UCSF Neurological Surgery faculty since 1997
 
Read about Dr. Berger's current research
 
Dr. Berger's main clinical interests are the treatment of brain and spinal cord tumors in adults and children and of epilepsy related to brain tumors. He has extensive expertise in intraoperative mapping of the brain to identify the sites of motor, sensory, and language function and thereby avoid their involvement or injury during surgery. Dr. Berger is Director of the Adult Hydrocephalus and Shunt Program, and he also practices in the Neuro-Oncology Program and the Radiosurgery Program.
 
His current research interests involve identifying molecular markers in gliomas as correlates of tumor progression and prognosis. This is done in conjunction with the Molecular Marker Core of the BTRC. He also works in conjunction with Dr. Krys Bankiewicz to test small molecule inhibitors in brain tumors using the drug delivery technique of convection enhanced delivery. He is a co-investigator with Dr. John Park in UCSF's Comprehensive Cancer Center to develop immunoliposome-directed targeted therapy for treating gliomas that express EGF receptors. Other collaborations include functional mapping localization of language pathways in the brain in conjunction with Dr. Robert Knight and the Cognitive Neuroscience Graduate Program at UC Berkeley. Dr. Berger is currently the Principal Investigator of UCSF's SPORE Brain Tumor Program and the BTRC's Program Project Grant in Neuro-Oncology, both of which are funded by the National Cancer Institute and NINDS.
 
Education, Training, and Previous Positions
 
1974: BA, Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts
1979: MD, University of Miami School of Medicine
1979-1980: Internship, UCSF
1980-1985: Residency in Neurological Surgery, UCSF
1985: Clinical Fellowship in Neuro-oncology, Brain Tumor Research Center at UCSF
1986: Fellowship in Pediatric Neurosurgery, Department of Neurosurgery, Hospital for Sick Children of the University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
1986: Assistant Professor, Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle/Concomitant appointments as Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgical Oncology at the Children's Hospital and Medical Center in Seattle and Chief of the Northwest Neuro-Oncology Research & Therapy Section at the University of Washington
1990: Associate Professor at the University of Washington
1996: Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Washington
 
Selected Professional Memberships and Appointments
 
Board of Directors, American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS)
American Academy of Neurological Surgery
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for Cancer Research
American College of Surgeons
American Society of Clinical Oncology
American Society of Gene Therapy
American Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery
California Association of Neurological Surgeons
Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS)
Joint Tumor Section, AANS and CNS National Tuberous Sclerosis Association
Neurosurgical Society of American
Pediatric Section, AANS and CNS
San Francisco Medical Society
Society of Neurological Surgeons
Society for Neuro-Oncology
Society of Surgical Oncology
Vanderbilt Meacham Society
World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies
Medical Advisor, North American Brain Tumor Coalition
Executive Council, American Brain Tumor Association
Advisory Council, National Brain Tumor Foundation
Editorial board: The American Journal of Neuroradiology
Editorial board: The Journal of Neuro-Oncology
Editorial board: Journal of Neurosurgery
Editorial board: Neuro-Oncology
Editorial board: Neurosurgery
Editorial board: Operative Neurosurgery
Editorial board: Techniques in Neurosurgery
 
Selected Honors and Awards
 
1979: Lange Medical Publishing Company Medical Student Award for Outstanding Academic Performance, University of Miami School of Medicine
1979: Alpha Omega Alpha Award for Best Patient-Student Physician Relationship During Clinical Clerkships, University of Miami School of Medicine
1983: Donald Matson Award in Pediatric Neurosurgical Research from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS)
1991: Diplomate of the American Board of Neurological Surgery
1993: Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS)
1994: Appointed to the Executive Committee of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons
1997: President of the Society for Neuro-Oncology
1997-1998: Vice President of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons
1997-present: Director of the Brain Tumor Research Center, UCSF
1999: Appointment to the Board of Directors of the California Division of the American Cancer Society (ACS)
2002-present: America's Top Doctors, Castle Connolly Medical Ltd.
2004: UCSF Medical Center THANKS Star Award for exceptional contribution
2005-2006: Appointed Chairman of the Scientific Program Committee, AANS Annual Meeting
2006: Ronald L. Bittner Lecturer, Tumor Section, AANS Annual Meeting
2006: Farber Award, AANS Annual Meeting
2006: Jeannette and Bernard S. Post MD Endowed Lecturer, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine
2006: UCSF Medical Center THANKS Star Award for exceptional contribution
2007: Appointed to Directorship, American Board of Neurological Surgeons
 
Contact
 
Mitchel S. Berger MD
University of California, San Francisco
Department of Neurological Surgery
505 Parnassus Ave. Rm. M779
San Francisco, CA 94143-0112
Phone: (415) 353-3933 (academic)
            (415) 353-2637 (clinical)
 
Selected Recent Publications
 
Books
 
Bernstein M, Berger MS (eds): Neuro-Oncology: The Essentials, Second Edition. Thieme, New York, 2007, In Press.
 
Bernstein M, Berger MS (eds): Neuro-Oncology: The Essentials. Thieme, New York, 2000, 528 pp.
 
Berger MS, Wilson CD (eds): The Gliomas. WB Saunders, Philadelphia, 1998, 796 pp.
 
Berger MS (guest ed): Neurosurgery Clinics of North America, Pediatric Neuro-Oncology (vol 3, no 4). WB Saunders, Philadelphia, October 1992.
 
Articles
 
Nagarajan S, Kirsch H, Lin P, Findlay A, Honma S, Berger MS. Preoperative localization of hand motor cortex by adaptive spatial filtering of magnetoencephalography data. J Neurosurg 2008;109(2):228-37.
 
Sanai N, Berger MS. Glioma Extent of Resection and Its Impact on Patient Outcome. Neurosurgery 2008;62(4):753-66.
 
Dickinson PJ, LeCouteur RA, Higgins RJ, Bringas JR, Roberts B, Larson RF, Yamashita Y, Krauze M, Noble CO, Drummond D, Kirpotin DB, Park JW, Berger MS, Bankiewicz KS. Canine model of convection-enhanced delivery of liposomes containing CPT-11 monitored with real-time magnetic resonance imaging: laboratory investigation. J Neurosurg 2008;108(5):989-98.
 
Smith JS, Chang EF, Lamborn KR, Chang SM, Prados MD, Cha S, Tihan T, Vandenberg S, McDermott MW, Berger MS. Role of extent of resection in the long-term outcome of low-grade hemispheric gliomas. J Clin Oncol 2008;26(8):1338-45.
 
Chang EF, Potts MB, Keles GE, Lamborn KR, Chang SM, Barbaro NM, Berger MS. Seizure characteristics and control following resection in 332 patients with low-grade gliomas. J Neurosurg 2008;108(2):227-35.
 
Sanai N, Mirzadeh Z, Berger MS. Functional Outcome after Language Mapping for Glioma Resection. N Engl J Med 2008;358(1):18-27.
 
Sanai N, Berger MS, Garcia-Verdugo JM, Alvarez-Buylla A. Comment on "Human neuroblasts migrate to the olfactory bulb via a lateral ventricular extension". Science 2007;318(5849):393.
 
Panner A, Murray JC, Berger MS, Pieper RO. Heat shock protein 90alpha recruits FLIPS to the death-inducing signaling complex and contributes to TRAIL resistance in human glioma. Cancer Res 2007;67(19):9482-9.
 
Guggisberg AG, Honma SM, Findlay AM, Dalal SS, Kirsch HE, Berger MS, Nagarajan SS. Mapping functional connectivity in patients with brain lesions. Ann Neurol 2007;63(2):193-203.
 
Dinca EB, Sarkaria JN, Schroeder MA, Carlson BL, Voicu R, Gupta N, Berger MS, James CD. Bioluminescence monitoring of intracranial glioblastoma xenograft: response to primary and salvage temozolomide therapy. J Neurosurg 2007;107(3):610-6.
 
Kirsch HE, Zhu Z, Honma S, Findlay A, Berger MS, Nagarajan SS. Predicting the location of mouth motor cortex in patients with brain tumors by using somatosensory evoked field measurements. J Neurosurg 2007;107(3):481-7.
 
Cha S, Lupo JM, Chen MH, Lamborn KR, McDermott MW, Berger MS, Nelson SJ, Dillon WP. Differentiation of glioblastoma multiforme and single brain metastasis by peak height and percentage of signal intensity recovery derived from dynamic susceptibility-weighted contrast-enhanced perfusion MR imaging. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 2007;28(6):1078-84.
 
Lim DA, Cha S, Mayo MC, Chen MH, Keles E, VandenBerg S, Berger MS. Relationship of glioblastoma to neural stem cell regions predicts invasive and multifocal tumor phenotype. Neuro-Oncol 2007;9(4):424-9.
 
Berger MS, Hadjipanayis CG. Surgery of intrinsic cerebral tumors. Neurosurgery 2007;(61)1:279-304.
 
Chen AM, Chang S, Pouliot J, Sneed PK, Prados MD, Lamborn KR, Malec M, McDermott MW, Berger MS, Larson DA. Phase I trail of gross total resection, permanent Iodine-125 brachytherapy, and hyperfractionated radiotherapy for newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2007;69(3):825-30.
 
Wiencke, J, Zheng S, Jelluma N, Tihan T, VandenBerg S, Tamguney T, Baumber R, Parsons R, Lamborn NK, Berger MS, Wrensch MR, Haas-Kogan DA, Stokoe D. Methylation of the PTEN promoter defines low-grade gliomas and secondary glioblastoma multiforme NeuroOncol 2007;9(3):271-9.
 
Bobola, MD, Blank A, Berger MS, Silber JR. O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase deficiency in developing brain: Implications for brain tumorigenesis. DNA Repair (Amst). 2007;6(8):1127-33.
 
Josephson SA, Papanastassiou AM, Berger MS, Barbaro NM, McDermott MW, Hilton JF, Miller BL, Geschwind MD. The diagnostic utility of brain biopsy procedures in patients with rapidly deteriorating neurological conditions or dementia. J Neurosurg 2007;106(1):72-5.
 
McKnight TR, Lamborn KR, Love TD, Berger MS, Chang S, Dillon WP, Bollen A, Nelson SJ. Correlation of magnetic resonance spectroscopic and growth characteristics within Grades II and III gliomas. J Neurosurg 2007;106(4):660-6.
 
Butowski N, Lamborn KR, Berger MS, Prados MD, Chang SM. Historical controls for phase II surgically based trials requiring gross total resection of glioblastoma multiforme. J Neurooncol 2007;85(1):87-94.
 
Kunwar S, Prados MD, Chang SM, Berger MS, Lang FF, Piepmeier JM, Sampson JH, Ram Z, Gutin PH, Gibbons RD, Aldape KD, Croteau DJ, Sherman JW, Puri RK; Cintredekin Besudotox Intraparenchymal Study Group. Direct intracerebral delivery of cintredekin besudotox (IL13-PE38QQR) in recurrent malignant glioma: a report by the Cintredekin Besudotox Intraparenchymal Study Group. J Clin Oncol 2007;25(7):837-44.
 
Katayama M, Kawaguchi T, Berger MS, Pieper RO. DNA damaging agent-induced autophagy produces a cytoprotective adenosine triphosphate surge in malignant glioma cells. Cell Death Differ 2007;14(3):548-58.
 
Keles GE, Chang EF, Lamborn KR, Tihan T, Chang CJ, Chang SM, Berger MS. Volumetric extent of resection and residual contrast enhancement on initial surgery as predictors of outcome in adult patients with hemispheric anaplastic astrocytoma. J Neurosurg 2006;105(1):34-40.
 
Panner A, Nakamura JL, Parsa AT, Rodriguez-Viciana P, Berger MS, Stokoe D, Pieper RO. mTOR-independent translational control of the extrinsic cell death pathway by RalA. Mol Cell Biol 2006;26(20):7345-57.
 
Fisher JL, Schwartzbaum JA, Wrensch M, Berger MS. Evaluation of epidemiologic evidence for primary adult brain tumor risk factors using evidence-based medicine [Review]. Prog Neurol Surg 2006;19:54-79.
 
Quinones-Hinojosa A, Sanai N, Soriano-Navarro M, Gonzalez-Perez O, Mirzadeh Z, Gil-Perotin S, Romero-Rodriguez R, Berger MS, Garcia-Verdugo JM, Alvarez-Buylla A. Cellular composition and cytoarchitecture of the adult human subventricular zone: a niche of neural stem cells. J Comp Neurol 2006;494(3):415-34.
 
Sanai N, Alvarez-Buylla A, Berger MS. Neural stem cells and the origin of gliomas [Review]. N Engl J Med 2005;353(8):811-22.
 
Book Chapters
 
Sanai N, Berger MS. Maximizing Extent of Tumor Resection While Minimizing Morbidity: Possible Effect of Outcome? In: 2007 ASCO Educational Book, pp 165-70
 
Fisher JL, Schwartzbaum JA, Wrensch M, Berger MS. Evaluation of Epidemiologic Evidence for Primary Adult Brain Tumor Risk Factors Using Evidence-Based Medicine. In: Guiding Neurosurgery By Evidence, Pollock BF (ed): Prog Neurol Surg, Basel, Karger 2006, vol 19, pp 54-79.
 
Fisher JL, Schwartzbaum JA, Wrensch M, Berger MS. Evaluation of Epidemiologic Evidence for Primary Adult Brain Tumor Risk Factors Using Evidence-Based Medicine. Review of Neurological Surgery by Evidence-based Medicine Standards In Progress in Neurological Surgery, Vol 19. Pollock BE (ed), S Karger AG, Basel, Switzerland 2006, pp 54-79.