Dr. John D. Heiss

Alan R. Cohen is the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore, Maryland, and one of the top pediatric neurosurgeons in the country. His area of specialty is treating infants and children diagnosed with brain tumors. Dr. Cohen’s goal is to get his patients back to being a kid again. He has a patient-centered approach to caring for each of his patients, working closely with the child’s family at every stage of the decision-making process. Dr. Cohen sees patients in the neurosciences clinic located in the Levi Watkins, Jr., M.D., Outpatient Center. As the Carson-Spiro Professor of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Dr. Cohen is a leader in developing minimally invasive techniques to enhance the safety and efficacy of selected pediatric neurosurgical procedures. He serves as director of the Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery Laboratory at Johns Hopkins and directs the Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery Fellowship Program. His lab focuses on developing novel instruments and surgical approaches. He has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, and published two textbooks. He has given approximately 330 national and international presentations, and has been an invited visiting professor at 50 medical centers. He is past president of the Society of Neurological Surgeons, the American Society of Pediatric Neurosurgeons and the AANS/CNS Section on Pediatric Neurological Surgery. He is past vice president of the American Academy of Neurological Surgery, a past director of the American Board of Neurological Surgery and current director of the American Board of Pediatric Neurological Surgery. Patient Reviews Hear what patients have to say about Dr. Cohen’s care: • Healthgrades Patient Reviews • Vitals Patient Reviews. Dr. Cohen is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Ectodermal Dysplasias. His top areas of expertise are Arachnoid Cysts, Meningocele, Hydrocephalus, Endoscopy, and Cerebral Artery Bypass Surgery.

Mari Groves is a Johns Hopkins pediatric neurosurgeon who cares for children with brain and spinal cord tumors (benign and cancerous), skeletal dysplasia, and spinal deformities such as neuromuscular and early scoliosis. She also sees patients diagnosed with Chiari malformations, spasticity and epilepsy. She specializes in treating patients with all types of spina bifida, including myelomeningocele. As part of the Johns Hopkins Center for Fetal Therapy, she is an expert in prenatal closure techniques such as minimally invasive fetoscopic repair of myelomeningocele (when the spina bifida defect is repaired before birth). Offering a transitional practice model of care, she follows patients diagnosed with spina bifida from birth to adulthood. Dr. Groves chose to pursue neurosurgery because it allows her to treat patients with complex conditions and help improve the quality of children’s lives. Her research interests focus on pediatric spinal disease and how surgical intervention can impact growth and neurological function during a child’s life. She is committed to building programs that support patients with congenital disorders as they age. Pediatric patients often age out of existing programs and have difficulty locating physicians and treating teams that understand their conditions. At Johns Hopkins, we have a unique ability to provide this type of comprehensive care. Dr. Groves earned her medical degree from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 2007. She completed residency training in 2014 at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, where she remained for a neurosurgery fellowship, which she finished in 2015. She also completed a spinal deformity fellowship at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Philadelphia. Dr. Groves is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in the treatment of Ectodermal Dysplasias. Her top areas of expertise are Spinal Tumor, Myelomeningocele, Tethered Cord Syndrome, Osteotomy, and Laminectomy.