Department Overview

The Department of Neurosurgery at Rutgers Health and RWJBarnanbas Health provides comprehensive adult and pediatric neurosurgical services for conditions relating to the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves. Led by expert faculty physicians affiliated with Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and RWJBarnabas Health, our team of specialists works collaboratively with other specialties to ensure the highest quality of care, even for the most complex cases.

About the Chair

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 professional organizations, including the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, for which he serves as Secretary; the North American Skull Base Society (past president); Southern Neurosurgical Society (past president); the Society of University Neurosurgeons (past president); and the Society of Neurological Surgeons (past vice president), as well as many others at state, national and international levels. Dr. Nanda also serves as director and vice chair of the American Board of Neurological Surgery (ABNS).

With more than 16,000 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. He has been included among the Best Doctors in America list consecutively from 1996 through 2018.

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 peerreviewed and professional journals, as well as authored four books and four dozen book chapters. He currently serves as a reviewer on more than two dozen peer-reviewed journals.

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 micro neurosurgery 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.