Gregory A Helm, MD, PhD
- Division:
- General Neurological Surgery Appointment, Neurosurgery, Spine
- Department:
- Neurological Surgery
- Primary Location:
- ABMS Certification:
- Neurological Surgery, 2003
- Research Interests:
Gene therapy for the treatment of neurological disorders.
- Clinical Practice:
- Acoustic Neuroma, Neck Fracture, Vertebral Compression Fracture, Chronic Neck Pain, Degenerative Disc Disease, Herniated Disc, Neck Sprain, Sciatica, Spina Bifida, Spinal Stenosis, Spinal Tumors, Spondylolysis, Brain Tumors, Laminectomy, Peripheral Nerve Surgery, Spinal Fusion, Lumbar Stenosis, Idiopathic Scoliosis-adolescent, Cervical Disc Disease, Lumbar Disc Herniation, Cervical Disc Herniation, Cervical Stenosis, Degenerative Scoliosis, Degenerative Spondyloisthesis, Isthmic Spondylolisthesis, Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease, Balloon Kyphoplasty, Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP), Cervical Artificial Discs, Computer Enhanced Navigation: Image Guided Spine Surgery, Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, Spinal Implants, Lumbar Radiculopathy, Spine
- Appointment:
Biomedical Engineering
- Title:
- Professor
- Biography
-
Dr. Helm was born in Fort Belvoir, Va. He received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering, Summa Cum Laude, from Virginia Tech.
He has a large clinical practice in general neurosurgery, in addition to performing the acoustic neuroma surgeries within the department. He directed the molecular neurosurgery and neurotrauma laboratories.
The molecular neurosurgery lab focused on tissue engineering, especially for the induction of bone in the paraspinal regions to obtain spinal fusions. These studies involved gene therapy approaches using a variety of vectors, including AAV and adenovirus. In addition, the application of mesenchymal stem cells for the induction of bony and ligamentous tissues was also of interest to the lab.
The neurotrauma laboratory focused on apoptotic pathways involved in traumatic axonal injury, as well as neuronal injury. The lab was involved with several projects involving blast-induced traumatic brain injury, funded through the Department of Defense.He has been awarded $2.7 million in research funding from NIH and other sources. He has written more than 100 publications and is the holder of three patents.
- Primary:
- University of Virginia, 1988
- Residency:
- Neurological Surgery, University of Virginia