Professor of Neurosurgery
Dr. Nandan Lad is a neurosurgeon, scientist, and entrepreneur and Professor and Vice Chair of Innovation for Duke Neurosurgery. He is Director of the Functional & Restorative Neuromodulation Program and the Duke NeuroInnovations Program, a systematic approach to innovation to large unmet clinical needs.
He completed his MD and PhD in Biochemistry at Chicago Medical School and his neurosurgical residency training at Stanford with fellowships in both Surgical Innovation and Functional Neurosurgery.
Neuromodulation; Neurorestoration; Bioengineering; Medical Device Design; Clinical Trials; Data Science; Health Outcomes.
Appointments and Affiliations
- Professor of Neurosurgery
- Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences
- Core Faculty Member, Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy
Contact Information
- Office Location: 200 Trent Drive, Blue Zone, Su, Durham, NC 27710
- Email Address: nandan.lad@duke.edu
- Websites:
Education
- M.D. Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, 2004
- Ph.D. Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, 2004
- Stanford University, 2005
- Stanford University, 2011
- Stanford University, 2008
- Stanford University, 2009
Courses Taught
- BRAINSOC 796T: Bass Connections in Brain & Society Research Team
- BRAINSOC 795T: Bass Connections in Brain & Society Research Team
- BRAINSOC 401T: Bass Connections in Brain & Society Research Team
- BRAINSOC 394T: Bass Connections in Brain & Society Research Team
- BRAINSOC 393T: Bass Connections in Brain & Society Research Team
In the News
- Duke Scientists Create Brain Implant That May Enable Communication From Thought…
- When Diabetic Neuropathy Made Him Miserable, A Spinal Cord Stimulator Got Him B…
- A Challenging Diagnosis in a Patient With Metastatic Lung Cancer (Sep 13, 2016 …
- Chronic Foot, Ankle Pain After Lumbar Decompression Surgery (Aug 16, 2016 | Cli…
- Trying a New Pulse for Pain Relief (Nov 1, 2015)
- MRI Technology Reveals Deep Brain Pathways in Unprecedented Detail (Jun 4, 2015)
- Surgical Complications of DBS No Higher Risk for Older Parkinson’s Patients (Au…
- Spinal Fusion Material, BMP, Increases Risk of Benign Tumors, Not Cancer (Sep 5…
Representative Publications
- Duraivel, Suseendrakumar, Shervin Rahimpour, Katrina Barth, Chia-Han Chiang, Charles Wang, Stephen C. Harward, Shivanand P. Lad, et al. “Distinct neural processes link speech planning and execution.” Nat Hum Behav, August 13, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-026-02546-w.
- Bergin, Stephen M., Joshua Woo, Mohamed Alwadai, Benjamin S. Succop, Blake Parente, Peter G. Passias, Allan H. Friedman, Shivanand P. Lad, and Muhammad M. Abd-El-Barr. “Posterior Cervicothoracic Fusion During Dorsal Root Entry Zone Lesioning for Brachial Plexus Avulsion: Sagittal Alignment and Deformity Outcomes.” Neurosurg Pract 7, no. 4 (August 2026): e000278. https://doi.org/10.1227/neuprac.0000000000000278.
- Spalding, Z., S. Duraivel, S. Rahimpour, C. Wang, K. Barth, C. Schmitz, S. P. Lad, et al. “Shared latent representations of speech production for cross-patient speech decoding.” Nat Commun 17, no. 1 (July 16, 2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-75455-1.
- Duraivel, Suseendrakumar, Shervin Rahimpour, Katrina Barth, Chia-Han Chiang, Charles Wang, Stephen C. Harward, Shivanand P. Lad, et al. “Distinct neural processes link speech planning and execution.,” July 3, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.10.07.617122.
- Hon, Katrina, Pranav Warman, Vishal Venkatraman, Alexander D. Suarez, Margot Kelly-Hendrick, Samuel Teshome, Rajeev Dharmapurikar, Michael M. Haglund, and Shivanand P. Lad. “A Competency-Based Approach to Functional Neurosurgery Training: Insights From the Surgical Autonomy Program.” Neuromodulation 29, no. 5 (July 2026): 750–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurom.2025.06.010.