Dr. Daniel Kelly, a board certified neurosurgeon, is the PNI Director, Director of the Pacific Brain Tumor Center and Pacific Pituitary Disorders Center at Providence Saint John’s Health Center and is Professor of Neurosurgery at Saint John’s Cancer Institute. Considered to be one of the top neurosurgeons in the US, he has been awarded the Southern California Super Doctors distinction 11 years in a row (2006-17). A recipient of the Patients’ Choice Award for the last 3 years, Dr. Kelly is internationally recognized in the field of minimally invasive keyhole surgery for brain, pituitary and skull base tumors. In practice for over 22 years, he has one of the world’s largest series in endonasal surgery with over 1600 procedures performed including over 700 endonasal endoscopic surgeries, and over 1600 craniotomies for brain and skull base tumors. His current surgical practice encompasses the full spectrum of brain and skull base tumors, both benign and malignant, treated with minimally invasive and conventional approaches.
Dr. Kelly has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications and more than 25 book chapters on topics of surgical outcomes and techniques, patient satisfaction and complication avoidance for a wide range of tumors including pituitary adenomas, meningiomas, craniopharyngiomas, Rathke’s cleft cysts, chordomas, sinonasal carcinomas and olfactory neuroblastomas. His research interests include endonasal endoscopic and keyhole surgical approaches, post-operative quality of life and pituitary hormonal dysfunction, as well as biomarkers of pituitary tumors and metastatic brain tumors. Dr. Kelly was the principal investigator of a National Institutes of Health funded study assessing pituitary hormonal loss after traumatic brain injury. He was a co-principal investigator of a study addressing the relationship between concussion, pituitary dysfunction and quality of life in retired professional football players. He is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and the Pituitary Society and a member of the editorial board of the journal Neurosurgery. He is also active in fostering neurosurgical training programs in developing countries and is the past Vice Chair of the Foundation for International Education in Neurological Surgery (FIENS).
Dr. Kelly has a long-standing commitment to continuing medical education and patient education. Over the last decade he has organized ongoing courses and symposia including the California Pituitary Conference, Endonasal and Keyhole Surgery Course, Pacific Neuroscience Symposium (for physicians), and the California Pituitary & Hormonal Health Symposium for patients and the public. He also lectures widely at national and international meetings and courses.
Dr. Kelly graduated from Claremont McKenna College in 1982 and from Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1986. He completed neurosurgical residency training in 1993 at George Washington University Medical Center and then joined the UCLA Division of Neurosurgery. In 1998 he became director of the UCLA Pituitary Tumor and Neuroendocrine Program. He was Professor of Neurosurgery and Vice-Chief of Clinical Affairs for the UCLA Division of Neurosurgery until 2007 when he joined the Saint John’s Cancer Institute and Saint John’s Health Center where he serves on the Saint John’s Board of Directors and is Chief of Neurosurgery. As Director of Pacific Neuroscience Institute, Dr. Kelly has assembled a world-class multi-specialty group of neurosurgeons, neuro-oncologists, neurologists, neuro-ophthalmologists, interventional neuro-radiologists, endocrinologists and otolaryngologists.
Dr. Kelly continues to focus his efforts on advancing personalized innovative treatments for patients with brain, pituitary and skull base tumors, conducting fellowship training in minimally invasive neurosurgery, and providing patient education and support.