Physician of the Year Dr. Gabriel Zada Provides Leading-edge Compassionate Care to his Patients

Gabriel Zada, MD, Professor of Neurological Surgery,
Director, USC Brain Tumor Center

Gabriel Zada, MD, director of the USC Brain Tumor Center, was recently named Keck Medical Center of USC’s inaugural 2023 Physician of the Year.

“Dr. Zada handles a large number of intricate, high-risk cases; and in those situations, the emotional needs of patients and families can be understandably high,” said Stephanie Hall, MD, Keck Medical Center of USC’s chief medical officer. “He advocates for his patients at every level of care.”

One of his recent high-risk patients, Della Gallagher, traveled from Canada to benefit from his expertise. After she experienced a massive seizure in 2021, she was diagnosed with a glioblastoma with a grim prognosis.

In Alberta, Gallagher was offered surgery to minimally reduce the tumor. “We knew that wasn’t going to be enough,” she said. “They didn’t have the surgical skills to do more.”

A friend connected her and her husband, Ian, with Dr. Zada, who performed an awake craniotomy. Dr. Zada removed the entire tumor and rogue cells in the surrounding tissue. During the surgery, anesthesia was lifted to keep Gallagher awake for critical memory and speech monitoring to avoid injuring any important brain pathways.

After her surgery, Gallagher enrolled in a clinical trial at USC for a drug, enzastaurin, which has been used to treat certain cancers and is now being tested for glioblastoma. Generous support from donors, such as Dr. Robert Kolesnik, and Joe and Kelly Self, help make such trials possible. Della Gallagher continues to fight her tumor with the investigational drug. “So far, I feel good, no side effects,” she said.

Eighteen months after her surgery Gallagher still feels good and there is no signs of the tumor returning. Ian and Della can’t say enough about the quality of care and attention they’ve received from the entire staff. They said, “the care is awesome.”