Our Doctors
Dr. Michael Tobias is a pediatric neurosurgeon with board certifications in both neurological surgery and pediatric neurological surgery. In addition, he is an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Pediatrics at New York Medical College.
Dr. Tobias received his medical degree from Brown University School of Medicine, graduating with honors in neurosurgery. He performed his internship and residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. While Chief Resident there, Dr. Tobias helped establish a new educational curriculum for resident training in pediatric neurosurgery at Montefiore Hospital. Dr. Tobias completed his Pediatric Neurosurgery Fellowship at St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis, TN.
As a pediatric neurosurgeon, Dr. Tobias knows how important it is to make sure families understand what is happening with their child and feel comfortable with the treatment plan.
“We see families at one of the most challenging times of their lives and we want them to understand that they are in the very best hands they can be in,” said Dr. Tobias. “We take the time to explain what is going on and what we are going to do to help their child.”
“One of the things we do very well here is that we’re very collaborative,” he said. “Our families and patients get to know us very well and we are always available to answer any questions they have.”
In addition to his work as a pediatric neurosurgeon, Dr. Tobias is also a sought-after presenter and is the author and co-author of numerous research papers.
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- B.A. in Political Science
Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island - Medical Degree
Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
Post Graduate Training:
- Intern, General Surgery
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York - Resident Neurosurgery
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York - Pediatric Neurosurgery Fellowship
LeBonheur Children’s Medical Center/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee
Certification and Licensure
- New York medical license
- Tennessee medical license
- Federal DEA certificate
- American Board Certified November 2013
Professional Societies
- American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS)
- Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS)
- Pediatric Section Member(AANS/CNS)
- New York Neurosurgical Society (NYNS)
Hospital Appointments:
Current:
- Attending Neurosurgeon
Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, NY
Past:
- Pediatric Neurosurgery Fellow
LeBonheur Children’s Medical Center, Memphis, TN - Pediatric Neurosurgery Fellow
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospita, Memphis, TN
Academic Appointments:
- Assistant Professor
Department of Neurosurgery and Pediatrics New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY
U.S. Patent
1996 U.S. Patent Number 5,493,811: Plant Watering Method and Apparatus Invented and patented a device that automatically waters plants while homeowner is away.
Community Service:
- Member of Project Sunshine – provide services to children with severe illnesses.
- Volunteer for Brown Community Outreach Program – worked with children from Providence Public Schools.
- Faculty Advisor for the National Youth Leadership Forum on medicine in Boston, Massachusetts – instructed high school seniors interested in pursuing a career in medicine.
- Childhood Lead Action Program – screened children for lead poisoning in Providence, Rhode Island.
Personal:
Hobbies include basketball, sailing, harmonica, music, and movies.
- Goldstein I, Tobias ME, Kothbauer K, Jallo G, and Epstein, F. “High
grade spinal cord tumors of the spine: a retrospective study.”
Journal of Neurosurgery (to be submitted). - Tobias, ME, McGirt MJ, Chaichana KL, Goldstein IM, Kothbauer KF,
Epstein F, Jallo GI. “Surgical management of long intramedullary Spinal cord tumors. Childs Nerv Syst. July 2007. - Tobias, ME, Lenart, C, Gokhan, S, Abrahams, J, Mehler, M.
“Induction neurogenesis in a rat model of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion.” Neurosurgery (to be submitted). - Tobias, ME, Silvera, M, Jallo, G, “Spine astrocytoma.” Radiology
Section, Emedicine, pp. 1-10, 2005. - Worked at Rose F. Kennedy Center for research in mental retardation and developmental disabilities at Albert Einstein College of Medicine neuroscience lab. Developed stroke models in rats and mice to investigate different aspects of neurogenesis in the stroke bed, the penumbra, the subventricular zone, and remote areas of the brain.
- Tobias, Michael E. “American medical residency programs: an analysis of New York’s Bell regulations and the training of physicians.” Rhode Island Medicine and Health, volume 81: pp. 284-288, 1998.
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York Neurosurgery PGY-7 Chief Resident
- Rotated at Montefiore Hospital (Bronx, New York) and St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital (Manhattan, New York)
- Established a new educational curriculum with Dr. Rick Abbott and Dr. James Goodrich at Montefiore Hospital for resident training in pediatric neurosurgery. The purpose of this new program is to teach neurosurgery residents and all hospital staff involved in taking care of pediatric neurosurgery patients.
- Approached Integra Neurosciences to redesign their current ventricular-peritoneal shunt system. The new design, which is currently available on their OSV2 and NPH valves, was integrated into many of their shunt systems.
- Brown University School of Medicine, Providence, Rhode Island
- Received Honors in Neurosurgery and Pediatric Neurosurgery
- Received Brown University Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Academic Grand Rounds Award
- Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
- Selected for Brown’s Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME), which combines undergraduate and graduate medical education
- Graduated with Honors in Political Science
- Thesis on “American Medical Residency Programs: A Political Analysis of New York’s Bell Commission.”
- 2012 AANS, accepted for poster presentation at 80th Annual Meeting in Miami, Florida, “Targeting Glioblastoma Multiforme with PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway inhibitors”
- 2011 AANS/CNS Section on Pediatric Neurological Surgery, poster presentation at the 40th Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas, “Endovascular Embolization of Choroid Plexus Papillomas in Reducing Morbidity from Blood Loss”
- 2011 AANS/CNS Section on Pediatric Neurological Surgery, poster presentation at the 40th Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas, “Rapid Magnetic Resonance Imaging as Imaging Modality of Choice in the Post-Operative Period”
- 2010 AANS/CNS Section on Pediatric Neurological Surgery, oral presentation at the 39th Annual Meeting in Cleveland, Ohio, “Validity of Rapid Sequence MagneticResonance Imaging in Pediatric Brain Trauma”
- 2009 AANS/CNS Section on Pediatric Neurological Surgery, poster presentation at the 38th Annual Meeting in Boston, MA, “Acute Suppurative Intracranial Complications of Sinusitis: A Single Institution Experience”
- 2008 AANS/CNS Section on Pediatric Neurological Surgery, oral presentation at the 37th Annual Meeting in Spokane, Washington, “Evaluating the safety of MRI in patients with Vagal Nerve Stimulators”
- 2007 AANS/CNS Section on Pediatric Neurological Surgery, oral presentation at the 36th Annual Meeting in Miami, Florida, “Passive range of motion fMRI accurately localizes the motor strip in children”
- 2007 Neurosurgical Grand Rounds, Westchester Medical Center, visiting lecturer, “Update on Posterior Fossa Tumors in Children”
- 2006 Congress of Neurological Surgeons, poster presentation at 56th Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, “Surgical Resection of Malignant Astrocytomas of the Spinal Cord”
- 2006 American Society of Neuroradiology, oral presentation at the Annual Meeting, San Diego, California, “A Rare Cause of Isolated Third NervePalsy: Spontaneous Hemorrhage vs. Cavernous Malformation”
- 2004 Congress of Neurological Surgeons, oral presentation at the 54th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California, “Induction Neurogenesis in a Rat Model of Transient Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion”
- 2004 New York Neurosurgical Society, oral presentation at the Annual Resident Research Meeting, New York, New York, “Induction Neurogenesis in a Rat Model of Transient Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion”
- 2003 Congress of Neurological Surgeons, poster presentation at the 53rd Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado, “Holocord Tumors of the Spine – Surgical Management and Review of the Literature”
- 2002 Congress of Neurological Surgeons, poster presentation at the 52nd Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, “Malignant Astrocytomas of the Spinal Cord: A Retrospective Study”
- 1999 Congress of Neurological Surgeons, oral presentation at the 49th Annual Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts, “Gamma Knife Radiosurgery in Childhood Malignant Brain Tumors”
Avinash Mohan, MD
Caring for the special surgical needs of children with problems involving the brain, spine, and peripheral nerves takes a lot of training. So much training, in fact, that there are fewer than 200 board-certified pediatric neurosurgeons currently practicing in the United States.
Dr. Avinash Mohan is one of two BSSNY pediatric neurosurgeons and is board-certified in both neurosurgery and pediatric neurosurgery. Dr. Mohan specializes in spina bifida, Chiari malformation, vascular malformations, and hydrocephalus.
“Children who come to our office can’t be treated the same way we would treat adults,” said Dr. Mohan. “They have their own special set of circumstances that must be addressed.”
“They can’t always articulate their pain or sit still while being examined,” he explained. “Our goal as pediatric neurosurgeons is to create a comfortable, non-threatening environment where children can heal.”
Dr. Mohan achieved his undergraduate degree at Johns Hopkins University and received his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Dr. Mohan performed his residency at New York Medical College where he was Chief Resident, and Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
Dr. Mohan has been an author on numerous publications and presentations, as well as the recipient of multiple honors and awards. He is affiliated with several hospitals in the area, including Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, Westchester Medical Center, White Plains Hospital, Stamford Hospital, and Vassar Brothers Medical Center.
One of the aspects Dr. Mohan enjoys most about his work is being able to give great news to the family.
“We always tell families the best surgery is uneventful surgery,” he said. “And when that happens it’s great to be able to tell them that everything is going to be okay.”
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Education:
- B.A. The Johns Hopkins University (Biology and Economics), Baltimore, Maryland
- M.D. Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
Internship and Residency:
- Intern in General Surgery, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY
- Resident in Neurosurgery
- Chief Resident
Fellowships:
- Children’s Memorial Hospital
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
Clinical Fellow in Pediatric Neurosurgery - Research Fellow, Skirball Research Institute, NYU School of Medicine
(Supervisor: Howard Weiner, M.D., Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery)
- Best Resident Abstract, Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, AANS/CNS Section
on Tumors Biennial Symposium - Second Prize, New York State Neurosurgical Society Resident Competition
- Resident Delegate for New York State, Council of State Neurosurgical
Societies - International Elective Scholarship, Case Western Reserve University School
of Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Karnataka, India - Crile Research Fellowship, Case Western Reserve University School of
Medicine - Howard Hughes Undergraduate Research Fellowship, The Johns Hopkins
University - Dean’s List, The Johns Hopkins University
- Alpha Epsilon Delta (national pre-health honor society), The Johns Hopkins
University - Golden Key National Honor Society
- USMLE Step I, II, III Completed
- American Board of Neurological Surgeons, Primary Written Exam Passed
- Bowman RM, Mohan AL, Seibly JM, McClone DG: Tethered cord syndrome: A long-term study of 114 patients. Submitted: Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics.
- Zohrabian VM, Nandu H, Gulati N, Khitrov G, Zhao C, Mohan A, Demattia J, Braun A, Das K, Murali R, Jhanwar-Uniyal M: Gene expression profiling of metastatic brain cancer. Oncology Report 18(2): 321-8, 2007.
- Nagpal J, Jamoona A, Gulati ND, Mohan A, Braun A, Murali R, Jhanwar-Uniyal M: Revisiting the role of p53 in primary and secondary glioblastomas. Anticancer Research 26:3-9: 2006.
- Cutler AR, Siddiqui S, Mohan AL, Hillard VH, Cerabona F, Das K: Comparison of polyetherether ketone cages to femoral cortical allograft as a single piece interbody spacer in transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion. J Neurosurg Spine 5(6): December 2006.
- Sethi NK, Torgovnick J, Mohan A, Hirschfeld A, Zablow B, Omeis I: Images in Clinical Medicine: Hyperdense MCA sign. The Internet Journal of Radiology 4(2): 2006.
- Mokashi A, Mohan AL, Narayan P, Jayabose S: Listless infant in the emergency department. E-Medicine 2005.
- Mohan AL, Slim M, Benzil DL: Knife wound to the posterior fossa in a child. Childs Nerv Syst. 21(3):255-8, 2005.
- Mohan AL, Das K: History of surgery for the correction of spinal deformity. Neurosurg Focus 14(1): 1-5, 2003.
- Couldwell WT, Mohan AL: Enlargement of a vestibular schwannoma after stereotactic radiotherapy. Acta Neurochir (Wien) 144(12): 1319-22, 2002.
- Li Q, Kopecky KJ, Mohan A, Willman CL, Appelbaum FR, Weick JK, Issa JP: Estrogen receptor methylation is associated with improved survival in adult acute myeloid leukemia. Clin Cancer Res 5(5): 1077-84, 1999.
- Issa JP, Kantarjian H, Mohan A, O’Brien S, Cortes J, Pierce S, Talpaz M: Methylation of the ABL1 promoter in chronic myelogenous leukemia: lack of prognostic significance. Blood 93(6): 2075-80, 1999.
- Ahuja N, Li Q, Mohan AL, Baylin SB, Issa JP: Aging and DNA methylation in colorectal mucosa and cancer. Cancer Res 58(23): 5489-94, 1998.
- Ahuja N, Mohan AL, Li Qu, Stolker JM, Herman JG, Hamilton St, Baylin SB, Issa JP:
Association between CpG island methylation and microsatellite instability in colorectal cancer. Cancer Res 57:3370-3374, 1997.
- Mohan AL, Tomita T: Long-term follow-up on CSF Cytology and Arachnoid Biopsy from the Cisterna Magna in Patients with Medulloblastoma. Oral Presentation. International Symposium of Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Annual Meeting, 2008.
- Mohan AL, Seibly JM, McClone DG, Bowman RM: Tethered Cord Syndrome: A Long-term Study of 114 patients. Oral Presentation. AANS/CNS Section of Pediatric Neurosurgery Annual Meeting, 2007.
- Mohan AL, Turnbull DH, Joyner AL, Weiner HL: Activation of Smoothened induces medulloblastomas in mice. Oral Presentation. AANS/CNS Biennial Section on Tumors, 2004.
- Weiner HL, Mohan AL, Pompeiano M, Turnbull DH, Joyner AL: Mutations in the Sonic Hedgehog pathway enhance medulloblastoma induction. Oral Presentation. Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting, 2003.
- Mohan AL, Murali R, Benzil D: Impact of New York State 405 workforce regulations at one institution. American Association of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting, 2003.
- Mohan AL, Hillard V, Omeis I, Murali R, Das K: History of instrumentation for stabilization of the thoracolumbar spine. American Association of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting, 2003.
- Mohan AL and Bowman R. Birth Head Trauma. Youmans Neurological Surgery. Submitted 2008
- Mohan AL and Tomita T. Optic Pathway and Hypothalamic Gliomas in Children. Youmans Neurological Surgery. Submitted 2008.