Neuro-oncology, Skull Base and Cerebrovascular Neurosurgeon
South Shore University Hospital
Assistant Professor, Neurosurgery, Zucker School of Medicine

Georgios Klironomos, MD, MSc, PhD, is an expert in cerebrovascular surgery, surgical neuro-oncology and open and endoscopic skull base surgery, having completed fellowships in all three specialty areas. Dr. Klironomos also performs procedures for degenerative spine disease, spinal tumors and vascular disease of the spinal cord. With research efforts focused on neuro-oncology, skull base and endoscopic skull base surgery and radiosurgery, as well as cerebrovascular disease, Dr. Klironomos has numerous high-indexed publications and meeting presentations. He graduated medical school with honors for ranking at the top two percent in his class, and was also awarded two scholarships in medical school for placing as the top student. Prior to joining Northwell, Dr. Klironomos was clinical assistant professor of neurosurgery at UPMC Williamsport and served as a military doctor in the Greek army. He is bilingual in English and Greek.

Chair, Neurosurgery
South Shore University Hospital
Professor, Neurosurgery Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell

With over 33 years of surgical experience in the treatment of cerebral aneurysms, vascular malformations and malignant and benign brain tumors, David J. Chalif, MD, FACS, leads a multidisciplinary neurosurgical team and is spearheading the development of South Shore University Hospital’s world-class neurosurgery program. He earned his MD at the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago and completed his neurosurgery training at New York University Medical Center and Bellevue Hospital. Dr. Chalif founded the Brain Aneurysm Center at North Shore University Hospital, a cutting-edge program consisting of microsurgery, neurointerventional radiology, fellowship training and neurointensive care. As a recognized leader in his field, Dr. Chalif has been a recipient of the national Brain Aneurysm Foundation’s Physician Champion Award and is a member of their Medical Advisory Board. He is a true advocate for his patients, having lobbied on Capitol Hill and met with members of Congress to raise awareness of brain aneurysms. Dr. Chalif also champions community outreach and spearheads fundraising efforts to support neurosurgery research.

Board certified general radiation oncologist, William C. Chen, M.D., is comfortable managing all disease sites utilizing modern technologies and techniques. He has a particular interest in stereotactic ablative radiation therapy and the potential role of local therapies in the management of advanced malignancies.

Dr. Chen trained at Yale University, New York University School of Medicine, Yale-New Haven Hospital and University Hospitals of Case Western Reserve University. Before joining Northwell Health, he was in private practice and served the communities of Erie and Niagara counties in western New York. He strives to deliver excellent patient-centered care and collaborates with the multidisciplinary team of experts. Outside of medicine, he enjoys photography, hiking and dining out.

Judd H. Fastenberg, MD is an Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology- Head & Neck Surgery at Northwell Health and the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. He is a board-certified Otolaryngologist who specializes in Advanced Sinus and Endoscopic Skull Base Surgery. Dr. Fastenberg obtained his medical degree from the Albany Medical College and completed his residency at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, NY.

He then completed a fellowship in Rhinology & Endoscopic Skull Base Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Fastenberg’s primary clinical focus is the surgical treatment of disorders affecting the nose, sinuses and skull base, including chronic rhinosinusitis, sinonasal malignancies, and skull base and orbital tumors. His research interests include expanded endonasal approaches to the anterior skull base, skull base reconstruction, and the use of novel therapeutics in the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis.

Dr Ionica is an endocrinology trained physician who oined Northwell Health Physician Partners in Oct 2016 and treats adult endocrine patients.

Dr Ionica graduated from her first residency in ophthalmology from Romania in 2004. She later completed postdoctoral research fellowship in endocrinology from University of Tennessee in USA followed by endocrinology fellowship from University of Maryland.

She is currently serving as an Assistant Professor, Donald, and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/ Northwell and has appointments with the Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes. Dr Ionica is actively involved in clinical and bedside teaching in both outpatient and inpatient setting.

Section Chief, Neurosurgery
Huntington Hospital
Assistant Professor, Neurosurgery, Zucker School of Medicine

As Section Chief of Neurosurgery at Huntington Hospital, Robert G. Kerr, MD, PhD, FRCPSC joined Northwell Health in 2013. Following his residency at University of Alberta in Canada, Dr. Kerr went on to complete a fellowship in skull base surgery. His clinical focus includes brain tumors, skull base surgery, spine surgery, concussion, facial pain and trigeminal neuralgia. Dr. Kerr utilizes BrainPath access technology, a novel surgical method to target brain tumors and hemorrhages that were once thought hard to reach. He is a respected member of the Canadian Medical Association, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, Medical Council of Canada, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and Society for Neuro-Oncology. 

Dr. Lengyel-Kremenic first developed an interest in Endocrinology during her college years at NYU College of Arts and Sciences where she worked in the Center for Neural Science for 2 years while obtaining her BA, studying adrenergic receptors in the rat hypothalamus.

She went on and received her medical degree from NYU School of Medicine in 1998 and then her post graduate training in Internal Medicine at UMDNJ- Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. She then pursued fellowship training in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at NYU School of Medicine, finishing in 2003.

Since then, she has been practicing endocrinology in Suffolk County NY. She joined Northwell in 2014 and is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Hofstra University School of Medicine.

Endovascular Neurologist
South Shore University Hospital
Assistant Professor, Neurosurgery, Zucker School of Medicine

Ina Terón Molina, MD, MPH, completed fellowships in vascular neurology and endovascular neurology, and is dually board certified in neurology and vascular neurology. She earned both her Bachelor of Science and medical degree magna cum laude, and Master of Public Health summa cum laude. Dr. Terón Molina has been involved in clinical trials on cerebrovascular disease throughout her career and has published several articles. She is bilingual in English and Spanish.

Panagiotis A.Sideras, MD PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Radiology in the Division of Neuroradiology at Northwell Health, Hofstra School of Medicine. He is a board-certified Radiologist with subspecialty certification in Neuroradiology. Dr. Sideras, obtained his graduate medical degree from Semmelweis University, Budapest/Hungary and his post-doctoral degree from the National and Kapodistrian university of Medicine, Athens Greece in physics application in Radiology/Nuclear radiology.

He completed an internship in Internal Medicine at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in NY, followed by a residency in Radiology at Robert Wood Johnson/Barnabas health in NJ where he was selected to serve as Chief Resident. Dr. Sideras then returned back to NY to complete fellowship in Diagnostic Neuroradiology and spine interventions at the Mount Sinai Medical Center. His training provides a unique approach to the diagnosis and treatment of various brain, head and neck, and spinal disorders.

Dr. Sideras clinical interests in CT guided spine interventions including blood patches for treatment of spontaneous intracranial hypotension, CT guided spine and sacral biopsies and kyphoplasty give him a unique advantage in the field. In addition, Dr. Sideras has performed numerous imaging-guided head and neck biopsies, including ultrasound-guided fine needle aspirations of thyroid nodules.

Dr. Sideras has contributed to numerous publications and book chapters. He has presented research at many national meetings. He is a junior member of the American Society of Neuroradiology and also holds membership in the American College of Radiology, American Society of Spine Radiology, North American Spine Society, Radiologic Society of North America, Eastern Neuroradiologic Society, New York Roentgen Society and the American Roentgen Ray Society.

Dr Verma is a neurology trained neuro ophthalmologist who joined Northwell Health Physician Partners in July 2020 and treats both adult and pediatric patients.

Dr Verma graduated from her first residency in ophthalmology from India in 2003 and practiced not only in India but also in underserved areas in Saudi Arabia and Oman. She later completed 2 fellowships from US – pediatric ophthalmology from Akron children’s hospital and neuro ophthalmology from University of Michigan. She decided to retrain and recently graduated from her second residency in neurology from Mount Sinai Beth Israel/Mount Sinai West in July 2020. She is currently serving as an Assistant Professor, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and has joint appointments with the department of Ophthalmology, Neurology & Pediatrics

Dr Verma is actively involved in clinical and bedside teaching in both the outpatient and inpatient setting. She has a special interest in pediatric and adult IIH and is one of the PI in the RIVER stent trial with Dr Patsalides.

Melanie Lopez-Humann, MBA, PA-C is the Senior Director of Operations for the Neuroscience Program at South Shore University Hospital (SSUH) in Bay Shore, part of Northwell Health. Recruited for this role in 2018, Ms. Lopez-Humann is directly responsible for the development and operations of the rapidly expanding neurology, neurosurgery and neuro-endovascular programs. Under Ms. Lopez-Humann‘s leadership, SSUH’s scope of neuroscience services have grown significantly, providing patients a higher level of both emergent and routine care not previously available to Suffolk residents at a Northwell facility.

Ms. Lopez-Humann has 20 years of clinical experience as a board certified physician assistant, and specializes in the field of neurosurgery. She also earned her Master of Business Administration from Adelphi University’s Robert B. Willumstad School of Business, having graduated with honors. Prior to joining the leadership team at Southside Hospital, Ms. Lopez-Humann held a senior-level management position for nearly 10 years where she not only cared for patients, but also oversaw a large, private practice physician assistant team that covered nine hospitals throughout Nassau County.

Jennifer Salay has been with neurosciences at Northwell Health since 2007 and since 2019 has been the Program Director for Neurosciences at South Shore University Hospital (SSUH). Throughout her tenure at Northwell, Ms. Salay has spearheaded professional, patient and consumer education, physician and community outreach, partnerships and sponsorships with other organizations, philanthropic efforts and marketing initiatives related to areas both within and outside of neurosciences.

Ms. Salay graduated from New York Institute of Technology Summa cum Laude and leads SSUH’s 360 Communication Committee, has been the administrative chair of Northwell’s annual brain aneurysm walk since 2008 and sits on Northwell’s Katz Institute Collaborative. Ms. Salay is also a member of EPIC Long Island/Epilepsy Foundation of Long Island’s Professional Advisory Board and has been a member of their annual dinner gala planning committee for the last several years. Ms. Salay has also sat on numerous past Northwell committees, including the Community Benefit Excellent Council, Women’s Health Collaborative Group, the Stroke Task Force and the Ambulatory Services Diversity & Health Equity Site Council. From 2017-2019 Ms. Salay chaired Northwell’s Neuroscience Nursing Conference and in 2019 was the Administrative Director for the New York Society for Neurosurgery.

Kristal Santiago is a board certified Family Nurse Practitioner who currently sees patients at Neurosciences in Bayshore, NY. Currently her clinical focus includes brain tumors, skull-based tumors, malformations, and neurological issues related to the spine. She started as a registered nurse at North Shore University Hospital on the Neuroscience floor where she worked for eight years with a specialty in the stroke unit. She has been a Certified Neuroscience Registered Nurse for the past six years and has been with neurosciences at Northwell Health since 2013.

Kristal graduated with her Master’s in Family Nurse practitioner magna cum laude from Hofstra University and her Bachelor’s in Science from Molloy College. Prior to becoming a registered nurse while in nursing school she worked in patient transport at North Shore University Hospital for two years. She has been with Northwell health for 11 years moving up from patient transport, to registered nurse, and now a Nurse Practitioner. She is bilingual in English and Spanish.