Isabelle M Germano
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Isabelle M Germano, MD, MBA

Neurosurgery

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About Me

Dr. Germano is a board certified neurosurgeon who specializes in the most advanced research in, and treatment of patients with, brain tumors. In the Department of Neurosurgery, she serves as Vice Chair for Faculty Affairs, Director of the Mount Sinai Comprehensive Brain Tumor Program, as well as Co-Director of the Radiosurgery Program.

Watch a video about Dr. Germano or learn more about her by visiting the Neurosurgery Tumors website.

In her clinical practice, Dr. Germano focuses on providing multidisciplinary care, rooted in minimally invasive procedures, for brain and spine tumor patients. Her pioneering work in the field includes first-in-human technology applications for computer-assisted, image-guided neurosurgery and a first-in-human clinical trial in New York State using gene therapy for recurrent glioblastoma.

Dr. Germano established the multi-disciplinary brain tumor program at Mount Sinai including the first neurosurgery laboratory in brain tumor basic/translational research as Principal Investigator of National Institute of Health (NIH) and national Cancer Institute (NCI) R01 grants. Her translational research on brain tumor has also been funded by the  Food and Drug Administration (FDA), private foundations and Industry. She is recognized a national leader in brain tumor neurosurgery for her many clinical and translational contributions, including over 150 peer-reviewed scientific publications and 6 books.

She is also internationally recognized as a neurosurgery educator, having organized, directed, and/or served as an instructor for nearly 300 practical courses for neurosurgeons and trainees in the United States and abroad. She recently published the first book on “Neurosurgery and Global Health” [Springer, 2022].

Dr. Germano has received more than 50 awards recognizing her as a leader in neurosurgery. She is the Past Chair of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and Congress of Neurological Surgeons Section on Tumors (2022-2024), the Past Chair of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies Education and Training and past chair of the AANS/CNS Section on Women in Neurosurgery, and has held more than 30 other leadership positions within neurosurgical societies, governmental agencies, and other professional organizations.

Language
English, Italian, French, Spanish, German
Position
PROFESSOR | Neurosurgery, PROFESSOR | Oncological Sciences, PROFESSOR | Neurology
Hospital Affiliations
  • Mount Sinai South Nassau
  • Mount Sinai Morningside
  • Mount Sinai Beth Israel
  • Mount Sinai Brooklyn
  • Mount Sinai Queens
  • The Mount Sinai Hospital
  • Mount Sinai West
Research Topics

Anti-Tumor Therapy, Apoptosis/Cell Death, Autophagy, Brain, Cancer, Cellular Differentiation, Gene Expressions, Gene Therapy, Metastasis, Migration, Molecular Biology, Neuroscience, Seizure, Stem Cells, Translation, Tumor Suppressor Genes, Tumorigenesis

Clinical Focus

  • Acoustic Neuroma
  • Astrocytoma
  • Biopsy
  • Brain Metastasis
  • Brain Tumor And Brain Cancer
  • Brain Tumor And Brain Cancer-Adult
  • Brain Tumors
  • Brain, Spine Tumors
  • Craniotomy

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Education

MD, University of Turin
Residency, Surgery (General Surgery)

University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine

Residency, Neurosurgery

University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine

Residency, Neurosurgery

Albert Einstein College of Medicine-Yeshiva University

Fellowship, Neurosurgery

University of Zurich

Fellowship, Neurosurgery

Montreal Neurological Institute

Certifications

American Board of Neurological Surgery

Awards

2017

Charles A. Elsberg, MD Lecturer

The New York Society for Neurosurgery

2017

Cullman Family Award for Excellence in Physician Communication

Mount Sinai Health System

2015

Most Compassionate Top 10 Doctors

Vitals

2014

Leksell Radiosurgery Award

American Association of Neurological Surgeons

2014

Leksell Radiosurgery Award

American Association of Neurological Surgeons

2013

Technology Development Award

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

2012

Neurological Devices Voting Member

Food and Drug Administration

2008

Research grant: Brain tumors and gene transfer

National Institute of Health

2007

Brain Tumor Research

Goldhirsh Foundation

2006

Life Time Member

Who is Who Strathmore's

2006

New York State Certificats of Recognition, Dedication and Service to the Italians Culture and Community

New York State

2005

Certificate of Excellence in Youth Education

New York City Department of Education and Mount Sinai School of Medicine

2004

Neurosurgery Research Award

New York State Society

2002

America's Top Cancer Doctors

Castle Connolly

2000

Best Doctors Of New York

New York Magazine

2000

Top Doctors New York Metro Area

Castle Connolly

1994

Mary Putnam Jacobi Award

Women's Medical Association of New York City

1993

W. Penfield Award

American Epilepsy Society

Research

Translational research for malignant brain tumors
The main focus of the laboratory is to investigate new strategies for adjuvant treatment of malignant brain tumors. With the support from the National Institutes of Health, NIH, private foundations and Industry, the laboratory has been very productive in investigating new promising modalities and compound to kill brain tumor cells. Embryonic stem cells are currently used in animal models to transfer genes to brain tumors.

Image-guide computer-assisted neurosurgery
One of the pioneers in this field, Dr. Germano continues to collaborate with the industry in making neurosurgical resections more accurate and less invasive.

Related Link:
Brain Tumor and Gene Therapy Laboratory

Locations

Insurance Information

Accepted insurance may vary by the doctor’s office location. Please contact the office directly to obtain the most up-to-date insurance information.

Patients with Cigna Medicare Advantage or Humana Medicare Advantage insurance: Please read this important message before booking to find out if out-of-network costs may apply to your next visit.

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Information regarding insurance participation and billing by this physician may be found on this page, and can also be obtained by contacting this provider directly. Because physicians insurance participation can change, the insurance information on this page may not always be up-to-date. Please contact this physician directly to obtain the most up-to-date insurance information.

Insurance and health plan networks that the various Mount Sinai Health System hospitals and facilities participate in can be found on the Mount Sinai Health System website.

Publications

Publications:183
Selected Publications

Patient Experience Star Ratings and Comments

The Patient Experience Star Rating reflects our patients’ perception of how well their Mount Sinai provider communicated with them during an office visit. The Star Rating is based on patient responses to three questions on a patient experience survey, a standardized questionnaire sent to verified patients and distributed by a third party vendor, Press Ganey. Responses are measured on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best score.


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Industry Relationships

Physicians and scientists on the faculty of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai often interact with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology companies, and other outside entities to improve patient care, develop new therapies and achieve scientific breakthroughs. In order to promote an ethical and transparent environment for conducting research, providing clinical care and teaching, Mount Sinai requires that salaried faculty inform the School of their outside financial relationships.

Below are financial relationships with industry reported by Dr. Germano during 2024 and/or 2025. Please note that this information may differ from information posted on corporate sites due to timing or classification differences.

Consulting or Other Professional Services Examples include, but are not limited to, committee participation, data safety monitoring board (DSMB) membership

  • Neosoma
  • brainlab

Equity (Stock or stock options valued at greater than 5% ownership of a publicly traded company or equity of any value in a privately held company)

  • Elminda

Mount Sinai's faculty policies relating to faculty collaboration with industry are posted on our website. Patients may wish to ask their physician about the activities they perform for companies.