Marcus D. Mazur, MD, FAANS, is a board-certified fellowship-trained spine neurosurgeon. His clinical practice focuses on adult spinal surgery for disorders on the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine. He is a recognized expert in the treatment of adult spinal deformity, complex revision surgery, spinal oncology, and minimally invasive spine surgery. He also practices general neurosurgery.

Dr. Mazur completed his neurosurgery residency at the University of Utah and a postgraduate spine fellowship at the University of Virginia. Prior to joining PNI, he was a tenured faculty member at the University of Utah, where he was the program director of the neurosurgery residency and the director of the neurosurgery spine fellowship.

Dr. Daniel Kelly joins Dr. Stephen Sideroff this week on the Quantum Leadership Podcast.

In this powerful episode of the Quantum Leadership Podcast, Dr. Stephen Sideroff sits down with Dr. Dan Kelly, one of the nation’s leading neurosurgeons and co-founder and director of the Pacific Neuroscience Institute, for an illuminating look at the inner work, vision, and steady courage behind his remarkable leadership journey.

From leaving a secure tenured role at UCLA to create an entirely new model of neuroscience care, to performing high-stakes brain tumor surgeries where a millimeter can change a life, Dan shares what it truly takes to lead with clarity, presence, and heart. He reveals how risk-taking, disciplined innovation, and multidisciplinary collaboration helped him grow PNI from a small three-person nucleus into a nationally recognized institute with more than a dozen centers of excellence.

Dan also opens up about the personal side of leadership: coping with emotionally heavy diagnoses, maintaining balance through meditation and exercise, fostering trust in the operating room, and navigating the enormous pressures of a healthcare system while protecting what matters most: patient outcomes, team wellbeing, and integrity.

His story offers profound lessons for leaders facing uncertainty, complexity, or the need to build something groundbreaking from the ground up.

A meningioma is a type of tumor that arises from the meninges, which are the protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord. It is typically a slow-growing, usually benign tumor, derived from the cells of the arachnoid cap cells or the meningeal cells themselves. Meningiomas are the most common primary brain tumor. Fortunately, most are benign and slow-growing although up to 10% can grow rapidly. They are more common in women than men and can occur in all ages but are typically seen in middle-aged and older adults. Most meningiomas needing surgery can be removed through one of several minimally invasive keyhole approaches.

The Indomitable Dr. Howard Krauss
Guest podcast: Out of the Blindspot with Dr. Ore-ofe Adesina
Originally aired in 2 parts March 10 & April 21, 2025

Dr. Howard Krauss is a pioneering surgical Neuro-ophthalmologist specializing in minimally invasive orbital and oculoplastic surgery and adult strabismus. A leader in ophthalmology and medicine, he has blazed the trail for many who followed his footsteps into this specialty as surgeons. We’ll learn about his formative years including his journey from rocket scientist to neuro-ophthalmologist. We continue our conversation, learning about his experience training to become a surgical neuro-ophthalmologist, his experience as a co-founder of the Pacific Neuroscience Institute, and Dr. Krauss offers some of his thoughts on the current state of our healthcare system, and sage advice to the next generation of aspiring physicians and neuro-ophthalmologists.

Thyroid nodules are growths on your thyroid. They are usually benign (not cancer). They may become overactive and make too much of the thyroid hormone.

All types of hyperthyroidism are due to an overproduction of thyroid hormones. Hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid) causes your thyroid to make more thyroid hormone than your body needs. Hyperthyroidism can accelerate your body functions such as your metabolism (can cause unintentional weight loss) or a rapid or irregular heart rate.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune neurological disorder that affects the central nervous system, specifically the brain and spinal cord. In multiple sclerosis, the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the protective covering of nerve fibers, called myelin, in the central nervous system. This immune-mediated damage disrupts the normal flow of electrical impulses along the nerves, leading to a wide range of neurological symptoms.

For people with MS, exercise and physical activity can be variously challenging. However, being physically active is one of the most beneficial adaptations to a lifestyle with MS. The six pillars of brain health are nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress management, social connection and avoidance of risky substances. Advice and educational resources in these areas are part of our neurologic treatment plan.

Hemifacial Spasm is a potentially debilitating condition where the facial muscles of expression spasm uncontrollably. Botulinum toxin can control the spasm, but in severe cases, minimally invasive surgery for microvascular decompression of the facial nerve is more efficacious.

Listen to Chris B's story as he dealt with this issue and sought definitive care at the Pacific Neuroscience Institute with Dr. Garni Barkhoudarian and Dr. Melita Petrossian.

The Pacific Brain Tumor Center and Pacific Pituitary Disorders Center offers a 1-year neurosurgery fellowship in minimally invasive surgery for brain, pituitary and skull base tumors. Our clinical training program is focused on endoscopic endonasal and keyhole surgical approaches, neuro-endoscopy, pituitary tumor management and multimodality neuro-oncology treatments. The fellowship emphasizes operative and peri-operative patient management, outpatient evaluation of new patients and follow-up patients as well as clinical and anatomical laboratory research projects. The fellowship is integrated into the Saint John's Cancer Institute Surgical Oncology Fellowship.

Qualified applicants must have completed training in an ACGME-accredited neurosurgical residency program and be eligible for a California medical license.

Our memory isn't just a passive function. Just like our muscles, it's something that can be trained, optimized, and protected. Subtle changes in our memory can signal the earliest stages of cognitive decline, but preventative interventions can make a huge difference. That's exactly what Dr. Karen Miller, Senior Director of the Brain Wellness and Lifestyle Program at PNI, helps her patients achieve. Dr. Miller specializes in personalized approaches to improve brain health. One technique is the "memory palace," a method that links information to familiar places and strengthens one's ability to recall information. In this episode, learn how Dr. Miller combines cognitive training with lifestyle factors like exercise, nutrition, and social engagement to help patients preserve and improve their brain health.

Spinal disorders may be caused by spine trauma, genetic components or disease including cancer. As the backbone is made of bone, a misconception is that all spine issues are taken care of by orthopedic surgeons. In reality, neurosurgeons are integrally involved in spinal surgery due to the delicate nature and proximity of major nerves in these regions.

To meet the need for a specialty spine center in the South Bay area, in 2019, Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center Torrance opened its state-of-the-art Spine Institute, bringing together a multidisciplinary team of surgical experts of neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons, and capitalized on the hospital’s already nationally recognized rehabilitation centers.

The Spine Institute at Providence Little Company of Mary is now the only comprehensive spinal treatment center in the South Bay. The institute cares for all emergency and conventional neuro-spinal disorders, focusing on advanced minimally invasive spinal procedures.