Bruce Cherny, MD specializes in neurosurgical consultation and education for skull, brain, and spinal tumors; craniosynostosis; congenital malformations of the skull, brain, and spinal cord; hydrocephalus; spina bifida and tethered spinal cords; Chiari malformations; vascular malformations of the brain and spinal cord; and traumatic brain, spine, and spinal cord injury. He has expertise in image-guided frameless stereotaxy, minimally invasive techniques, and advanced, complex endoscopic procedures.

Dr. Cherny has held many leadership positions at St. Luke's and currently serves as a member of the St. Luke's Children's Hospital executive team and the pediatric trauma task force. He is also currently surgeon in chief at St. Luke's Children's Hospital and the chair of the St. Luke's Children's surgical committee.

Dr. Cherny began his practice as an assistant professor of neurosurgery at Arkansas Children's Hospital. He spent eight years in academic neurosurgery, both in Arkansas and at the Barrow Institute in Phoenix, before coming to Boise to develop the pediatric neurosurgical program for Idaho. In addition to his medical education, Dr. Cherny holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Stanford University. 

Mitzi Cieslak, NP-C is certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. She has special interest in all aspects of pediatric care. She earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Seattle University and her master’s degree in nursing, family nurse practitioner, from Gonzaga University.

SURGICAL SPECIALTIES

• Brain surgery
• Spine surgery
• Discectomy
• Laminectomy
• Cervical and lumbar fusion
• Corpectomy

Venkatraman Sadanand MD, PhD has clinical interests are in pediatric brain and spinal cord tumors, epilepsy, spasticity, myelomeningocele, and hydrocephalus. His research interests are in neural plasticity and cognition, artificial intelligence, brain-computer interface, clinical epidemiology, health economics, and game theory. He is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and has published extensively. He has served as an associate professor of neurosurgery at Loma Linda University, California, and associate professor of neurosurgery at University of Saskatchewan. 

Dr. Sadanand enrolled in medical school with a determination to become a pediatric neurosurgeon and practice with compassionate excellence. He is also an electrical engineer and, in his spare time, volunteers for a group of physicians who provide free and compassionate healthcare to rural and economically disadvantaged communities around the world.

Alexander Zouros, MD is board certified in pediatric and adult neurosurgery (ABPNS and ABNS) and is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He developed an interest in childhood brain and spine surgery in medical school, and has extensive research experience in pediatric spine trauma and instrumentation and has taught courses in complex brain endoscopy. He completed a fellowship at the Children's Medical Center of Dallas and has served as an associate professor at Loma Linda University. Dr. Zouros was also the residency program director at Loma Linda, training residents and medical students in neurological surgery and his pediatric subspecialty.

Dr. Zouros has volunteered on medical missions to the Middle East, bringing specialized pediatric neurosurgical services and cranio-facial reconstructive surgeries to underprivileged children.