Ganesh Rao Biography

Ganesh Rao is the Marc J. Shapiro Endowed Professor and Chairman of Neurosurgery at Baylor College of Medicine. He is also the Program Director for the Neurosurgery Residency at BCM.

Dr. Rao grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, and attended the University of Arizona (U of A) graduating with degrees in Microbiology and Chemistry. He then matriculated to the College of Medicine at U of A and graduated as a member of AOA. He matched to the University of Utah for neurosurgery residency under the leadership of M. Peter Heilbrun, M.D. and completed training under William T. Couldwell, M.D., Ph.D. During his residency, he spent two years in the laboratory of Daniel Fults, M.D., generating several publications and winning the American Academy of Neurological Surgeons' Resident Award.

After completing residency, he spent a year as a fellow in Neurosurgical Oncology at MDACC under the guidance of Raymond Sawaya, M.D. He joined the faculty at MDACC in 2006 and rose to the rank of Associate Professor with Tenure. In addition to a robust clinical practice, which includes the treatment of cranial and spinal neoplasms, Dr. Rao has an active laboratory. He has been NIH funded for research into the mechanisms of malignant progression in glioma. He is also an active clinical researcher with numerous publications on a variety of neuro-oncological topics. His laboratory research has been recognized with the Preuss Award and the American Brain Tumor Association Young Investigator Award.

As the program director of a large residency program, Dr. Rao has been committed to education of residents and fellows. He has been recognized by the Baylor residents for Teaching Excellence. He is also heavily involved in the education of the neuro-oncology fellows at MDACC. He is very involved in organized neurosurgery and was president of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons in 2018-2019. He is a Fellow of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and a member of the American Academy of Neurological Surgeons.

Dr. Rao and his wife Lorelei live in Bellaire, Texas, with their twin sons, Kiran and Zain.