Mark Luciano, M.D., Ph.D.

Section Head

Mark G. Luciano, MD, PhD, FACS, came to the Cleveland Clinic Department of Neurosurgery in 1993 after training in general neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania and in pediatric neurosurgery at Harvard’s Boston Children’s Hospital. In addition, he was trained in research through a PhD from Tulane University and a fellowship at the National Institutes of Health. At Cleveland Clinic, he also holds adjunct positions in neuroscience research and in biomedical engineering.

Dr. Luciano is board-certified in general neurosurgery and in pediatric neurosurgery. He is Head of Congenital and Pediatric Neurosurgery and Co-Director of the Pediatric Neurology Center at Cleveland Clinic. His patients are children and adults with neurological congenital anomalies, hydrocephalus, cerebral cysts, tumors, craniofacial anomalies, tethered cord, Chiari malformation and cerebral palsy.

As part of his section, Dr. Luciano also directs the Neuroendoscopy and CSF Disorders program. He is known nationally and internationally for his clinical activity, research and educational work in neuroendoscopy, a form of minimally invasive neurosurgery. Children and adults are referred who are in need of endoscopic procedures, such as those with ventricular tumors and cysts. Dr. Luciano has directed Cleveland-area, national and international courses in neuroendoscopy and has developed new techniques in minimally invasive neurosurgery.

Dr. Luciano is recognized as an international leader in hydrocephalus. His NIH-funded experimental research has centered on the brain’s adaptation to the chronic compression and hypoxia of hydrocephalus and on the dynamic relationship between the CSF and vascular systems. Dr. Luciano is an Adjunct Faculty member for Kent State and Cleveland State Universities and is training PhD graduate students in both engineering and neuroscience. His experimental work also has led to his invention and development of a novel device to increase cerebral blood flow. He is Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board for CSF Therapeutics Inc., a venture capital-funded spin-off company based on this device.

At Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Luciano initiated the first multidisciplinary clinic in the country to diagnose and treat NPH, an increasingly recognized reversible form of imbalance and dementia. The “Aging Brain Clinic” triages elderly patients with problems in balance and cognition and is currently running a $1 million outcome study for NPH treatment. The “ABC” is a national role model for NPH diagnosis and treatment. As a result of his recognized leadership in hydrocephalus, Dr. Luciano has been on the National Hydrocephalus Association advisory board and has appeared in the local and national press and television including the Wall Street Journal, Woman’s Day, and the Today Show.

In addition to national publications, peer-review and editorial activity, Dr. Luciano is an internationally invited speaker in neuroendoscopy, hydrocephalus and pediatric neurosurgery. He was the “Brahm Prakash Memorial Orator” in New Dehli, India, and has been invited as visiting professor and speaker in India, China, Egypt and Europe. He has initiated an international cooperation between Cleveland Clinic and Peking Union Medical Center in Beijing, China, for education in neuroendoscopy. In addition, he has served as host and thesis mentor for international MD research fellows from Egypt and Sweden. 

• Visiting Professor, Peking Union Medical Center, China, 2006-2009
• Co-Director, Congress of Neurological Surgery Neuroendoscopy Course, 2005-2008

• Fellowship, Surgical Neurology Branch, National Institutes of Health, 1988-1990

Neurological Surgery

• Minimally invasive, laparoscopic shunt placement used to place CSF shunts with easier recovery and reduced risk
• Minimally invasive Chiari decompression, with reduced incision length and depth for effective decompression and faster recovery time
• Principle inventor and developer of patented "Cadence" device for increasing cerebral blood flow.  Now in laboratory development stage.

• Chair, Scientific Advisory Board, CSF Therapeutics, Inc.
• Best Physicians, Northeast Ohio magazine
• NIH R01-funded laboratory research
• Visiting Professor, Peking Union Medical Center, China, 2006-2009

• American Association of Neurological Surgeons
• Congress of Neurological Surgeons
• American Society of Pediatric Neurosurgeons
• American College of Surgeons
• Society for Research in Hydrocephalus and Spina Bifida

• CSF Therapeutics, Inc.