Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery
UCSD Neurosurgery
Michael Levy, MD, PhD, FACS, FAANS is a UCSD Professor of Surgery and Division Head of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Rady Children's Hospital of San Diego.
He has evaluated the longevity and outcome in children with brain tumors and the relationship of certain variables and treatments to their to survival. He has also evaluated survival and predicted models of outcome including surgical management in pediatric and adolescent cerebrovascular malformations.
A gifted teacher, Dr. Levy, serves as a professor in the UCSD Neurosurgery resident training program, inspiring the next generation of pediatric neurosurgeons. He has served as an invited speaker at both the National in international levels and has over 470 peer-review publications. One of his primary interests is related to the development of international relationships with other neurosurgical programs. He is involved in numerous Charitable organizations including INCA, the Cross Border Neuro-Oncology program Twinning Project with Hospital General Tijuana, the Autism Tree Project Foundation, and the Holy Innocents Children's Hospital in Mbarara, Uganda.
His vascular research includes the relationships of cerebral blood flow to cardiac output in pediatric patients with aneurysmally induced subarachnoid hemorrhage and vasospasm. His research has led to treatments with both hyperdynamic protocols and the use of inotropes throughout the country. Further research involves the use 3D imaging and stereolithographic modeling of pediatric aneurysmal malformations and arteriovenous malformations. He also studies 3-dimensional representations of the central nervous system and the relationship of neoplastic and vascular abnormalities to functional structures to maximize both neurosurgical approaches and patient outcome in children.
Dr. Levy's other interests include technical methodologies within neurosurgery. He has developed novel techniques of intervention for children and adults using modified endoscopes for catheter placement within the ventricular system of the brain, and using endoscopes as adjuvants during microsurgery. He has further developed picture-in-picture image graphics for the operating microscope and the use of head mounted display systems for both endoscopic and microscopic neurosurgical procedures. He completed his neurosurgical residency at the University of Southern California (USC). He also obtained a PhD degree in biophysics from USC. He then completed a two-year fellowship in pediatric neurological surgery at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. He earned his medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and is board-certified in both Neurosurgery and Pediatric Neurosurgery.