Associate Professor, Assistant Director of Research, Assistant Residency Program Director, Department of Neurosurgery
Interim Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs in the Department of Neurosurgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Interim Chief of Service at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
Dr. Hai Sun received his bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and History from St. John’s College in Annapolis, MD, and an MD and PhD combined degree from Dartmouth College. His PhD was in Biomedical Engineering. After his training at Dartmouth, Dr. Sun went on to complete his residency in Neurological Surgery at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in Portland, OR. Dr. Sun also completed several prominent fellowships, one in Epilepsy Surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA; another in Cerebrovascular and Skull Base Surgery at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, AZ; and a third one in Endovascular Neurosurgery at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, LA.
He previously served as faculty in the Department of Neurosurgery at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, LA (2015-2019) and helped establish the Ochsner LSU Regional Epilepsy Center, and led the center to its Level 4 accreditation by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAECs).
Dr. Sun is currently an Associate Professor, Assistant Director of Research, and Assistant Residency Program Director in the Department of Neurosurgery at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, NJ. He is a member of Rutgers Brain Health Institute and serves as a graduate student advisor in both the Department of Neuroscience and the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
Effective June 1, 2022, Dr. Hai Sun, MD, PhD, was appointed Interim Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs in the Department of Neurosurgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and Interim Chief of Service at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.
Dr. Sun specializes in surgical treatments for patients with epilepsy, brain and pituitary tumors, cerebrovascular abnormalities such as aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations, and ischemic stroke. He also practices general neurosurgery and performs spine surgeries.
Additionally, Dr. Sun conducts basic science research and runs the Epilepsy and Brain Connectivity Laboratory. He is the principle investigator for an Epilepsy Research Program Idea Development Award from the U.S. Department of Defense for the search of imaging biomarkers for the development of post-traumatic epilepsy. His research interests are in the areas of brain-computer interface, neuroimaging, brain functional and structural connectome, and pathophysiology of epilepsy. Dr. Sun has co-authored more than 80 peer-reviewed journal articles and seven book chapters.
Research Interests:
- Functional and structural brain connectome
- Neurobiology of epilepsy
- Outcomes for neurosurgical treatments
- Neuroimaging
- Brain computer interface
- Optogenetics and brain electrophysiology
Recent Publications:
- D’Cruz J, Hefner M, Ledbetter C, Frilot C, Howard B, Zhu P, Riel-Romero R, Notarianni C, Toledo EG, Nanda A, Sun H. Focal epilepsy caused by single cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM) is associated with regional and global resting state functional connectivity (FC) disruption. Neuroimage Clin. 2019 Nov 5;24:102072. doi: 10.1016/j.nicl.2019.102072. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 31734529; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6854067.
- Wild E, Barry J, Sun H. Targeted Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Arteriovenous Malformation Downgrading Followed by Microsurgical Resection: A Case Report and Review of the Literature. World Neurosurg. 2019 Jul 30;131:82-86. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2019.07.170. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 31369878.
- Senchenkova EY, Ansari J, Becker F, Vital SA, Al-Yafeai Z, Sparkenbaugh EM, Pawlinski R, Stokes KY, Carroll JL, Dragoi AM, Qin CX, Ritchie RH, Sun H, Cuellar-Saenz HH, Rubinstein MR, Han YW, Orr AW, Perretti M, Granger DN, Gavins FNE. Novel Role for the AnxA1-Fpr2/ALX Signaling Axis as a Key Regulator of Platelet Function to Promote Resolution of Inflammation.Circulation. 2019 Jul 23;140(4):319-335. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.118.039345. Epub 2019 Jun 3. PubMed PMID: 31154815; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6687438.
- Georgescu MM, Li Y, Islam MZ, Notarianni C, Sun H, Olar A, Fuller GN. Mutations of the MAPK/TSC/mTOR pathway characterize periventricular glioblastoma with epithelioid SEGA-like morphology-morphological and therapeutic implications.Oncotarget. 2019 Jun 18;10(40):4038-4052. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.27005. eCollection 2019 Jun 18. PubMed PMID: 31258848; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6592288.
- Savardekar AR, Narayan V, Patra DP, Spetzler RF, Sun H. Timing of Carotid Endarterectomy for Symptomatic Carotid Stenosis: A Snapshot of Current Trends and Systematic Review of Literature on Changing Paradigm towards Early Surgery.Neurosurgery. 2019 Feb 25;. doi: 10.1093/neuros/nyy557. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 30799491.
- Holly KS, Fitz-Gerald JS, Barker BJ, Murcia D, Daggett R, Ledbetter C, Gonzalez-Toledo E, Sun H. Differentiation of High-Grade Glioma and Intracranial Metastasis Using Volumetric Diffusion Tensor Imaging Tractography. World Neurosurg. 2018 Dec;120:e131-e141. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2018.07.230. Epub 2018 Aug 27. PubMed PMID: 30165214.
- Cavallo C, Safavi-Abbasi S, Kalani MYS, Gandhi S, Sun H, Oppenlander ME, Zabramski JM, Nakaji P, Lawton MT, Spetzler RF.Pulmonary Complications After Spontaneous Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: Experience from Barrow Neurological Institute. World Neurosurg. 2018 Nov;119:e366-e373. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2018.07.166. Epub 2018 Jul 31. PubMed PMID: 30075258.
- Cuellar H, Maiti T, Narayan V, Patra D, Dossani R, Sun H, Nanda A. Novel Use of Pipeline Stent Device After Inadvertent Microcatheter Rupture During Arteriovenous Fistula Embolization. World Neurosurg. 2018 Nov;119:345-348. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2018.07.171. Epub 2018 Jul 30. PubMed PMID: 30071327.
- Kalakoti P, Sciubba DM, Pugely AJ, McGirt MJ, Sharma K, Patra DP, Phan K, Madhavan K, Menger RP, Notarianni C, Guthikonda B, Nanda A, Sun H. Impact of Psychiatric Comorbidities on Short-Term Outcomes Following Intervention for Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2018 Oct 1;43(19):1363-1371. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0000000000002616. PubMed PMID: 29481379.
Laboratory Website:
www.haisunlab.com
Comprehensive Epilepsy Center of New Jersey at Rutgers Website:
https://sites.rutgers.edu/ru-cecnj/