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Photo of Laura B. Ngwenya, MD,PHD

Laura B. Ngwenya, MD,PHD

Associate Professor of Clinical

Director of Neurotrauma

Neurosurgery | College of Medicine

Education/Credentials
  • Bachelor's Degree: Rutgers University
  • Doctor of Philosophy: Boston University
  • Medical Degree: Boston University
  • Neurological Surgery Residency: The Ohio State University
  • Neurotrauma and Neurocritical Care Fellowship: University of California San Francisco
Board Certifications & Licenses

American Board of Neurological Surgery (Certification Date: 2019-11-02)

Specialties

Neurological Surgery

Contact Information
Research Interests

Neurotrauma, Traumatic brain injury, Spinal injury, General Neurosurgery

Dr. Ngwenya has a clinical and research interest in neurotrauma, specifically, traumatic brain injury. Her clinical research involves identifying subsets of traumatic brain injured patients for targeted intervention.  Her basic science laboratory focuses on alterations in adult neurogenesis, spreading depolarizations, and identifying substrates that underlie cognitive deficits after traumatic brain in...

Clinical Interests

Neurosurgery

Stroke

Acute Head Bleeds

Acute Stroke

Arachnoid Cysts

Arnold-Chiari Malformation

Back Injuries

Benign Peripheral Nerve Tumor

Brain Abscess

Brain Concussion

Brain Hemorrhage

Brain Injuries

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Cerebral Contusion

Cerebral Hemorrhage

Cerebrovascular Trauma

Cervical Radiculopathy (pinched nerve)

Cervical Spondylosis

Cervicitis

Chiari Malformation

Concussion

Degenerative Spine Disease

Head Injury

Head Trauma

Hemorrhagic Stroke

Herniated Discs

Hydrocephalus

Intervertebral Disc Degeneration

Intervertebral Disc Displacement

Intracerebral Hemorrhage (ICH)

Intracranial Hematoma

Intracranial Hemorrhages

Intraventricular Hemorrhage

Lumbar Radiculopathy

Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Neck Pain

Neck/Spine Injury

Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus

Peripheral Nerve Disorders

Peripheral Nerve Tumors

Peripheral Nervous System Disease

Pinched Nerve

Pseudotumor Cerebri (Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension)

Sciatica

Severe Brain Injury

Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

Skull Fractures

Spinal Cord Compression

Spinal Cord Injuries

Spinal Cord Tumor

Spinal Disease

Spinal Disorders

Spinal Fluid Leaks

Spinal Fractures

Spinal Fusion

Spinal Injuries

Spinal Stenosis

Spinal Tumors

Spine Infections

Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Subdural Hematoma

Temporal Bone Fractures

Thoracic and Lumbar Spine Disorders

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Traumatic Spine Fractures

Peer Reviewed Publications

Alfawares, Yara; Folz, Caroline; Johnson, Mark D; Prestigiacomo, Charles J; Ngwenya, Laura B 2022. The history of antibiotic irrigation and prophylaxis in operative neurotrauma: perpetuation of military care in civilian settings. Neurosurgical focus, 53 3, E7

Bodien, Yelena G; Barber, Jason; Taylor, Sabrina R; Boase, Kim Dawn; Corrigan, John D; Dikmen, Sureyya; Gardner, Raquel C; Kramer, Joel; Levin, Harvey; Machamer, Joan; McAllister, Thomas; Nelson, Lindsay D; Ngwenya, Laura Benjamin; Sherer, Mark; Stein, Murray B; Vassar, Mary J; Whyte, John; Yue, John K; Markowitz, Amy J; McCrea, Michael; Manley, Geoffrey T; Temkin, Nancy; Giacino, Joseph 2022. Feasibility and utility of a flexible outcome assessment battery for longitudinal traumatic brain injury research: A TRACK-TBI study. Journal of neurotrauma, ,

Bradshaw, Paige Garber; Keegan, Shaun; Foertsch, Madeline; Yang, George L; Ngwenya, Laura B; Srinivasan, Vasisht 2022. Andexanet alfa after 4-factor PCC administration for intracranial hemorrhage: a case series. Journal of thrombosis and thrombolysis, 54 2, 295-300

Foreman, Brandon; Lee, Hyunjo; Okonkwo, David O; Strong, Anthony J; Pahl, Clemens; Shutter, Lori A; Dreier, Jens P; Ngwenya, Laura B; Hartings, Jed A 2022. The Relationship Between Seizures and Spreading Depolarizations in Patients with Severe Traumatic Brain Injury. Neurocritical care, ,

Ikeda, Daniel S; Chiocca, E Antonio; Lonser, Russel R; Sutton, Tracy E; McGregor, John M; Rea, Gary L; Schunemann, Victoria A; Ngwenya, Laura B; Marlin, Evan S; Porensky, Paul N; Shaikhouni, Ammar; Huntoon, Kristin; Dornbos, David; Shaw, Andrew B; Thoman, William J; Powers, Ciarán J 2022. Carole A. Miller, MD: Matriarch of the Ohio State University's Department of Neurosurgery. World neurosurgery, 166 , 33-38

Johnson, Mark D; Stolz, Uwe; Carroll, Christopher P; Yang, George L; Andaluz, Norberto; Foreman, Brandon; Kreitzer, Natalie; Goodman, Michael D; Ngwenya, Laura B 2022. An independent, external validation and component analysis of the Surviving Penetrating Injury to the Brain score for civilian cranial gunshot injuries. Journal of neurosurgery, , 1-8

Johnson, Reid A; Eaton, Anne; Tignanelli, Christopher J; Carrabre, Kailey J; Gerges, Christina; Yang, George L; Hemmila, Mark R; Ngwenya, Laura B; Wright, James M; Parr, Ann M 2022. Changes in patterns of traumatic brain injury in the Michigan Trauma Quality Improvement Program database early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of neurosurgery, , 1-11

Yang, George L; Johnson, Mark D; Solomon, Daniel; Ferguson, Andrew M; Johnson, Reid A; Gerges, Christina; Wright, James M; Parr, Ann M; Ngwenya, Laura B 2022. The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Penetrating Neurotrauma at a Level 1 Trauma Center. World neurosurgery, 164 , e530-e539

Casillo, Stephanie M; Venkatesh, Anisha; Muthiah, Nallammai; Agarwal, Nitin; Scott, Teresa; Romani, Rossana; Fernández, Laura L; Aristizabal, Sarita; Ginalis, Elizabeth E; Ozair, Ahmad; Bhat, Vivek; Faruqi, Arjumand; Bajaj, Ankur; Sonkar, Abhinav Arun; Ikeda, Daniel S; Chiocca, E Antonio; Lonser, Russell R; Sutton, Tracy E; McGregor, John M; Rea, Gary L; Schunemann, Victoria A; Ngwenya, Laura B; Marlin, Evan S; Porensky, Paul N; Shaikhouni, Ammar; Huntoon, Kristin; Dornbos, David; Shaw, Andrew B; Powers, Ciarán J; Gluski, Jacob M; Culver, Lauren G; Goodwin, Alyssa M; Ham, Steven; Marupudi, Neena I; Bhat, Dhananjaya I; Berry, Katherine M; Wu, Eva M; Wang, Michael Y 2021. Biographies of international women leaders in neurosurgery. Neurosurgical focus, 50 3, E19

Correll, Erika A; Ramser, Benjamin J; Knott, Maxon V; McCullumsmith, Robert E; McGuire, Jennifer L; Ngwenya, Laura B 2021. Deficits in pattern separation and dentate gyrus proliferation after rodent lateral fluid percussion injury. IBRO neuroscience reports, 10 , 31-41

Foreman, Brandon; Lee, Hyunjo; Mizrahi, Moshe A; Hartings, Jed A; Ngwenya, Laura B; Privitera, Michael; Tortella, Frank C; Zhang, Nanhua; Kramer, Joel H 2021. Seizures and Cognitive Outcome After Traumatic Brain Injury: A Post Hoc Analysis. Neurocritical care, ,

Knott, Maxon V; Ngwenya, Laura B; Correll, Erika A; Bohnert, Judy; Ziemba, Noah J; Allgire, Emily; Hopkins, Tracy; McGuire, Jennifer L 2021. Lack of Glutamate Receptor Subunit Expression Changes in Hippocampal Dentate Gyrus after Experimental Traumatic Brain Injury in a Rodent Model of Depression. International journal of molecular sciences, 22 15,

Robinson, David; Kreitzer, Natalie; Ngwenya, Laura B; Adeoye, Opeolu; Woo, Daniel; Hartings, Jed; Foreman, Brandon 2021. Diffusion-Weighted Imaging Reveals Distinct Patterns of Cytotoxic Edema in Patients with Subdural Hematomas. Journal of neurotrauma, ,

Robinson, David; Pyle, Logan; Foreman, Brandon; Ngwenya, Laura B; Adeoye, Opeolu; Woo, Daniel; Kreitzer, Natalie 2021. Antithrombotic regimens and need for critical care interventions among patients with subdural hematomas. The American journal of emergency medicine, 47 , 6-12

Robinson, Michael W; Prestigiacomo, Charles J; Ngwenya, Laura B 2021. Commentary: Intracerebral Hemorrhage Volume Reduction and Timing of Intervention Versus Functional Benefit and Survival in the MISTIE III and STICH Trials. Neurosurgery, 88 5, E394-E395

Wright, James M; Gerges, Christina; Shammassian, Berje; Labak, Collin M; Herring, Eric Z; Miller, Benjamin; Alkhachroum, Ayham; Kottapally, Mohan; Huang Wright, Christina; Rodgers, Richard B; Sedney, Cara; Ngwenya, Laura B; Stippler, Martina; Sieg, Emily; Babu, Maya A; Hoffer, Alan; Hejal, Rana 2021. Prone Position Ventilation in Neurologically Ill Patients: A Systematic Review and Proposed Protocol. Critical care medicine, ,

Wright, James; Elder, Theresa; Gerges, Christina; Reisen, Breanne; Wright, Christina; Jella, Tarun; Shah, Sanjit; Yang, George; Ngwenya, Laura B; Wang, Vincent; Parr, Ann M 2021. A systematic review of telehealth for the delivery of emergent neurosurgical care. Journal of telemedicine and telecare, 27 5, 261-268

Barhorst, Kinsey A; Alfawares, Yara; McGuire, Jennifer L; Danzer, Steve C; Hartings, Jed A; Ngwenya, Laura B 2020. Remote and Persistent Alterations in Glutamate Receptor Subunit Composition Induced by Spreading Depolarizations in Rat Brain. Cellular and molecular neurobiology, ,

Hartings, Jed A; Andaluz, Norberto; Bullock, M Ross; Hinzman, Jason M; Mathern, Bruce; Pahl, Clemens; Puccio, Ava; Shutter, Lori A; Strong, Anthony J; Vagal, Achala; Wilson, J Adam; Dreier, Jens P; Ngwenya, Laura B; Foreman, Brandon; Pahren, Laura; Lingsma, Hester; Okonkwo, David O 2020. Prognostic Value of Spreading Depolarizations in Patients With Severe Traumatic Brain Injury. JAMA neurology, 77 4, 489-499

Le, Diana T; Barhorst, Kinsey A; Castiglione, James; Yang, George L; Shah, Sanjit J; Harlan, Sarah S; Keegan, Shaun P; Jandarov, Roman A; Ngwenya, Laura B; Prestigiacomo, Charles J 2020. Blunt cerebrovascular injury in the geriatric population. Neurosurgical focus, 49 4, E10

Matur, Abhijith V; Ngwenya, Laura B; Prestigiacomo, Charles J 2020. The surgical history of head injury in motor vehicle collision. Journal of neurosurgery, , 1-7

Ngwenya, Laura B 2020. Commentary: Concussion Guidelines Step 2: Evidence for Subtype Classification. Neurosurgery, 86 1, E1

Rath, Kelly; Kreitzer, Natalie; Schlichter, Erika; Lopez, Omar; Ferioli, Simona; Ngwenya, Laura B; Foreman, Brandon 2020. The Experience of a Neurocritical Care Admission and Discharge for Patients and Their Families: A Qualitative Analysis. The Journal of neuroscience nursing : journal of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses, 52 4, 179-185

Rhame, Katherine; Le, Diana; Horner, Amy; Thomas, Andrea; Foreman, Brandon P; Kreitzer, Natalie P; Ngwenya, Laura B 2020. Implementation of a Neurotrauma Hotline for post-hospital continuity of care. Acta neurologica Scandinavica, 141 4, 351-354

Rhame, Katherine; Le, Diana; Ventura, Amanda; Horner, Amy; Andaluz, Norberto; Miller, Christopher; Stolz, Uwe; Ngwenya, Laura B; Adeoye, Opeolu; Kreitzer, Natalie 2020. Management of the mild traumatic brain injured patient using a multidisciplinary observation unit protocol. The American journal of emergency medicine, ,

Robinson, David; Pyle, Logan; Foreman, Brandon; Ngwenya, Laura B; Adeoye, Opeolu; Woo, Daniel; Kreitzer, Natalie 2020. Factors Associated with Early versus Delayed Expansion of Acute Subdural Hematomas Initially Managed Conservatively. Journal of neurotrauma, ,

Shah, Sanjit; Yang, George L; Le, Diana T; Gerges, Christina; Wright, James M; Parr, Ann M; Cheng, Joseph S; Ngwenya, Laura B 2020. Examining the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act: impact on telemedicine for neurotrauma. Neurosurgical focus, 49 5, E8

Simpkins, Alexis N; Busl, Katharina M; Amorim, Edilberto; Barnett-Tapia, Carolina; Cervenka, Mackenzie C; Dhakar, Monica B; Etherton, Mark R; Fung, Celia; Griggs, Robert; Holloway, Robert G; Kelly, Adam G; Khan, Imad R; Lizarraga, Karlo J; Madagan, Hannah G; Onweni, Chidinma L; Mestre, Humberto; Rabinstein, Alejandro A; Rubinos, Clio; Dionisio-Santos, Dawling A; Youn, Teddy S; Merck, Lisa H; Maciel, Carolina B 2020. Proceedings from the Neurotherapeutics Symposium on Neurological Emergencies: Shaping the Future of Neurocritical Care. Neurocritical care, 33 3, 636-645

Burke, John F; Yue, John K; Ngwenya, Laura B; Winkler, Ethan A; Talbott, Jason F; Pan, Jonathan Z; Ferguson, Adam R; Beattie, Michael S; Bresnahan, Jacqueline C; Haefeli, Jenny; Whetstone, William D; Suen, Catherine G; Huang, Michael C; Manley, Geoffrey T; Tarapore, Phiroz E; Dhall, Sanjay S 2019. In Reply: Ultra-Early (<12 Hours) Surgery Correlates With Higher Rate of American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale Conversion After Cervical Spinal Cord Injury. Neurosurgery, 85 2, E401-E402

Burke, John F; Yue, John K; Ngwenya, Laura B; Winkler, Ethan A; Talbott, Jason F; Pan, Jonathan Z; Ferguson, Adam R; Beattie, Michael S; Bresnahan, Jacqueline C; Haefeli, Jenny; Whetstone, William D; Suen, Catherine G; Huang, Michael C; Manley, Geoffrey T; Tarapore, Phiroz E; Dhall, Sanjay S 2019. Ultra-Early (<12 Hours) Surgery Correlates With Higher Rate of American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale Conversion After Cervical Spinal Cord Injury. Neurosurgery, 85 2, 199-203

Dossani, Rimal H; Terrell, Danielle; Kosty, Jennifer A; Ross, Robert C; Demand, Audrey; Wild, Elizabeth; Peterson, Racheal; Ngwenya, Laura B; Benzil, Deborah L; Notarianni, Christina 2019. Gender disparities in academic rank achievement in neurosurgery: a critical assessment. Journal of neurosurgery, , 1-6

Foreman, Brandon; Cass, Daryn; Forbes, Jonathan; Ngwenya, Laura B 2019. A Bedside, Single Burr Hole Approach to Multimodality Monitoring in Severe Brain Injury. Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE, 145,

Foreman, Brandon; Ngwenya, Laura B 2019. The Sustainability of Applied Intracranial Multimodality Neuromonitoring after Severe Brain Injury. World neurosurgery, ,

Khalid, Fatima; Yang, George L; McGuire, Jennifer L; Robson, Matthew J; Foreman, Brandon; Ngwenya, Laura B; Lorenz, John N 2019. Autonomic dysfunction following traumatic brain injury: translational insights. Neurosurgical focus, 47 5, E8

Lee, Hyunjo; Mizrahi, Moshe A; Hartings, Jed A; Sharma, Sameer; Pahren, Laura; Ngwenya, Laura B; Moseley, Brian D; Privitera, Michael; Tortella, Frank C; Foreman, Brandon 2019. Continuous Electroencephalography After Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury. Critical care medicine, 47 4, 574-582

McGuire, Jennifer L; Correll, Erika A; Lowery, Alexandra C; Rhame, Katherine; Anwar, Fatima N; McCullumsmith, Robert E; Ngwenya, Laura B 2019. Pioglitazone improves working memory performance when administered in chronic TBI. Neurobiology of disease, 132 , 104611

McGuire, Jennifer L; Ngwenya, Laura B; McCullumsmith, Robert E 2019. Neurotransmitter changes after traumatic brain injury: an update for new treatment strategies. Molecular psychiatry, 24 7, 995-1012

Foreman, Brandon; Ngwenya, Laura B; Stoddard, Erica; Hinzman, Jason M; Andaluz, Norberto; Hartings, Jed A 2018. Safety and Reliability of Bedside, Single Burr Hole Technique for Intracranial Multimodality Monitoring in Severe Traumatic Brain Injury. Neurocritical care, ,

Hartings, Jed A; Ngwenya, Laura B; Carroll, Christopher P; Foreman, Brandon 2018. Letter to the Editor. Ketamine sedation for the suppression of spreading depolarizations. Journal of neurosurgery, , 1-2

Hartings, Jed A; Ngwenya, Laura B; Watanabe, Tomas; Foreman, Brandon 2018. Commentary: Detecting Cortical Spreading Depolarization with Full Band Scalp Electroencephalography: An Illusion? Frontiers in systems neuroscience, 12 , 19

McGuire, Jennifer L; DePasquale, Erica A K; Watanabe, Miki; Anwar, Fatima; Ngwenya, Laura B; Atluri, Gowtham; Romick-Rosendale, Lindsey E; McCullumsmith, Robert E; Evanson, Nathan K 2018. Chronic Dysregulation of Cortical and Subcortical Metabolism After Experimental Traumatic Brain Injury. Molecular neurobiology, ,

Ngwenya, Laura B; Danzer, Steve C 2018. Impact of Traumatic Brain Injury on Neurogenesis. Frontiers in neuroscience, 12 , 1014

Ngwenya, Laura B; Gardner, Raquel C; Yue, John K; Burke, John F; Ferguson, Adam R; Huang, Michael C; Winkler, Ethan A; Pirracchio, Romain; Satris, Gabriela G; Yuh, Esther L; Mukherjee, Pratik; Valadka, Alex B; Okonkwo, David O; Manley, Geoffrey T 2018. Concordance of common data elements for assessment of subjective cognitive complaints after mild-traumatic brain injury: a TRACK-TBI Pilot Study. Brain injury, 32 9, 1071-1078

Ngwenya, Laura B; Mazumder, Sarmistha; Porter, Zachary R; Minnema, Amy; Oswald, Duane J; Farhadi, H Francis 2018. Implantation of Neuronal Stem Cells Enhances Object Recognition without Increasing Neurogenesis after Lateral Fluid Percussion Injury in Mice. Stem cells international, 2018 , 4209821

Estrada, Larissa I; Robinson, Amy A; Amaral, Ana C; Giannaris, Eustathia L; Heyworth, Nadine C; Mortazavi, Farzad; Ngwenya, Laura B; Roberts, Debra E; Cabral, Howard J; Killiany, Ronald J; Rosene, Douglas L 2017. Evaluation of Long-Term Cryostorage of Brain Tissue Sections for Quantitative Histochemistry. The journal of histochemistry and cytochemistry : official journal of the Histochemistry Society, 65 3, 153-171

Martin, Grace E; Carroll, Christopher P; Plummer, Zach J; Millar, D A; Pritts, Timothy A; Makley, Amy T; Joseph, Bellal A; Ngwenya, Laura B; Goodman, Michael D 2017. Safety and Efficacy of Brain Injury Guidelines at a Level III Trauma Center. The journal of trauma and acute care surgery, ,

Ngwenya, Laura B; Suen, Catherine G; Tarapore, Phiroz E; Manley, Geoffrey T; Huang, Michael C 2017. Safety and cost efficiency of a restrictive transfusion protocol in patients with traumatic brain injury. Journal of neurosurgery, , 1-8

Yue, John K; Burke, John F; Upadhyayula, Pavan S; Winkler, Ethan A; Deng, Hansen; Robinson, Caitlin K; Pirracchio, Romain; Suen, Catherine G; Sharma, Sourabh; Ferguson, Adam R; Ngwenya, Laura B; Stein, Murray B; Manley, Geoffrey T; Tarapore, Phiroz E 2017. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors for Treating Neurocognitive and Neuropsychiatric Disorders Following Traumatic Brain Injury: An Evaluation of Current Evidence. Brain sciences, 7 8,

Yue, John K; Ngwenya, Laura B; Upadhyayula, Pavan S; Deng, Hansen; Winkler, Ethan A; Burke, John F; Lee, Young M; Robinson, Caitlin K; Ferguson, Adam R; Lingsma, Hester F; Cnossen, Maryse C; Pirracchio, Romain; Korley, Frederick K; Vassar, Mary J; Yuh, Esther L; Mukherjee, Pratik; Gordon, Wayne A; Valadka, Alex B; Okonkwo, David O; Manley, Geoffrey T 2017. Emergency department blood alcohol level associates with injury factors and six-month outcome after uncomplicated mild traumatic brain injury. Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia, ,

Yue, John K; Robinson, Caitlin K; Winkler, Ethan A; Upadhyayula, Pavan S; Burke, John F; Pirracchio, Romain; Suen, Catherine G; Deng, Hansen; Ngwenya, Laura B; Dhall, Sanjay S; Manley, Geoffrey T; Tarapore, Phiroz E 2017. Circadian variability of the initial Glasgow Coma Scale score in traumatic brain injury patients. Neurobiology of sleep and circadian rhythms, 2 , 85-93

Ngwenya, Laura B; Burke, John F; Manley, Geoffrey T 2016. Brain Tissue Oxygen Monitoring and the Intersection of Brain and Lung: A Comprehensive Review. Respiratory care, 61 9, 1232-44

Ngwenya, Laura B; Heyworth, Nadine C; Shwe, Yamin; Moore, Tara L; Rosene, Douglas L 2015. Age-related changes in dentate gyrus cell numbers, neurogenesis, and associations with cognitive impairments in the rhesus monkey. Frontiers in systems neuroscience, 9 , 102

Yue, John K; Phelps, Ryan Rl; Hemmerle, Debra D; Upadhyayula, Pavan S; Winkler, Ethan A; Deng, Hansen; Chang, Diana; Vassar, Mary J; Taylor, Sabrina R; Schnyer, David M; Lingsma, Hester F; Puccio, Ava M; Yuh, Esther L; Mukherjee, Pratik; Huang, Michael C; Ngwenya, Laura B; Valadka, Alex B; Markowitz, Amy J; Okonkwo, David O; Manley, Geoffrey T . Predictors of six-month inability to return to work in previously employed subjects after mild traumatic brain injury: A TRACK-TBI pilot study. Journal of concussion, 5 ,