Jennifer Moliterno, MD, FAANS

Jennifer Moliterno, MD, is a fellowship-trained, board-certified neurosurgeon at Yale Medicine who specializes in surgical procedures for all types of primary brain tumors, including gliomas (glioblastomas, oligodendrogliomas, and astrocytomas), meningiomas and acoustic neuromas (vestibular schwannomas), as well as other relatively less common tumor types, such as medulloblastoma, pineal tumors, intraventricular tumors, and epidermoid tumors. She consistently performs the highest volume of brain tumor surgery each year in the state of Connecticut and routinely cares for patients seeking second or third opinions from afar.

Dr. Moliterno has particular expertise in the treatment of complex brain tumors with the safe and effective use of more sophisticated microsurgical techniques, such as functional brain mapping and awake craniotomy for tumors located in highly functioning aress of the brain (speech and motor), as well as those arising along the skull base. Given her skull base surgical specialization, she also routinely performs microvascular decompression for trigeminal neuralgia and hemifacial spasm. Dr. Moliterno is also credentialed for performing Gamma Knife radiosurgery.

Dr. Moliterno is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Yale Cancer Center Award for Clinical Excellence and Castle Connolly Top Doctors. She is an active member of several boards for various neurosurgical organizations and serves as the first woman president of the New England Neurosurgical Society, and the second female chair of the executive commitee of the AANS/CNS Section on Tumors.

Dr. Moliterno’s research interests parallel that of her clinical practice with a bench-to-bedside focus on the clinical implications of the genomics of brain tumors. She is a frequently requested national and international lecturer. She serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Neurosurgery and is an associate editor for Neurosurgery.

Dr. Moliterno serves as the clinical director for the Chenevert Family Brain Tumor Center and chief of neurosurgical oncology in the Department of Neurosurgery. She is also the director of the multidisciplinary Brain Tumor Board and Precision Brain Tumor Board and the director for the neurosurgical oncology fellowship program. She serves as chair of the Lovemark Foundation Fund at Smilow Cancer Hospital, aimed at providing support for people who have brain tumors.

She completed her internship and residency training in neurosurgery at Yale New Haven Hospital and clinical fellowship in neurosurgical oncology at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.