Daniel F. Kelly, MD

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About Dr. Daniel Kelly

Dr. Daniel Kelly, a board-certified neurosurgeon, is the Director and one of four founders of the Pacific Neuroscience Institute®, Director of the Pacific Brain Tumor Center and Pacific Pituitary Disorders Center, and Professor of Neurosurgery at Saint John’s Cancer Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center. He also serves as President and CEO of the PNI Foundation.

Career Highlights

Considered to be one of the top neurosurgeons in the US, he has been awarded the Southern California SuperDoctors distinction 16 years in a row. A multiple recipient of the Patients’ Choice Award, Dr. Kelly is internationally recognized in the field of minimally invasive keyhole surgery for brain, pituitary, and skull base tumors. In practice for over 30 years, he has one of the world’s largest series in endonasal pituitary surgery with over 2,000 procedures performed and over 2,000 craniotomies for brain and skull base tumors. His current surgical practice encompasses the full spectrum of brain and skull base tumors, both benign and malignant, treated with minimally invasive and conventional approaches.

He has authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications and 40 book chapters, a majority of which focus on surgical outcomes and techniques, patient satisfaction and complication avoidance for a wide range of brain tumors including meningiomas, pituitary adenomas, craniopharyngiomas, Rathke’s cleft cysts, and clival chordomas. His current tumor-related research interests include refining endoscopic keyhole surgical approaches, enhancing post-operative quality of life and optimizing pituitary hormonal function.  

Since 2018, Dr. Kelly has increasingly focused his attention on helping advance novel mental health care solutions and was the creative force behind the launch of Pacific Brain Health Center in 2018 (led by Dr. David Merrill) and Pacific Treatment & Research in Psychedelics (TRIP) Center in 2019 (led by Dr. Keith Heinzerling). He is a co-investigator on psychedelic-assisted therapy clinical trials at TRIP addressing such as depression, anxiety addiction. In 2021 he completed the California Institute of Integral Studies Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Research training program.  

Dr. Kelly is an active member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, the International Society of Pituitary Surgeons, the Pituitary Society, and the North American Skull Base Society, and a member of the editorial board of the journal Neurosurgery and World Neurosurgery. He has a long-standing commitment to continuing medical education, fellowship training and patient education, and frequently lectures at national and international meetings. 

Dr. Kelly is a graduate of Claremont McKenna College, Georgetown University School of Medicine, and completed neurosurgical residency training in 1993 at George Washington University Medical Center. He was Professor of Neurosurgery and Vice-Chief of Clinical Affairs for the UCLA Division of Neurosurgery until 2007 when he joined Saint John’s Health Center and the Saint John’s Cancer Institute.

Since 2017, in partnership with Providence Saint John’s Health Center leadership and Providence leadership, Dr. Kelly and his PNI Co-Founders Chester Griffiths, MD, Howard Krauss, MD, and Santosh Kesari, MD, PhD, have expanded the PNI Medical Group to over 40 physicians and clinician scientists. The group includes specialists in neurosurgery, neuro-oncology, neurology, neuro-ophthalmology, otolaryngology (ENT), interventional neuroradiology, endocrinology, psychiatry, neuropsychology, addiction medicine and geriatrics, all striving to advance novel treatments across the neurosciences and behavioral health, and serving multiple Providence health centers and clinics across Southern California.

Medical Specialties

• Neurosurgery
• Minimally invasive keyhole surgery
• Psychedelic-assisted treatment and research

Clinic Location

Pacific Neuroscience Institute
2125 Arizona Ave
Santa Monica, CA 90404

Accepted Insurance

Medicare, medicaid and most insurance plans are accepted. Please contact us to confirm coverage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Articles by Dr. Daniel Kelly

Daniel F. Kelly

Cushing’s Disease 101: Not Rare But Perhaps Rarely Diagnosed

By Daniel F. Kelly, MD,  Garni Barkhoudarian, MD, Pejman Cohan, MD, and Sharmyn McGraw This article on Cushing’s disease is the first in a series of blogs on the diagnosis and treatment of pituitary adenomas and related hormonal disorders. In these pieces we will provide a…

PNI Experts

Embracing the Psychedelic Renaissance: Pacific Neuroscience Institute Unveils New Center of Excellence

We are excited to announce the expansion of our psychedelics program into a new center of excellence: The Pacific Treatment & Research in Psychedelics (TRIP). As a leader in psychedelic research, Pacific Neuroscience Institute (PNI) continues to pioneer innovative mental health solutions.

PNI Experts

Intracranial Meningioma, the Most Common Type of Brain Tumor

Intracranial meningiomas are the most common benign brain tumor that develop or arise from any meningeal surface of the brain, and are typically attached to the dura (outer layer of the meninges) but can also occur in the cerebral ventricles.

Additional Publications

View Dr. Kelly’s publications on ResearchGate.

Useful Links

• CV for Daniel F. Kelly, MD
• Pacific Brain Tumor Center
• Pacific Pituitary Disorders Center
• Pacific Brain Health Center
• Diane Cooper, Executive Assistant to Dr. Kelly