Isaac Yang, MD

Isaac Yang, MD

Assistant Professor and Physician, Department of Neurosurgery

Languages

English, Korean, Spanish

Specialty

Neurological Surgery

Institutional Affiliation

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
Harbor-UCLA Medical Center

Education

Fellowship

Brain Tumor Research, UCSF Brain Tumor Research Center, 2008 - 2009

Internship

Surgery, UCSF Department of Surgery, 2004 - 2005

Degree

MD, UCLA School of Medicine, 2004

Residency

Neurological Surgery, UCSF Department of Neurological Surgery, 2005 - 2010

Board Certification

Neurological Surgery Written Boards, American Board of Neurological Surgery, 2009

Contact Information

Phone

(310) 267-2621 - Patient Appointments

Clinical Interests

Acoustic Neuromas, Anaplastic Astrocytoma (Grade III Glioma), Astrocytoma (Grade II Gliomas), Brain Stem Gliomas, Chondrosarcomas, Chordomas, C.N.S. Lymphoma, Craniopharyngiomas, Ependymoma, Epidermoid Tumors, Gangliomas, Gliobastoma (Grade IV Glioma), Glommus Jugulare Tumors, Medulloblastomas, Meningiomas, Metastatic Cancer - Brain Cancer From Other Organs, Oligodendroglioma, Optic Nerve Gliomas, Pilocytic Astrocytoma (Grade I Glioma), Pineal Tumors, Skull Base Tumors, Spinal Cord Tumors, Vascular Tumors

Scientific Interests

Dr. Isaac Yang is a neurosurgeon specializing in the surgical treatment and clinical outcomes of adult brain and spinal cord tumors at UCLA with an emphasis on acoustic neuromas, skull base tumors and state of the art, intra-operative brain motor and neurophysiologic mapping to safely maximize tumor resection.

Yang is experienced in neuro-oncology surgical treatment for patients with very complex brain tumors, skull base tumors, acoustic neuromas, meningiomas, astrocytomas, oligodendrogliomas, anaplastic astrocytomas and glioblastomas. Yang has received a number of national awards and grants to honor his research work in brain tumors and excellence in treating and caring for patients. As a principal investigator at the UCLA Brain Tumor Program, his extensive research interests include optimizing brain tumor clinical outcomes, novel nanoparticles against brain tumors and experimental glioblastoma therapies like brain tumor vaccines. Yang is collaborating with the UCLA NanoSystems Institute to utilize novel nanoparticles in cutting edge use of nanoparticles for potential brain tumor treatments and immunotherapy. In addition to his basic science research, Yang conducts research efforts into brain tumor outcomes of patients with brain tumors seeking to maximize safe and effective treatments for patients with brain tumors.

Highlighted Publications

Yang I, Han SJ, Sughrue ME, Tihan T, Parsa AT. Immune cell infiltrate differences in pilocytic astrocytoma and glioblastoma: evidence of distinct immunological microenvironments that reflect tumor biology. J Neurosurg. 2011 Sep;115(3):505-11. doi: 10.3171/2011.4.JNS101172. Epub 2011 Jun 10.

Han SJ, Yang I, Ahn BJ, Otero JJ, Tihan T, McDermott MW, Berger MS, Prados MD, Parsa AT. Clinical characteristics and outcomes for a modern series of primary gliosarcoma patients. Cancer. 2010 Mar 1;116(5):1358-66.

Yang I, Tihan T, Han SJ, Wrensch MR, Wiencke J, Sughrue ME, Parsa AT. CD8+ T-cell infiltrate in newly diagnosed glioblastoma is associated with long-term survival. J Clin Neurosci. 2010 Nov;17(11):1381-5. Epub 2010 Aug 19.

Yang I, Aghi MK. New advances that enable identification of glioblastoma recurrence. Nat Rev Clin Oncol. 2009 Nov;6(11):648-57. Epub 2009 Oct 6.

Yang I, Kremen TJ, Giovannone AJ, Paik E, Odesa SK, Prins RM, Liau LM. Modulation of major histocompatibility complex Class I molecules and major histocompatibility complex-bound immunogenic peptides induced by interferon-alpha and interferon-gamma treatment of human glioblastoma multiforme. J Neurosurg. 2004 Feb;100(2):310-9.