Chief Resident
Phone: (412) 647-6777
e-mail: ochalskipg@upmc.edu

Specialized Areas of Interest

Neurosurgical oncology; neurotrauma.

Biography

Pawel G. Ochalski, MD, graduated from The College of New Jersey in 1999 with a degree in biology. In 2005, he received his medical degree from UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, graduating at the top of his class.

During medical school, he completed a two-year research fellowship at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD, as part of the Howard Hughes Research Scholars Program. His research involved studying the molecular pathways regulating neuronal migration.

In 2006, he completed his internship in general surgery and started his general neurosurgery residency training at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. During his neurosurgical residency training, he has pursued clinical and academic research in neurotrauma and neurosurgical oncology. In 2008, he was awarded the Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation Research Fellowship supporting his work investigating the effects of GABA receptor modulation following brain injury under the mentorship of C. Edward Dixon, PhD, and David O. Okonkwo, MD, PhD.

In 2009, he was awarded grant funding from the Pittsburgh Foundation investigating the effects of endoscopic port surgery on white matter disruption. In 2011, Dr. Ochalski completed a clinical in-residency fellowship in neurosurgical oncology under the mentorship of Arlan P. Mintz, MD, and Johnathan A. Engh, MD. He has ongoing clinical outcomes research investigating the feasibility of implementing neurocognitive testing in brain tumor patients.

Dr. Ochalski—born in Poland and a native of Lawrenceville, NJ—will serve as chief resident in 2011-12 and will graduate in June of 2012.

Dr. Ochalski's publications can be reviewed through the National Library of Medicine's publication database.

Professional Organization Membership

Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society
American Association of Neurological Surgeons
Congress of Neurological Surgeons