Nader Sanai, MD

Nader Sanai, MD, is a neurosurgical oncologist who has been internationally recognized for his clinical expertise and research efforts dedicated to the treatment of brain tumors. Dr. Sanai’s clinical practice is devoted entirely to patients with tumors of the brain and spine, including those in high-risk areas. He also has extensive experience using intraoperative mapping to maximize tumor removal while preserving crucial structures controlling motor and language function. Gliomas, meningiomas, metastatic tumors, and complex tumors of the skull base are just some of the tumor types he routinely treats using both operative and radiosurgery techniques.

As the director of the Barrow Brain Tumor Research Center (BBTRC), Dr. Sanai oversees all clinically directed brain tumor research at Barrow Neurological Institute at Dignity Health St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, enabling the program to pioneer new clinical trials for patients with brain tumors. Within the BBTRC, Dr. Sanai also serves as the principal investigator of the stem cell neuro-oncology laboratory, which is funded by over a dozen external granting agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Sanai is one of only a handful of neurosurgeons in the United States serving as the principal investigator of a prestigious NIH R01 grant.

Dr. Sanai attended the University of California at San Diego (UCSD), where he graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in French literature and a BS in physiology and neuroscience. He obtained his doctorate in medicine at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), where he also completed his residency in neurological surgery. In 2009, Dr. Sanai joined Barrow Neurological Institute to complete a clinical fellowship in skull-base surgery with Robert F. Spetzler, MD. He was then recruited by Dr. Spetzler to join Barrow Neurological Institute as director of neurosurgical oncology.