David S. Baskin is a neurosurgeon who currently works at Houston Methodist Hospital as the Vice Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery, the Director of the Residency Training program, and the Director of the Kenneth R. Peak Brain & Pituitary Tumor Center, and is also a professor of neurosurgery at Weill Cornell Medical College.

David S. Baskin
EducationSwarthmore College
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Medical career
FieldNeurosurgery

Education

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Baskin has a bachelor's degree from Swarthmore College, where he graduated with high honors, and a medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He completed his residency in neurosurgery at the University of California, San Francisco.[1]

Career

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Baskin taught neurological surgery at Baylor College of Medicine from 1984 until 2005. In 2011, he published a clinical trial in the Journal of Clinical Oncology regarding the efficacy of a type of gene therapy for malignant glioma, the most common form of brain tumor. This trial concluded that the therapy was safe and that the survival trends were "encouraging."[2][3] He became the director of the Peak Center upon its establishment in 2013.[4] In 2014, Baskin and his team conducted research regarding the use of nanosyringes to treat glioblastoma by filling them with anticancer drugs and releasing them into the bloodstream.[5]

Baskin has conducted research in which human neurons and fibroblasts are exposed to low levels of thimerosal, and has concluded that thimerosal causes membrane and DNA damage, as well as caspase-3-dependent apoptosis.[6][7] Some of this research was funded by Autism Speaks.[8] Baskin testified before the Committee on Government Reform that ethylmercury is possibly more toxic than methylmercury.[9] He also conducted research that demonstrates that cells from children with autism are more sensitive to environmental toxins than cells from age and sex matched controls.[10][11]

Baskin has won the American Academy of Neurosurgery Award; the American College of Surgeons' Smith, Kline & French fellowship; the Wakeman Award for Research in the Neurosciences; and a distinguished alumni award from Mount Sinai School of Medicine. In 2000, he was elected to The Society of Neurological Surgeons.[12]

References

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  1. ^ "David S. Baskin". Archived from the original on 2015-05-15. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  2. ^ Chiocca, E. A.; Aguilar, L. K.; Bell, S. D.; Kaur, B.; Hardcastle, J.; Cavaliere, R.; McGregor, J.; Lo, S.; Ray-Chaudhuri, A.; Chakravarti, A.; Grecula, J.; Newton, H.; Harris, K. S.; Grossman, R. G.; Trask, T. W.; Baskin, D. S.; Monterroso, C.; Manzanera, A. G.; Aguilar-Cordova, E.; New, P. Z. (2011). "Phase IB Study of Gene-Mediated Cytotoxic Immunotherapy Adjuvant to Up-Front Surgery and Intensive Timing Radiation for Malignant Glioma". Journal of Clinical Oncology. 29 (27): 3611–3619. doi:10.1200/JCO.2011.35.5222. PMC 3179270. PMID 21844505.
  3. ^ "Novel suicide gene therapy combined with standard treatment treats malignant brain tumors". Your Houston News. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  4. ^ Kimrey, Jennifer (27 September 2013). "New treatment facility named". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on 8 February 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  5. ^ Turner, Allan (21 March 2014). "Philanthropy keeps wheels of research turning". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  6. ^ Baskin, D. S.; Ngo, H.; Didenko, V. V. (2003). "Thimerosal Induces DNA Breaks, Caspase-3 Activation, Membrane Damage, and Cell Death in Cultured Human Neurons and Fibroblasts". Toxicological Sciences. 74 (2): 361–368. doi:10.1093/toxsci/kfg126. PMC 1892749. PMID 12773768.
  7. ^ Palta, Rina (1 March 2004). "Searching for the Missing Link". Mother Jones. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  8. ^ Rudy, Lisa Jo (23 September 2008). "Autism Speaks Announces Grants to Study Environmental Risks for Autism". About.com. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  9. ^ Burton, Dan (May 2003). "Mercury in Medicine: Taking Unnecessary Risks" (PDF). pp. 15–16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 August 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  10. ^ Sharpe, Martyn A.; Gist, Taylor L.; Baskin, David S. (2013). "B-Lymphocytes from a Population of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Their Unaffected Siblings Exhibit Hypersensitivity to Thimerosal". Journal of Toxicology. 2013: 801517. doi:10.1155/2013/801517. PMC 3697751. PMID 23843785.
  11. ^ Sharpe, Martyn A.; Gist, Taylor L.; Baskin, David S. (2013). "Alterations in Sensitivity to Estrogen, Dihydrotestosterone, and Xenogens in B-Lymphocytes from Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Their Unaffected Twins/Siblings". Journal of Toxicology. 2013: 159810. doi:10.1155/2013/159810. PMC 3836453. PMID 24363669.
  12. ^ "Dr. David Baskin". Society of Neurological Surgeons. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
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