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Walavan Sivakumar, MD

Director of Neurovascular Surgery
Pacific Neuroscience Institute
Palos Verdes Estates, California, United States

Walavan Sivakumar, MD, is a board-certified and fellowship-trained neurosurgeon with a focus on skull base and minimally invasive and endoscopic neursosurgery. Dr. Sivakumar has a particular interest and expertise in brain tumors, skull base tumors, pituitary/parasellar tumors, and intraventricular brain tumors. He applies the keyhole concept to both brain tumor and cerebrovascular neurosurgery.

Dr. Sivakumar has over 50 peer-reviewed publications. In addition to giving several podium talks at meetings on the local and national level, he has received numerous awards for research in cranial surgery and tumor biology.

Award highlights include the William H. Sweet Award from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), Stryker Neuro-Oncology Award from the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), and best research awards from the Rocky Mountain Neurosurgical Society (RMNS) and Western Neurosurgical Society (WNS). His current research focuses on brain tumor biology and skull base surgery outcomes. He currently serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Neurosurgery and is on the editorial board of Frontiers in Neurology and Oncology. Dr. Sivakumar was recently selected by Medscapr as one of the 25 Rising Stars in Medicine.

Career Highlights
A Los Angeles native, Dr. Sivakumar completed his undergraduate studies in Neuroscience at UCLA. He attained his MD with distinction from USC, being elected to the Skull and Dagger All University Honor Society and Order of Arete, the highest honor given to a USC graduate student. During medical school, he served as student body president and was awarded the National Leadership Award by the American Medical Association (AMA).

He completed his residency training in Salt Lake City at the University of Utah, and his fellowship in Endoscopic Skull Base and Pituitary Surgery and Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery with Dr. Daniel Kelly at the Saint John’s Cancer Institute in 2016.

Dr. Sivakumar is an active member of the AANS and CNS, currently serving as Chair of the Early to Mid-Career Neurosurgeons Committee and executive committee of the AANS/CNS Section on Tumors. He has a deep interest in neurosurgical trainee education, having served on the national Liaison Committee on Medical Education and is involved in the Clinical/Research Neurosurgical Fellowship at the Saint John’s Cancer Institute.

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