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Neurosurgery Research

Research Overview

My research and training to date highlight my commitment to advancing the field of neurosurgery. I graduated from Yale with a B.A. in political science and a focus on neurovascular research. Interested in understanding the molecular biologic basis for cerebrovascular anomalies, I studied the proteins encoded by the 3 genes known to be mutated in familial cerebral cavernous malformations-Krit1, Malcalvernin, and PDCD10 in the Gunel Lab. As a medical student at Stanford University, I studied vascular injury and repair through stem cell homing and recruitment in the Rabinovitch Lab and was then awarded a one-year Howard Hughes Research Fellowship at the NIH to focus on mesenchymal stem cell biology in the Tuan Lab. As a neurosurgery resident at Massachusetts General Hospital, my clinical interest in vascular injury and dysregulation extended beyond primary vascular pathologies to oncologic processes as well.

As a post-doctoral fellow in the Boston Children’s Vascular Biology Program at Harvard, I began formulating my research questions with a focus on bench to bedside translation. Under the mentorship of both Edward Smith, M.D. and Marsha Moses, PhD., I studied urinary biomarkers and discovered a urinary biomarker fingerprint unique to juvenile pilocytic astrocytomas. This non-invasive test serves as a potential adjunct tool for long-term clinical follow in low grade glioma. Under the same mentorship, I have studied the role of axonal guidance factors in congenital pediatric neurovascular disease and have demonstrated contributions to pathologic vascular endothelial dysfunction. This work has been presented on a national level at both the International Stroke Conference as well as the AANS/CNS Pediatric section meetings.

Education

Undergraduate School

Yale University
2004 New Haven CT

Medical School

Stanford University
2010 Palo Alto CA

Internship

Massachusetts General Hospital
2011 Boston MA

Residency

Massachusetts General Hospital
2017 Boston MA

Fellowship

Boston Children's Hospital
2018 Boston MA

Media

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Meet. Dr. Katie Pricola Fehnel

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Publications

  1. Evolving approaches to craniopharyngioma diagnosis. Neurosurg Focus. 2026 06 01; 60(6):E12. View Abstract
  2. An Emerging Pediatric CNS Tumor: Imaging Evaluation of H3K27M and BRAF V600E Comutated Midline Tumors. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2026 Mar 04; 47(3):809-815. View Abstract
  3. H3K27M- and BRAF V600E-Altered gliomas and glioneuronal tumors-clinico-pathologic and radiologic perspective in a cohort treated with targeted therapy. Neurooncol Adv. 2025 Jan-Dec; 7(1):vdaf197. View Abstract
  4. Characteristics and management of neurenteric cysts in the pediatric population: patient series. J Neurosurg Case Lessons. 2025 Jul 28; 10(4). View Abstract
  5. The Role of Intraoperative Neurophysiologic Monitoring on Surgical Decision Making and Neurologic Outcomes in Pediatric Patients With Intramedullary Spinal Cord Tumors. J Clin Neurophysiol. 2026 Jan 01; 43(1):49-60. View Abstract
  6. Clinical utility of DNA methylation profiling for choroid plexus tumors. Neurooncol Adv. 2024 Jan-Dec; 6(1):vdae097. View Abstract
  7. The disparity in pediatric spinal cord tumor clinical trials: A scoping review of registered clinical trials from 1989 to 2023. Neurooncol Pract. 2024 Oct; 11(5):532-545. View Abstract
  8. Discovery and Characterization of Ephrin B2 and EphB4 Dysregulation and Novel Mutations in Cerebral Cavernous Malformations: In Vitro and Patient-Derived Evidence of Ephrin-Mediated Endothelial Cell Pathophysiology. Cell Mol Neurobiol. 2023 Dec 27; 44(1):12. View Abstract
  9. H3K27-altered diffuse midline gliomas with MAPK pathway alterations: Prognostic and therapeutic implications. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol. 2023 12 22; 83(1):30-35. View Abstract
  10. Management of Choroid Plexus Tumors and the Benefit of Preoperative Embolization in Pediatric Patients: Report of 46 Cases from a Single Institution. World Neurosurg. 2024 01; 181:e1071-e1087. View Abstract
  11. Mutation of key signaling regulators of cerebrovascular development in vein of Galen malformations. Nat Commun. 2023 11 17; 14(1):7452. View Abstract
  12. Disease specific urinary biomarkers in the central nervous system. Sci Rep. 2023 11 07; 13(1):19244. View Abstract
  13. Benefits and limitations of a dual faculty neurosurgeon approach to resection of pediatric craniopharyngioma. Childs Nerv Syst. 2024 03; 40(3):647-653. View Abstract
  14. Use of intraoperative bone scintigraphy for resection of spinal osteoid osteoma. Pediatr Radiol. 2023 11; 53(12):2424-2433. View Abstract
  15. The evolution of spinal cord surgery: history, people, instruments, and results. Childs Nerv Syst. 2023 10; 39(10):2687-2700. View Abstract
  16. Single-institution Series of Hirayama Disease in North America. Clin Spine Surg. 2024 02 01; 37(1):9-14. View Abstract
  17. ALK Amplification and Rearrangements Are Recurrent Targetable Events in Congenital and Adult Glioblastoma. Clin Cancer Res. 2023 07 14; 29(14):2651-2667. View Abstract
  18. Endoscopic third ventriculostomy with choroid plexus cauterization: predictors of long-term success and comparison with shunt placement for primary treatment of infant hydrocephalus. J Neurosurg Pediatr. 2023 08 01; 32(2):201-213. View Abstract
  19. Genetic dysregulation of an endothelial Ras signaling network in vein of Galen malformations. bioRxiv. 2023 Mar 21. View Abstract
  20. Intracranial venous malformation masquerading as a meningioma in PI3KCA-related overgrowth spectrum disorder. Am J Med Genet A. 2022 03; 188(3):907-910. View Abstract
  21. Predictors of progression in radiation-induced versus nonradiation-induced pediatric meningiomas: a large single-institution surgical experience. J Neurosurg Pediatr. 2021 08 01; 28(2):160-166. View Abstract
  22. Medulloblastoma in the setting of megalencephaly polymicrogyria polydactyly hydrocephalus. Am J Med Genet A. 2021 05; 185(5):1614-1618. View Abstract
  23. Single-institution case series of pituitary biopsy for suspected germinoma in the pediatric population: diagnostic utility, operative risks, and biopsy approaches. Sci Rep. 2020 09 17; 10(1):15257. View Abstract
  24. Low threshold for intracranial imaging in fever of unknown origin associated with cyanotic heart disease in the pediatric population. Childs Nerv Syst. 2021 01; 37(1):335-338. View Abstract
  25. Complex Management of Hydrocephalus Secondary To Choroid Plexus Hyperplasia. World Neurosurg. 2020 09; 141:101-109. View Abstract
  26. Mechanisms and therapeutic implications of hypermutation in gliomas. Nature. 2020 04; 580(7804):517-523. View Abstract
  27. Dysregulation of the EphrinB2-EphB4 ratio in pediatric cerebral arteriovenous malformations is associated with endothelial cell dysfunction in vitro and functions as a novel noninvasive biomarker in patients. Exp Mol Med. 2020 04; 52(4):658-671. View Abstract
  28. Dynamic mapping of the corticospinal tract in open cordotomy and myelomeningocele surgery. J Clin Neurosci. 2020 Apr; 74:225-231. View Abstract
  29. Indirect bypass for maternal symptomatic moyamoya in the first trimester of pregnancy: case report. J Neurosurg Pediatr. 2020 02 01; 25(2):138-143. View Abstract
  30. Microsurgical Ligation of Residual Fistulous Arteriovenous Shunt From a Radicular Artery to a Thoracic Arteriovenous Malformation: 2-Dimensional Operative Video. Oper Neurosurg. 2019 Nov 01; 17(5):E206-E207. View Abstract
  31. Dynamic Changes in Arteriovenous Malformations (AVMs): Spontaneous Growth and Resolution of AVM-Associated Aneurysms in Two Pediatric Patients. Pediatr Neurosurg. 2019; 54(6):394-398. View Abstract
  32. Recovery of Functional Independence After Traumatic Transtentorial Herniation With Duret Hemorrhages. Front Neurol. 2019; 10:1077. View Abstract
  33. Rare Giant Prevertebral Thoracic Myelomeningocele. World Neurosurg. 2018 Jan; 109:296-297. View Abstract
  34. Using urinary bFGF and TIMP3 levels to predict the presence of juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma and establish a distinct biomarker signature. J Neurosurg Pediatr. 2016 Oct; 18(4):396-407. View Abstract
  35. Posterior thoracic laminoplasty with dorsal, intradural identification of ventral defect and transdural discectomy for a spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid leak: case report. J Neurosurg Spine. 2015 May; 22(5):478-82. View Abstract
  36. Columbia softball charity award 195 urinary biomarkers identify pediatric brain tumors noninvasively and correlate with prognostic risk factors. Neurosurgery. 2014 Aug; 61 Suppl 1:225. View Abstract
  37. Preconditioning effect on cerebral vasospasm in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. Neurosurgery. 2014 Apr; 74(4):351-8; discussion 358-9. View Abstract
  38. Whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) alone versus WBRT and radiosurgery for the treatment of brain metastases. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012 Sep 12; (9):CD006121. View Abstract
  39. Successful repair of a gunshot wound to the head with retained bullet in the torcular herophili. World Neurosurg. 2011 Sep-Oct; 76(3-4):362.e1-4. View Abstract
  40. Langerhans cell histiocytosis in a 5-month-old presenting with biparietal masses. J Neurosurg Pediatr. 2010 Oct; 6(4):393-7. View Abstract
  41. Whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) alone versus WBRT and radiosurgery for the treatment of brain metastases. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2010 Jun 16; (6):CD006121. View Abstract
  42. Stealth surgery: subcutaneous endoscopic excision of benign lesions of the trunk and lower extremity. J Pediatr Surg. 2010 Apr; 45(4):840-4. View Abstract
  43. Interleukin-6 maintains bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell stemness by an ERK1/2-dependent mechanism. J Cell Biochem. 2009 Oct 15; 108(3):577-88. View Abstract
  44. PDCD10, the gene mutated in cerebral cavernous malformation 3, is expressed in the neurovascular unit. Neurosurgery. 2008 Apr; 62(4):930-8; discussion 938. View Abstract
  45. Reactivation of gammaHV68 induces neointimal lesions in pulmonary arteries of S100A4/Mts1-overexpressing mice in association with degradation of elastin. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2008 Feb; 294(2):L276-89. View Abstract
  46. CCM2 expression parallels that of CCM1. Stroke. 2006 Feb; 37(2):518-23. View Abstract
  47. Mutations in apoptosis-related gene, PDCD10, cause cerebral cavernous malformation 3. Neurosurgery. 2005 Nov; 57(5):1008-13. View Abstract
  48. Cerebral venous malformations have distinct genetic origin from cerebral cavernous malformations. Stroke. 2005 Nov; 36(11):2479-80. View Abstract

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