08/01/2018
We'd like to give a big welcome to Dr. Anil Nanda!! New Chair of Neurosurgery at NJMS/RWJ & VP of Neurosurgery at RWJBarnabas Health.
Dear Faculty, Staff, and Students:
In a move that will greatly expand our organizations’ neurosurgical profile and capabilities at a global level, we are thrilled to announce the appointment of Anil Nanda, MD, MPH, as the joint chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, effective July 1. In addition to his academic and clinical roles at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Dr. Nanda will serve as the senior vice president for neurosurgical services at RWJBarnabas Health, effecting a transformational change in the provision of neurosurgical care throughout the health system and Rutgers Health.
In these roles, he aims to lead the development of a dynamic neurosciences institute that will provide high-quality healthcare in a compassionate setting, creating a statewide neurosciences network and nationally recognized “destination” neurosciences center. He seeks to strengthen and expand endovascular services, as well as care for neurotrauma, peripheral nerve, neuro-oncology, stroke, spine and other affiliated specialties. In addition to enhancements in clinical services, Dr. Nanda envisions a department with increased research capabilities and funding, as well as expanded residency training and CME programs.
Internationally renowned for his clinical, research and academic achievements, Dr. Nanda was professor and founding chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center—Shreveport. Over the past 27 years of his leadership, the department’s reputation grew exponentially, becoming internationally known not only for its expertise and Dr. Nanda’s vision, but also its residency training program, which he launched in 2003. It is now the largest neurosurgery residency program in the state of Louisiana. He was also instrumental in building the department’s Gamma Knife Radiosurgery and Neuroendovascular programs.
Dr. Nanda has been recognized as a global leader in neurosurgery by the World Federation of Neurological Societies. He has held significant leadership roles in numerous professional organizations, including the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, for which he serves as Secretary; the American Academy of Neurological Surgery; the Congress of Neurological Surgeons; the Society of Neurological Surgeons (past vice president); the North American Skull Base Society (past president); Southern Neurosurgical Society (past president); and Society of University Neurosurgeons (past president), as well as many others at state, national and international levels. Dr. Nanda also serves as director of the American Board of Neurological Surgery (ABNS).
With more than 17,000 surgeries, 2,000 of which were performed for skull base tumors and aneurysms, Dr. Nanda is considered an expert in several advanced neurosurgical techniques. He specializes in skull base, vascular and spinal neurosurgery, including Gamma Knife radiosurgery.
A highly regarded lecturer and visiting professor at national and international conferences, with hundreds of presentations to his credit, Dr. Nanda has published more than 460 articles and 45 commentaries in peer-reviewed and professional journals, as well as authored two books and four dozen book chapters. He is publishing two additional books, including Complications in Neurosurgery, this year. He currently serves as a reviewer on more than two dozen peer-reviewed journals.
Dr. Nanda has received recognition as an Outstanding Leader of 2005 by The Shreveport Times, induction into the Junior Achievement of North Louisiana 2011 Business Hall of Fame for leadership, determination, ethics, and giving back to the community, and inclusion among the Best Doctors in America list consecutively from 1996 through 2017.
A New York native, Dr. Nanda earned his medical degree with honors from Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Madras University, in India. He completed an internship in surgical oncology from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, followed by a residency in general surgery at Rush–Presbyterian–St. Luke’s Hospital in Chicago (now Rush University Medical Center); in neurosurgery at Hahnemann University School of Medicine, Philadelphia; and in pediatric neurosurgery at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He completed fellowship training in microneurosurgery and cranial base surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh.
In 2012, Dr. Nanda earned his Master of Public Health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health. As part of his curriculum, he helped pass the Louisiana Youth Concussion Law, requiring all schools, clubs and other organizations that sponsor youth athletics to provide athletes and their parents with information about concussion and the potential long-term effects of playing after a head injury. In 2017, he was awarded a Doctorate of Humane Letters by Centenary College and gave its commencement address.
Dr. Nanda and his wife Laura, an attorney and Rutgers alumna, have three children.
We are excited to have him guiding us into the next phase of our journey, enhancing Rutgers’ reputation among the top tier of neurosurgical care. Please join us in welcoming him to his new position.
Regards,
Sherine E. Gabriel, MD, MSc
Distinguished Professor and Dean
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
&
Robert L. Johnson, MD, FAAP
The Sharon & Joseph L. Muscarelle Endowed Dean
New Jersey Medical School
