Branden John Cord, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
To see if Branden John Cord is accepting new patients, or for assistance finding a UC Davis doctor, please call 800-2-UCDAVIS (800-282-3284).
Locations and Contact
UC Davis Medical Center
UC Davis Medical Center
2315 Stockton Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95817
Phone: 800-2-UCDAVIS (800-282-3284)
Additional Numbers
Physician Referrals
Philosophy of Care
"Patients should be able to explain the fundamental concepts of their disease and surgery to their to family." Dr. Branden Cord achieves this by walking them through their actual images and explaining how the disease impacts their health. He pairs this with simple sketches of the surgery so they can understand how the treatment he performs will change the course of their disease.
Clinical Interests
Branden J. Cord, MD, PhD, is a Yale-trained neurosurgeon with who specializes in treating patients with cerebrovascular disorders of the brain, neck and spine, in addition to and adult-onset CSF disorders. These include brain aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), dural arteriovenous fistulas (dAVFs), venous malformations, strokes, carotid stenosis, normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), pseudotumor cerebri, and intracranial hypotension. He specializes in endovascular and minimally invasive procedures.
Research/Academic Interests
Dr. Cord received his PhD at Stanford University where he explored how to integrate transplanted human stem cell derived dopamine neurons into the neural circuitry to treat Parkinson’s Disease. During his endovascular fellowship at Yale, he examined clinical utility of high-resolution vessel wall imaging in cerebrovascular pathology including aneurysms, AVMs and dAVFs. His current laboratory focus at UC Davis, is on the evaluation and development of advanced imaging modalities and endovascular devices for the treatment of cerebrovascular disease.
Division
Neurological Surgery
Undergraduate School
B.A./M.S., Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD 2002
Medical School
M.D., Stanford University, Stanford CA 2012
Other School
Ph.D., Neuroscience, Stem Cells, Stanford University, Stanford CA 2012
Internship
Neurosurgery, Yale University, New Haven CT 2012-2013
Residency
Neurosurgery, Yale University, New Haven CT 2013-2019
Fellowship
Enfolded Neuro-Interventional Fellowship, Neurosurgery Department, Yale University, New Haven CT 2015-2017
Fellowship
Neurovascular Fellowship, Neurosurgery Department, Yale University, New Haven CT 2019-2020
Dr. Paul Kalanithi Award for Professional Excellence in Neurosurgery, Yale University Department of Neurosurgery, 2018, 2019
William F. Collins, Jr., MD Award for Translational / Clinical Research in Neurosurgery, Yale University Department of Neurosurgery, 2017
William F. Collins, Jr., MD Award for Clinical Research in Neurosurgery, Yale University Department of Neurosurgery, 2016
Medical Scientist Training Program, Stanford University, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
California Institute of Regenerative Medicine Training Fellowship, Stanford University, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
Departmental Honors, Johns Hopkins University, 2002
General Honors, Johns Hopkins University, 2002
Emily and Thomas Maren Scholar Award, Johns Hopkins University, 2002
Best research poster, Undergraduate Research Symposia, Johns Hopkins University, 2001
McAuley Silver Award, Mercy Medical Center, Baltimore MD, 2001
Cord BJ, Kodali S, Strander S, Silverman A, Wang A, Chouairi F, Koo AB, Nguyen CK, Peshwe K, Kimmel A, Porto CM, Hebert RM, Falcone GJ, Sheth KN, Sansing LH, Schindler JL, Matouk CC, Petersen NH. Direct carotid puncture for mechanical thrombectomy in acute ischemic stroke patients with prohibitive vascular access. J Neurosurg. 2020 Aug 14:1-11. doi:10.3171/2020.5.JNS192737. Epub ahead of print. PMID:32796146.
Hong CS, Cord BJ, Kundishora AJ, Elsamadicy AA, Beckta JM, Huttner A, Chiang VL, Matouk CC. MRI-Guided Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy for Radiation Necrosis in Previously Irradiated Brain Arteriovenous Malformations. Pract Radiat Oncol. 2020 Jul-Aug;10(4):e298-e303. doi:10.1016/j.prro.2020.02.003. Epub 2020 Feb 14. PMID:32068154.
Santarosa C, Cord B, Koo A, Bhogal P, Malhotra A, Payabvash S, Minja FJ, Matouk CC. Vessel wall magnetic resonance imaging in intracranial aneurysms: Principles and emerging clinical applications. Interv Neuroradiol. 2020 Apr;26(2):135-146. doi:10.1177/1591019919891297. Epub 2019 Dec 9. PMID:31818175.
Petersen NH, Silverman A, Strander SM, Kodali S, Wang A, Sansing LH, Schindler JL, Falcone GJ, Gilmore EJ, Jasne AS, Cord B, Hebert RM, Johnson M, Matouk CC, Sheth KN. Fixed Compared With Autoregulation-Oriented Blood Pressure Thresholds After Mechanical Thrombectomy for Ischemic Stroke. Stroke. 2020 Mar;51(3):914-921. doi:10.1161/STROKEAHA.119.026596. Epub 2020 Feb 12. PMID:32078493.
Silverman A, Kodali S, Strander S, Gilmore EJ, Kimmel A, Wang A, Cord B, Falcone G, Hebert R, Matouk C, Sheth KN, Petersen NH. Deviation From Personalized Blood Pressure Targets Is Associated With Worse Outcome After Subarachnoid Hemorrhage. Stroke. 2019 Oct;50(10):2729-2737. doi:10.1161/STROKEAHA.119.026282. Epub 2019 Sep 9. PMID:31495332.
Petersen NH, Ortega-Gutierrez S, Wang A, Lopez GV, Strander S, Kodali S, Silverman A, Zheng-Lin B, Dandapat S, Sansing LH, Schindler JL, Falcone GJ, Gilmore EJ, Amin H, Cord B, Hebert RM, Matouk C, Sheth KN. Decreases in Blood Pressure During Thrombectomy Are Associated With Larger Infarct Volumes and Worse Functional Outcome. Stroke. 2019 Jul;50(7):1797-1804. doi:10.1161/STROKEAHA.118.024286. Epub 2019 Jun 4. PMID:31159701.
Matouk CC, Cord BJ, Yeung J, Malhotra A, Johnson MH, Minja FJ. High-resolution Vessel Wall Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Intracranial Aneurysms and Brain Arteriovenous Malformations. Top Magn Reson Imaging. 2016 Apr;25(2):49-55. doi:10.1097/RMR.0000000000000084. PMID:27049241.
Byers B, Cord B, Nguyen HN, Schüle B, Fenno L, Lee PC, Deisseroth K, Langston JW, Pera RR, Palmer TD. SNCA triplication Parkinson's patient's iPSC-derived DA neurons accumulate α-synuclein and are susceptible to oxidative stress. PLoS One. 2011;6(11):e26159. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0026159. Epub 2011 Nov 16. PMID:22110584.
Nguyen HN, Byers B, Cord B, Shcheglovitov A, Byrne J, Gujar P, Kee K, Schüle B, Dolmetsch RE, Langston W, Palmer TD, Pera RR. LRRK2 mutant iPSC-derived DA neurons demonstrate increased susceptibility to oxidative stress. Cell Stem Cell. 2011 Mar 4;8(3):267-80. doi:10.1016/j.stem.2011.01.013. PMID:21362567.
Cord BJ, Li J, Works M, McConnell SK, Palmer TD, Hynes MA. Characterization of axon guidance cue sensitivity of human embryonic stem cell-derived dopaminergic neurons. Molecular Cellular Neuroscience. 2010 Jul 13;45(4):324-334. doi:10.1016/j.mcn.2010.07.004. PMID:20637284.