My name is Jason Sheehan, and I'm a professor of neurosurgery at the University of Virginia Health System. I was mostly interested in medicine as I took a course in neurosciences. I was particularly fascinated with the brain and the complexities of the brain, not just anatomically, but also from the standpoint of its functional complexity. I was critically interested in using engineering principles to solve complex neurosurgical problems. I treat patients primarily with complex brain disorders. The patients that I treat most often are patients with benign and malignant brain tumors and certain types of complex blood vessel abnormalities called arteriovenous malformations. We treat those patients often with something called Gamma Knife surgery. 

The gamma knife is a bit of a misnomer. It is a neurosurgical device that allows for minimally or non-invasive radiation, highly focused gamma radiation, to be delivered to specific small volumes within the brain. If you would come to see me, we would meet in clinic and discuss your condition. We would discuss the various options. I would go over your scans, most commonly an MRI and an angiogram, sometimes a CAT scan as well, and we would outline the various treatment options. We have a wide variety of experts in the field of neurosciences. We have not just an outstanding world-class neurosurgical program, but we have excellent neurologists and colleagues in behavioral health sciences and psychiatry. Through that multi-disciplinary team approach, we can usually provide the patient with an optable treatment pathway.