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Dheeraj Gandhi, MBBS

Academic Title:

Professor

Primary Appointment:

Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine

Secondary Appointment(s):

Neurosurgery, Neurology

Administrative Title:

Co-Director for the Center of Metabolic Imaging and Therapeutics andExecutive Committee Member for the Comprehensive Stroke Center

Additional Title:

Vice Chair for Academic Affairs; Director, Neurointerventional Surgery

Location:

22 S Greene Street Baltimore, Maryland 21201

Phone (Primary):

410-328-5112

Fax:

410-328-3168

Education and Training

Education

  • 1994 | MBBS (Medical school), Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India

Post-Graduate

  • 1995 | Internship, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India
  • 2000 | Residency (Radiology), All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India 
    • 2000 | Senior (Chief) Resident
  • 2002 | Fellowship (Neuroradiology), The Ottawa Hospital, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
  • 2003 | Fellowship (Neuroradiology), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
  • 2004 | Fellowship (Neurointerventional Surgery), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Certifications

  • 2006 | American Board of Radiology
  • 2008 | CAQ Neuroradiology

Biosketch

Dheeraj Gandhi is Professor of Radiology, Neurology and Neurosurgery. He serves as Vice Chair of Academic Affairs and Director of Neurointerventional Surgery at University of Maryland School of Medicine. He blends his clinical expertise with innovative technical advances in the service of patients. His work centers on treating cerebrovascular disorders, ranging from brain aneurysms, strokes, idiopathic intracranial hypertension to complex vascular malformations. A firm believer in the wisdom of this quote from Mark Twain: “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” For him, the “why” is very clear: strive each day to make a difference in the patient outcomes and contribute to the field of medicine.

His academic journey has centered in the pursuit of innovation and patient safety. With over 260 published manuscripts and an H-Index of 48, his work has appeared in prestigious journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Stroke, Radiology, PNAS, and JAMA. His research endeavors have attracted continuous funding, receiving multiple grants from NIH, Focused Ultrasound foundation, and the industry.

Dr. Gandhi is the principal investigator on unique investigator-initiated trials such as MR guided FUS of Neuropathic pain, Trigeminal Neuralgia, Task Specific dystonia and serves as national PI for SOFAST and RESTORE mechanical thrombectomy studies. He also served as the Director of Neuroimaging for CLEAR and MISTIE randomized controlled trials.

At the University of Maryland, Dr. Gandhi plays an important role in training the next generation of medical professionals. He takes immense pride in guiding his residents, and fellows to success. Many of them have gone on to win prestigious national awards. He helped establish two of the only 6 ACGME accredited fellowships in Neurointerventional Surgery.

In recognition of his contributions to the field, Dr. Gandhi has received numerous accolades, including the prestigious Magna Cum Laude and Summa Cum Laude awards from ASNR, Outstanding presentation awards for 2023 as well as 2024 (ASNR: Interventional), Certificate of Merit from RSNA, Award for editorial excellence from Radiology, Shock Trauma Hero Award and Fellow of American College of Radiology. He remains committed and filled with strong sense of purpose to help the patients and their families understand the disease conditions, options for therapy and help all the way through the recovery process.

Research/Clinical Keywords

Flow diversion for Brain aneurysms; Endosaccular (coiling) treatment of brain aneurysms; Ischemic Stroke and Mechanical Thrombectomy; Dural arteriovenous fistula; MRI guided Focused Ultrasound treatments for Essential tremors, Parkinson's disease and Neuropathic pain

Highlighted Publications

1. Le EJ, Miller T, Serulle Y, Shivashankar R, Jindal G, Gandhi D. Use of Pipeline Flex is associated with reduced fluoroscopy time, procedure time, and technical failure compared with the first-generation Pipeline embolization device. J Neurointerv Surg. 2016 Mar 9.

2. Hanley DF, Lane K, McBee N, Ziai W, Tuhrim S, Lees KR, Dawson J, Gandhi D, Ullman N, Mould WA, Mayo SW, Mendelow AD, Gregson B, Butcher K, Vespa P, Wright DW, Kase CS, Carhuapoma JR, Keyl PM, Diener-West M, Muschelli J, Betz JF, Thompson CB, Sugar EA, Yenokyan G, Janis S, John S, Harnof S, Lopez GA, Aldrich EF, Harrigan MR, Ansari S, Jallo J, Caron JL, LeDoux D, Adeoye O, Zuccarello M, Adams HP Jr, Rosenblum M, Thompson RE, Awad IA; CLEAR III Investigators.. Thrombolytic removal of intraventricular haemorrhage in treatment of severe stroke: results of the randomised, multicentre, multiregion, placebo-controlled CLEAR III trial. Lancet. 2017 Feb 11;389(10069):603-611.

3. Miller TR, Zhuo J, Jindal G, Shivashankar R, Beaty N, Gandhi D. The Efficacy of Shielding Systems for Reducing Operator Exposure during Neurointerventional Procedures: A Real-World Prospective Study. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2016 Dec 22. doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A5038. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 28007766.

4. Hanley DF, Thompson RE, Muschelli J, Rosenblum M, McBee N, Lane K, Bistran-Hall AJ, Mayo SW, Keyl P, Gandhi D, Morgan TC, Ullman N, Mould WA, Carhuapoma JR, Kase C, Ziai W, Thompson CB, Yenokyan G, Huang E, Broaddus WC, Graham RS, Aldrich EF, Dodd R, Wijman C, Caron JL, Huang J, Camarata P, Mendelow  AD, Gregson B, Janis S, Vespa P, Martin N, Awad I, Zuccarello M; MISTIE Investigators.. Safety and efficacy of minimally invasive surgery plus alteplase  in intracerebral haemorrhage evacuation (MISTIE): a randomised, controlled, open-label, phase 2 trial. Lancet Neurol. 2016 Nov;15(12):1228-1237. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(16)30234-4. PubMed PMID: 27751554; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5154627.

5. Patel A, Miller TR, Shivashankar R, Jindal G, Gandhi D. Early angiographic signs of acute thrombus formation following cerebral aneurysm treatment with the  Pipeline embolization device. J Neurointerv Surg. 2016 Oct 21. pii: neurintsurg-2016-012701. doi: 10.1136/neurintsurg-2016-012701. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 27770038.

6. Jindal G, Serulle Y, Miller T, Le E, Wozniak M, Phipps M, Iyoha M, Gupta V, Shivashankar R, Gandhi D. Stent retrieval thrombectomy in acute stoke is facilitated by the concurrent use of intracranial aspiration catheters. J Neurointerv Surg. 2016 Sep 1. pii: neurintsurg-2016-012581. doi: 10.1136/neurintsurg-2016-012581. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 27587613.

7. Elias WJ, Lipsman N, Ondo WG, Ghanouni P, Kim YG, Lee W, Schwartz M, Hynynen K, Lozano AM, Shah BB, Huss D, Dallapiazza RF, Gwinn R, Witt J, Ro S, Eisenberg HM, Fishman PS, Gandhi D, Halpern CH, Chuang R, Butts Pauly K, Tierney TS, Hayes  MT, Cosgrove GR, Yamaguchi T, Abe K, Taira T, Chang JW. A Randomized Trial of Focused Ultrasound Thalamotomy for Essential Tremor. N Engl J Med. 2016 Aug 25;375(8):730-9. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1600159. PubMed PMID: 27557301.

Awards and Affiliations

Honors and Awards

  • 1994 | First on Merit in the nationwide postgraduate entrance examination, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, India
  • 1998 | Professor Shyam Sharma Gold Medal, Best Post-Doctoral student in Radiology (1995-1997)
  • 2002 | Stephen A. Kieffer Award, (C. Freeman-Presenting author).  Gandhi D, Freeman C, Goyal M, Woulfe J, Belanger E. Annual meeting of the Eastern Neuroradiology Society, La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada2003 | Cum Laude Award, Gandhi D, Mukherji SK, Hoeffner EH, Carlos R, Case I. Initial experience with deconvolution based CT perfusion of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. American Society of Neuroradiology. Washington, DC.
  • 2003 | RSNA research fellow of the year, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
  • 2004 | Berlex /ASNR basic science research grant, PI: Dheeraj Gandhi, Award: 50,000$ for salary support
  • 2004 | Fellow of the Year award, Presented by the residents at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in recognition of contribution to the resident teaching.
  • 2004 | Award for outstanding service and invaluable contribution as a fellow to Neuroradiology division of University of Michigan (presented by division of Neuroradiology).
  • 2005 | Excellence in teaching award, Presented by the residents at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in recognition of teaching at the University of Michigan.
  • 2007 | Excellence in teaching award, Presented by the residents at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in recognition of teaching at the University of Michigan.
  • 2007 | “Excellence at workplace” at the University of Michigan (NeuroIR team)
  • 2008 | “Magna Cum Laude Award”, Parmar H, Ibrahim, M, Gandhi, D, Mukherji S. Imaging of Perineural Spread in Head and Neck Malignancies. ASNR Annual Meeting June 2-6, 2008, New Orleans.
  • 2010 | Best Scientific Exhibit Award: ASSR (Am Society of Spine Radiology) meeting 2010, Las Vegas
  • 2011 | Summa Cum Laude Award: Chen J, Kathuria S, Gemmete J, Choudary N, Ansari S, Gandhi D. Endovascular Management of Symptomatic Cerebral Vasospasm with Transluminal Balloon Angioplasty. American Society of Neuroradiology Annual Meeting. Seattle, Washington. June 2011
  • 2011 | Baltimore’s Top Doctors
  • 2012 | Best Abstract of International Stroke Conference: 2012.
    • Gupta R, Horev A, Wilsco D, Tayal A, Miller B, Terry J, Gandhi D, Jovin T, Hussain M, Nguyen T, Ludwig B, Cronin C, Tian M, Sheth K, Nogueira, RG. CT Perfusion Increases Time to Reperfusion and May Not Enhance Patient Selection for Endovascular Reperfusion Therapies in Acute Ischemic Stroke.
  • 2012 | Excellence In Design: Annual RSNA meeting
  • 2014 | Bruce Line Research Prize, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Department of Radiology
  • 2015:  Shock Trauma Hero Award, Shock Trauma Center, University of Maryland Baltimore
  • 2020 | Certificate of Merit, ASNR annual meeting, MR guided Focused Ultrasound ablation for the treatment of Neurologic Disorders
  • 2022 | Awarded Fellowship of American College of Radiology (FACR)
  • 2023 | ASNR Outstanding Presentation Award
    • Gandhi D, Khunte M, Malhotra A. National Trends in the Utilization of Cerebral Venous Sinus Stenting for the Treatment of Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension
  • 2024 | ASNR Outstanding Project Award
    • Khunte M, Chen H, Colasurdo M, Malhotra A, Gandhi D. Efficacy and Safety of Endovascular Thrombectomy for Posterior Cerebral Artery Strokes: A Nationwide Analysis of 95,585 patients
  • 2024 | Rueben S Mezrich Award for excellence in Research, University of Maryland School of Medicine (Radiology)
  • 2024 | Congress of Neurologic Surgeons: Best paper in the pain category for 2023-2024
    • Ahmed AK, Zhuo J, Gullapalli RP, Jiang L, Keaser ML, Greenspan JD, Chen C, Miller TR, Melhem ER, Sansur CA, Eisenberg HM, Gandhi D. Focused Ultrasound Central Lateral Thalamotomy for the Treatment of Refractory Neuropathic Pain: Phase I Trial. Neurosurgery. 2024 Apr 1;94(4):690-699. 

Professional Society Memberships

  • American College of Radiology
  • Maryland Radiological Society
  • Senior Member, American Society of Neuroradiology
  • Senior Member, Society of Neurointerventional Surgery

Grants and Contracts

PATENTS

UMB Docket DJ 2019-027: Pinless system for noinvasive neuromodulation and blood brain barrier disruption. Gandhi D

 

GRANTS

Berlex/ASNR basic science research grant for 2003-2004.

  • Funding Institution: Berlex/ASNR
  • Principal Investigator: Dheeraj Gandhi
  • Amount: $50,000
  • "Can the choline/creatine ratio predict early treatment response of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma treated with radiation therapy in an animal model: A prospective study".100% Effort (COMPLETED).

GME innovations grant 

  • Funding Institution: University of Michigan GME Project
  • “Development and Assessment of a Comprehensive, Multidisciplinary, Simulator-Based Training Course in Cerebral Angiography”
  • Principal Investigator: Dheeraj Gandhi/Ellen Hoeffner
  • Amount: $ 93,000
  • Effort 10% (Until Aug 2008)
  • Funding Institution: NIH/NINDS
  • RO1 NS38512

Familial Intracranial Aneurysm (FIA) Study

  • Funding Instititution: NIH/NINDS
  • PI: Joseph Broderick
  • Percent Effort: 1%
  • Role: Institutional PI, Johns Hopkins University Hospital

 

NIH - SUBCONTRACT

ARRA/ Univ Cincinnati

  • Site PI
  • Project: Familial Intracranial Aneurysm II
  • Period: 09/01/10- 08/31/10
  • WIRB: 20041099
  • Direct Cost: $17,391

Active: Industry Sponsor – Merlin MD PTe Ltd

  • Project : Clinical Study of the Safety and Effectiveness of the Merlin MD Aneurysm Occlusion Device ( AOD)& Delivery System for use in the Treatment of Intracranial Aneurysm  (“study”)
  • Core Lab: Johns Hopkins 
  • PI: Dheeraj Gandhi
  • IRB: NA_00022333
  • Period: 11/01/08-10/31/10
  • Direct Cost: $42, 200

Continuation

  • ARRA/ Univ Cincinnati
  • Site PI
  • Project: Familial Intracranial Aneurysm II
  • Period: 09/01/10 - 08/31/11

Industry Sponsor: Arstasis

SEADONA study (Safety and Efficacy Study of Arstasis Axera Device

  • PI
  • $15,000

Industry Sponsor (RESEARCH AND EDUCATION GRANT):

  • Microvention
  • $40,000 (FY 2012)
  • Sponsor: MicroVention         
  • Start – End date: 11/2/2016 – ongoing
  • LVIS: Low-profile Visualized Intraluminal Support A Pivotal Study of MicroVention, Inc. Neurovascular self-expanding retrievable stent system in the treatment of wide-necked intracranial artery aneurysms
  • Award Amount: $34,889.00
  • Role: PI
  • Effort: 4.0%

Sponsor: Stryker

  • ULTRA: Ultra Coils from Start to Finish for the Endovascular Repair of Small Intracranial Aneurysms
  • PI: Dr. Jindal 
  • Project costs: $ 760,000       
  • Start – End date: 08/01/2013 – 07/31/2016
  • Role: Co-PI
  • Effort:  2.0%

Sponsor: Stryker            

  • PI: Dr. Miller         
  • Start – End date: 11/25/2013 – 11/24/2017
  • Trevo Retriever Registry: Post Market Surveillance Study
  • Award Amount: $109,000
  • Role: Co-PI
  • Effort: .89%

Sponsor: Medtronic

  • Role : PI
  • Project Title: BARREL: Prospective, Multi-Center, Single-Arm Study of the Reverse Medical Barrel™ Vascular Reconstruction Device (VRD) for Adjunctive Treatment to Embolic Coils for Wide-Neck, Intracranial, Bifurcating/ Branching Aneurysms of Middle Cerebral and Basilar Arteries.
  • Effort: 1.0%

Insightec Tremor Study

  • Role: Co-PI
  • Effort: 2.0%

Project Title: Trevo Retriever Registry: Post Market Surveillance Study

  • Role: co-investigator
  • Effort: 0.89%

Project: CLEAR III U01 NS062851 - ­NCT00784134 CLEAR III: Clot Lysis Evaluating Accelerated Resolution of Intraventricular Hemorrhage III study

  • Primary recipient: Johns Hopkins University
  • PI: Daniel Hanley
  • Start – End date: 07/01/2012 – 07/30/2015
  • CLEAR III: Clot Lysis Evaluating Accelerated Resolution of Intraventricular Hemorrhage III study
  • Award Amount: $26,854.00
  • Effort: 2.5%

NINDS, R01NS046309 - MISTIE III: Minimal Invasive Surgery plus rt-PA for Intracerebral Hemorrhage Evacuation Study

  • Primary recipient: Johns Hopkins University
  • PI: Daniel Hanley     
  • Start – End date: 09/15/2013 – 07/31/2018
  • MISTIE III: Minimal Invasive Surgery plus rt-PA for Intracerebral Hemorrhage Evacuation Study
  • Award Amount: $45, 218.01
  • Effort: 2.5%

NIH/NIBIB  R21. 5R21EB018581-02

  • Start – End date: 04/01/2014 – 03/31/2016
  • Name of study: NICHE ROBOT in the evacuation of intracerebral hematoma in swine model
  • Award Amount: $144,584.23
  • Role: PI
  • Effort: 5.0%

Focused Ultrasound (FUS) Foundation Grant

  • Start – End date: 02/17 - ongoing
  • Name of study: Phase 1 Clinical Trial for MR Guided Focused Ultrasound (FUS) thalamotomy of Central lateral thalamic nucleus for the treatment of medication-refractory Neuropathic Pain.
  • Award Amount: $303,426 (if the two year project is realized)
  • Role: PI
  • Effort: 5.0%

Sponsor: Insightec (2016-2018)

  • PD 002: Phase 1 study (safety and efficacy) of Globus Pallidus Interna Ablation with MR Guided FUS
  • Role: Co-investigator
  • Effort: 2%

National PI: SOFAST STUDY

  • 2019-2022
  • Sponsor: Microvention
  • Multicenter Post-market study of Sofia thromboaspiration device
  • Salary Support 5%, $60,000 annually
  • Total support: $ 320,000

National PI: RESTORE STUDY

  • Sponsor: Microvention
  • Multicenter Post-market study of Sofia thromboaspiration device
  • Salary Support 5%, $60,000annually
  • Total support: $420,000 (Expected)

INSIGHTEC: BB008 Study (ongoing, Enrolling)

  • Safety and efficacy of blood brain barrier disruption using MR guided focused Ultrasound
  • Role: Co-PI
  • Effort 1%

Focused Ultrasound (FUS) Foundation Grant

  • Start – Jan 2021
  • Name of study: Phase 1 Clinical Trial (safety and Efficacy) for MR Guided Focused Ultrasound (FUS) thalamotomy of Central lateral thalamic nucleus for the treatment of Trigeminal Neuralgia
  • Award Amount: $286,000
  • Role: PI
  • Effort: 5.0%

University of Maryland Medical Center Innovation Grant

  • Start – Jan 2021
  • Name of study: Towards pin-less and non-invasive low-intensity MRgFUS treatments:  Development, testing and clinical implementation of Maryland MR Head and neck restrainer system
  • Award Amount: $125,000
  • Role: PI

Double-blinded, Placebo-controlled, Parallel Group, Single-dose Design to Determine the Efficacy and Safety of Nerinetide in Participants with Acute Ischemic Stroke Undergoing Endovascular Thrombectomy Excluding hrombolysis (ESCAPE-NEXT Trial)

  • Status of Support: Active
  • Project Number: N/A
  • Name of PD/PI: Dheeraj Gandhi
  • Source of Support: The Governors of the University of Calgary
  • Primary Place of Performance: University of Maryland, Baltimore
  • Project/Proposal Start and End Date: (MM/YYYY) (if available): 04/21/2021-04/20/2026
  • Total Award Amount (including Indirect Costs): $505,000

Project Number:  1 R01 EB33354-01 - Title: 3D-Nanoprinted Soft Robotic Microcatheters with Integrated Microfluidic Circuitry for Cerebrovascular Surgery

  • Status of Support: Active
  • Project Number:  1 R01 EB33354-01
  • Name of PD/PI: Ryan Sochol
  • Source of Support: UMD/NIH
  • Primary Place of Performance: University of Maryland, Baltimore
  • Project/Proposal Start and End Date: (MM/YYYY) (if available): 8/1/2022-7/31/2027
  • Total Award Amount (including Indirect Costs): $701,941

 Focused Ultrasound (FUS) Foundation Grant: TSFD

  • Apr 2024 –
  • Name of study: Phase 1 Clinical Trial (safety and Efficacy) for MR Guided Focused Ultrasound (FUS) pallidotomy for the treatment of Task Specific Focal Dystonia
  • Award Amount: $292,000
  • Role: PI
  • Effort: 5.0%

UMMC Quality and Efficiency Challenge Grant

  • July 2024-June 2026
  • Improved care delivery to patients with cSDH
  • Award Amount: $500,000
  • PI: Gandhi D
  • Effort 2%