Peter A. Chiarelli, MD DPhil

Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, University of Southern California
Attending Pediatric Neurosurgeon, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA)
Director, CHLA CSF Flow Dynamics Group (CFDG)
Director of Neurosurgical Education and Research, CHLA

Lecture Title: Investigation of CSF Flow Dynamics for Improved Hydrocephalus Management

Dr. Peter Chiarelli is an attending neurosurgeon at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and a leading innovator in neurotechnology and pediatric neurosurgery. His clinical practice focuses on brain and spinal cord tumors, Chiari malformation, hydrocephalus, spina bifida, tethered cord, and other complex pediatric neurosurgical conditions.

Dr. Chiarelli earned his M.D. from the Harvard Medical School / MIT joint program and completed his neurosurgical residency and pediatric fellowship at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital. As a Rhodes Scholar, he received a doctorate (D.Phil.) in MRI Physics at the University of Oxford, where he helped pioneer quantitative fMRI methods now widely used in brain physiology research.

At CHLA, Dr. Chiarelli directs the CSF Flow Dynamics Group (CFDG) and leads multiple NIH- and foundation-funded projects focused on hydrocephalus, cerebrospinal fluid imaging, and nanoparticle-enhanced therapies for pediatric brain tumors. His team developed the first clinically deployed non-invasive, quantitative shunt flow measurement technique using MRI. He also co-leads a laboratory at the Saban Research Institute developing therapeutic nanoparticles for radiation enhancement in glioma.

Dr. Chiarelli holds five patents (two awarded, three pending), has authored more than 45 peer-reviewed publications and five book chapters, and maintains an h-index of 23. He is board-certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery and has received national recognition, including the AANS/CNS Pediatric Section Research Prize, the Hydrocephalus Association Innovator Award, and repeated selections to Los Angeles Magazine and Pasadena Magazine Top Doctors lists. He is a fellow of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and serves on numerous research and educational leadership committees at CHLA and USC.