-pharmacokinetic behavior of niraparib in brain tumor patients.
Date: 08/2024
Authors: William Knight, Tigran Margaryan, Nader Sanai, Artak Tovmasyan
Quisinostat is a brain-penetrant radiosensitizer in glioblastoma
Date: 11/2023
Authors: Costanza Lo Cascio, Tigran Margaryan, Ernesto Luna-Melendez, James B. McNamara, Connor I. White, William Knight, Saisrinidhi Ganta, Zorana Opachich, Claudia Cantoni, Wonsuk Yoo, Nader Sanai, Artak Tovmasyan, Shwetal Mehta
Intraoperative in vivo confocal laser endomicroscopy imaging at glioma margins: can we detect tumor infiltration?
Date: 08/2023
Authors: Yuan Xu, Andrea M. Mathis, Bianca Pollo, Jürgen Schlegel, Theoni Maragkou, Kathleen Seidel, Philippe Schucht, Kris A. Smith, Randall W. Porter, Andreas Raabe, Andrew S. Little, Nader Sanai, Dennis C. Agbanyim, Nikolay L. Martirosyan, Jennifer M. Eschbacher, Karl Quint, Mark C. Preul, Ekkehard Hewer
Evaluation of two-stage designs of Phase 2 single-arm trials in glioblastoma: a systematic review
Date: 12/2022
Authors: Wonsuk Yoo, Seongho Kim, Michael Garcia, Shwetal Mehta, Nader Sanai
Simultaneous determination of LY3214996, abemaciclib, and M2 and M20 metabolites in human plasma, cerebrospinal fluid, and brain tumor by LC-MS/MS
Date: 08/2022
Authors: Tigran Margaryan, Mackenna Elliott, Nader Sanai, Artak Tovmasyan
- English