Assaf Berger
, MD
Dr. Berger is an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He graduated Cum Laude from Tel Aviv University Medical School in Israel and completed his neurosurgery residency at the Tel Aviv Medical Center.
He went on to NYU Langone Medical Center in New York for fellowships in Stereotactic Radiosurgery and Functional Neurosurgery. During this period, Dr. Berger was trained on multiple radiosurgery and neuromodulation procedures for various conditions. He received additional training on the MRI-guided High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound, a novel stereotactic incision-less tool, which is currently used for functional brain disorders.
Dr. Berger is interested in the improvement and restoration of human functions by applying novel neurosurgical interventions, including neuromodulation and brain-computer interface (BCI). He has presented his research all over the world, including oral presentations at the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS) Conference in Venice, Italy, the World Society of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery (WSSFN) Conference in New-York, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) in Austin, Texas, and at the International Society of Stereotactic Radiosurgery Congress (ISRS) in Milan, Italy.
In 2023, he won the Rosenblum-Mahaley award for a project on the novel GRASP-MRI technique and the diagnosis of radiation effects versus tumor progression after radiosurgery. The Rosenblum-Mahaley award is given at each AANS and CNS meeting to recognize a neurosurgeon with an innovative approach that leads to improved patient outcomes and quality of life. Dr. Berger also received awards from the Israeli Neurosurgery Association and the Asian Australasian Congress of Neurological Surgeons (AACNS) for his outstanding research. Additionally, he has multiple peer-reviewed publications and is a reviewer for top neurosurgery journals.
Some of his notable publications include:
- Berger A, Hochberg U, Zegerman A, Tellem R, Strauss I. Neurosurgical ablative procedures for intractable cancer pain. J Neurosurg. Published online May 10, 2019:1-8. doi:10.3171/2019.2.JNS183159
- Berger A, Strauss I, Ben Moshe S, et al. Neurocognitive evaluation of brain metastases patients treated with post-resection stereotactic radiosurgery: a prospective single arm clinical trial. J Neurooncol. 2018;140(2):307-315. doi:10.1007/s11060-018-2954-x
- Berger A, Tzarfati G, Costa M, et al. Incidence and impact of stroke following surgery for low-grade gliomas. J Neurosurg. Published online December 27, 2019:1-9. doi:10.3171/2019.10.JNS192301
- Berger A. Book Review: Recent Advances and Controversies in Gamma Knife Neurosurgery. Neurosurgery. Published online November 21, 2022. doi:10.1227/neu.0000000000002258
- Berger A, Mullen R, Bernstein K, et al. Extended Survival in Patients With Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer–Associated Brain Metastases in the Modern Era. Neurosurgery. Published online May 17, 2022:10.1227/neu.0000000000002372. doi:10.1227/neu.0000000000002372