2026 Super Doctors: Pacific Neuroscience Institute Shines

Physicians from Pacific Neuroscience Institute® (PNI), encompassing both members and affiliates of the medical group, have received prestigious Super Doctors awards. These honors acknowledge our doctors’ dedication to delivering exemplary clinical care and achieving notable professional success. Furthermore, they offer patients the assurance that they are receiving the highest standard of care available.

Super Doctors identifies top healthcare providers through a rigorous multi-step process, focusing on peer recognition and professional achievement. The Super Doctors list represents about 5% of doctors in each state or region. The Rising Stars list, a subset of Super Doctors, honors the brightest doctors in practice under ten years, accounting for no more than 2.5% of physicians in each region. 

Honoring Pacific Neuroscience Institute Doctors 

Over two-thirds of PNI Medical Group’s physicians were honored with Super Doctors Awards.

PNI Super Doctors 2026

Garni Barkhoudarian, MD

Neurosurgery

David M. Butler, MD

ENT Surgery, Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery

William G. Buxton, MD

Adult Neurology

Jose Carrillo, MD

Neuro-Oncology

Natalie Diaz, MD

Neurology

Barbara Giesser, MD

Multiple Sclerosis Neurology

Shanthi Gowrinathan, MD

Psycho-oncology

Chester F. Griffiths, MD

ENT Surgery

Daniel F. Kelly, MD

Neurosurgery

Howard R. Krauss, MD

Neuro-ophthalmology

Jean-Philippe Langevin, MD

Neurosurgery

Melita Petrossian, MD

Neurology

Verna R. Porter, MD

Adult Neurology

Christopher Putman, MD

Neurointerventional Surgery

Walavan Sivakumar, MD

Neurosurgery

Jason Tarpley, MD, PhD

Neurointerventional Surgery

Courtney Voelker, MD, PhD (DPhil Oxon)

Ear, ENT Surgery

Naveed Wagle, MD

Neuro-Oncology

PNI Super Doctors Rising Stars 2026

Abbas A. Anwar, MD

ENT Surgery, Neurorhinology

Jian Guan, MD

Spine Neurosurgery

Amit Kochhar, MD

ENT Surgery, Facial Nerve, Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery

Omid Mehdizadeh, MD

ENT Surgery, Voice & Swallowing

PNI-Affiliated Doctors

Super Doctors: Pejman Cohan MD, Keith Heinzerling MD, & Brian King MD
Rising Stars: Dorothy Dada MD PhD & Simon Gabriel MD

Congratulations to our Doctors 

Congratulations to all the physicians for their remarkable achievements. Their hard work and dedication are an inspiration, and we look forward to their continued contributions to the field of medicine. 

About Pacific Neuroscience Institute

Pacific Neuroscience Institute provides advanced care for individuals with various neurological and cranial disorders. Our team consists of experts across 9 specialized fields, including neurosurgery, neurology, neuro-oncology, neuro-ophthalmology, neuro-psychology, psychiatry, endocrinology, otolaryngology (ENT), and interventional neuroradiology. Working together, we take a collaborative and comprehensive approach to diagnose and treat patients, aiming to quickly understand your condition and provide focused care that is minimally invasive yet highly effective, ultimately enhancing your quality of life.

Our focus is to advance care through research and clinical trials. Moreover, we are committed to offering fellowship training and providing education on neuroscience to providers, patients, and the community.