Research Summary

Dr. Sandeep Kunwar is a neurosurgeon with a special interest in pituitary tumors, including craniopharyngiomas. He uses minimally invasive surgical techniques to treat patients with these disorders. He cares for pediatric patients in collaboration with the pediatric neurosurgery team.

Kunwar earned his medical degree at UCSF, where he also completed an internship and a residency. As a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Scholar, he worked in the laboratory of molecular biology at the National Cancer Institute.

Education

Fellowship, 1998 - Brain Tumor Research Center, UCSF Medical Center
Residency, 1998 - Neurological Surgery, UCSF Medical Center
1993 - , UCSF School of Medicine

Selected Publications

  1. Peeran Z, Shukla P, Tummala T, Kabir A, Osorio RC, Kourkoulakos C, Brumm ZG, Joe I, Lui A, Badani A, Khela HS, Young JS, El-Sayed IH, Gurrola JG, Theodosopoulos P, Blevins L, Kunwar S, Aghi MK. Prognostic value of postoperative day 1 prolactin following prolactinoma resection. J Neurosurg. 2026 Sep 01; 145(3):655-670. View on PubMed
  2. Shukla PD, Peeran Z, Osorio RC, Rajidi A, Lui A, Negussie M, Mehari M, Ramesh R, Dada A, Kabir A, Khela HS, Yamada H, Badani A, Tummala T, Blevins L, Kunwar S, Aghi MK. Resection versus fenestration for Rathke's cleft cysts: a propensity score-matched analysis of long-term outcomes. J Neurosurg. 2026 Jul 01; 145(1):92-102. View on PubMed
  3. Quintana D, Ramesh R, Osorio RC, Shoap W, McMillan Villalobos P, Theodosopoulos PV, Kunwar S, Gurrola J, El Sayed IH, Aghi MK, Goldschmidt E. Geographic and Socioeconomic Predictors of Early Follow-Up Loss in Patients Undergoing Pituitary Neuroendocrine Tumors (PitNETs) Resection: A Retrospective Review of 1143 Cases. World Neurosurg. 2026 Jan; 205:124643. View on PubMed
  4. Shih PE, Osorio RC, Leng L, Lugo BM, Gupta S, Blevins L, Theodosopoulos P, Gurrola J, El Sayed IH, Kunwar S, Villanueva-Meyer J, Aghi MK. Hyperenhancement of pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs) on preoperative MRI: implications on tumor characteristics and outcomes. J Clin Neurosci. 2026 Jan; 143:111747. View on PubMed
  5. Peeran Z, Osorio RC, Perez M, Kabir AS, Mehari M, Dada A, Badani A, Khela HS, Young JS, El-Sayed IH, Gurrola JG, Theodosopoulos P, Blevins L, Kunwar S, Aghi MK. Functional Gonadotroph Adenomas in Male Patients: Clinical Characteristics, Surgical Outcomes, and Hormonal Follow-up. Oper Neurosurg. 2026 May 01; 30(5):718-731. View on PubMed
  6. Quintana D, Ramesh R, Shoap W, Osorio RC, Jimenez C, Theodosopoulos PV, Kunwar S, Gurrola J, El-Sayed IH, Aghi MK, Goldschmidt E. Association of non-English language preference with tumor characteristics and postoperative outcomes following pituitary neuroendocrine tumor resection:
a retrospective review of 1143 cases. J Neurosurg. 2025 Nov 01; 143(5):1387-1397. View on PubMed
  7. Osorio RC, Kabir A, Haddad AF, Badani A, Khela H, Saha A, Juncker R, Peeran Z, Theodosopoulos P, Kunwar S, Gurrola J, El-Sayed IH, Blevins L, Aghi MK. Preoperative predictors of biochemical remission in somatotroph adenoma resections: a single-institution retrospective review. J Neurosurg. 2025 Mar 01; 142(3):756-765. View on PubMed
  8. Terry M, Nguyen MP, Tang V, Guney E, Bharani KL, Dahiya S, Choutka O, Borys E, Reis G, Blevins L, Aghi MK, Kunwar S, DeGroot J, Raleigh DR, Pekmezci M, Bollen AW, Cha S, Joseph NM, Perry A. High-Grade Progression, Sarcomatous Transformation, and/or Metastasis of Pituitary Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (PitNENs): The UCSF Experience. Endocr Pathol. 2024 Dec; 35(4):338-348. View on PubMed
  9. Weber RJ, Kawaja C, Wallerstein R, Kunwar SM, Liu C. Impaired 11β-HSD1 Activity in a Male Patient With Cushing Disease Resulting in Lack of the Full Cushingoid Phenotype. JCEM Case Rep. 2024 Sep; 2(9):luae158. View on PubMed
  10. Osorio RC, Haddad AF, Hart DM, Goldrich N, Badani A, Kabir AS, Juncker R, Oh JY, Carrete L, Peeran Z, Chalif EJ, Zheng AC, Braunstein S, Theodosopoulos PV, El-Sayed IH, Gurrola J, Kunwar S, Blevins LS, Aghi MK. Socioeconomic differences between medically and surgically treated prolactinomas: a retrospective review of 598 patients. J Neurosurg. 2024 03 01; 140(3):712-723. View on PubMed
  11. Osorio RC, Aabedi AA, Carson W, Badani A, Chalif E, Theodosopoulos PV, Kunwar S, Aghi MK, Goldschmidt E. Risk Factors for Significant Postoperative Hemorrhage After Pituitary Neuroendocrine Tumor Resection: A Case-Control Study of 1066 Surgeries. Neurosurgery. 2023 07 01; 93(1):206-214. View on PubMed
  12. Srejic U, Litonius E, Gandhi S, Talke P, Maties O, Siegmueller C, Magsaysay A, Hasen D, Kunwar S, Seth R, Gibson L, Bickler P. Bilateral Superficial Trigeminal Nerve Blocks are not More Effective than a Placebo in Abolishing Post-operative Headache Pain in Pituitary Transsphenoidal Neurosurgery: A Prospective, Randomized, Doubleblinded Clinical Trial. Rev Recent Clin Trials. 2023; 18(3):228-237. View on PubMed
  13. Osorio RC, Pereira MP, Oh T, Joshi RS, Haddad AF, Pereira KM, Donohue KC, Peeran Z, Carson W, Badani A, Wang EJ, Sudhir S, Chandra A, Jain S, Beniwal A, Gurrola J, El-Sayed IH, Blevins LS, Theodosopoulos PV, Kunwar S, Aghi MK. Correlation between tumor volume and serum prolactin and its effect on surgical outcomes in a cohort of 219 prolactinoma patients. J Neurosurg. 2023 Jun 01; 138(6):1669-1679. View on PubMed
  14. Cummins DD, Morshed RA, Tihan T, Kunwar S. Calcifying pseudoneoplasm of the neuraxis within the sellar region: illustrative case. J Neurosurg Case Lessons. 2022 Apr 18; 3(16). View on PubMed
  15. Joshi RS, Pereira MP, Osorio RC, Oh T, Haddad AF, Pereira KM, Donohue KC, Peeran Z, Sudhir S, Jain S, Beniwal A, Chandra A, Han SJ, Rolston JD, Theodosopoulos PV, Kunwar S, Blevins LS, Aghi MK. Identifying risk factors for postoperative diabetes insipidus in more than 2500 patients undergoing transsphenoidal surgery: a single-institution experience. J Neurosurg. 2022 Sep 01; 137(3):647-657. View on PubMed
  16. Osorio RC, Pereira MP, Joshi RS, Donohue KC, Sneed P, Braunstein S, Theodosopoulos PV, El-Sayed IH, Gurrola J, Kunwar S, Blevins LS, Aghi MK. Socioeconomic predictors of case presentations and outcomes in 225 nonfunctional pituitary adenoma resections. J Neurosurg. 2022 May 01; 136(5):1325-1336. View on PubMed
  17. Silverstein JW, Block J, Smith ML, Bomback DA, Sanderson S, Paul J, Ball H, Ellis JA, Goldstein M, Kramer DL, Arutyunyan G, Marcus J, Mermelstein S, Slosar P, Goldthwaite N, Lee SI, Reynolds J, Riordan M, Pirnia N, Kunwar S, Abbi G, Bizzini B, Gupta S, Porter D, Mermelstein LE. Femoral nerve neuromonitoring for lateral lumbar interbody fusion surgery. Spine J. 2022 02; 22(2):296-304. View on PubMed
  18. Young JS, Oh T, Arora T, Blevins LS, Aghi MK, El-Sayed IH, Kunwar S, Theodosopoulos PV. Letter: COVID Conundrum: Postoperative COVID-19 Infections Following Endonasal Transsphenoidal Pituitary Surgery. Neurosurgery. 2021 05 13; 88(6):E571-E572. View on PubMed
  19. Ammanuel SG, Edwards CS, Chan AK, Mummaneni PV, Kidane J, Vargas E, D'Souza S, Nichols AD, Sankaran S, Abla AA, Aghi MK, Chang EF, Hervey-Jumper SL, Kunwar S, Larson PS, Lawton MT, Starr PA, Theodosopoulos PV, Berger MS, McDermott MW. Are preoperative chlorhexidine gluconate showers associated with a reduction in surgical site infection following craniotomy? A retrospective cohort analysis of 3126 surgical procedures. J Neurosurg. 2021 12 01; 135(6):1889-1897. View on PubMed
  20. Pereira MP, Oh T, Joshi RS, Haddad AF, Pereira KM, Osorio RC, Donohue KC, Peeran Z, Sudhir S, Jain S, Beniwal A, Gurrola J, El-Sayed IH, Blevins LS, Theodosopoulos PV, Kunwar S, Aghi MK. Clinical characteristics and outcomes in elderly patients undergoing transsphenoidal surgery for nonfunctioning pituitary adenoma. Neurosurg Focus. 2020 10; 49(4):E19. View on PubMed

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