Dr. Michelle Cecchini is a neurosurgeon trained in the surgical treatment of disorders of the brain and spine. She is originally from the Chicagoland area and attended University of Illinois-Champaign graduating with a degree in Biology with High distinction and Summa cum Laude. She attended medical school at Rush Medical College and completed her training in Neurosurgery at the University of Washington in Seattle in 2015.
Dr. Cecchini worked at the University of Washington for three and a half years after graduating, where she specialized in surgical treatment of brain and spine tumors, degenerative disease of the neck and back, hydrocephalus, and congenital disorders of the nervous system. She was also an active educator as the director of resident education courses and the associate program director.
She moved to San Antonio when her significant other was relocated here by the Army and they welcomed their first child in June of 2019. Dr. Cecchini is excited to begin to bring her expertise in neurosurgical care to the communities of San Antonio, and intends to provide compassionate and expert medical care to her patients using the most modern technology and knowledge available.
Demographic Information
Current Appointments
Weatherby Healthcare, Locum tenens physician
Hayes Locums, Locum tenens physician
Education and Training
2000-2004 Bachelor of Science, Summa Cum Laude, High Distinction
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, IL
2004-2008 Doctor of Medicine
Rush Medical College Chicago, IL
2008-2009 Neurosurgery Internship
University of Washington Seattle, WA
2009-2015 Neurosurgery Residency
University of Washington Seattle, WA
2015 (Jan- June) Spine Fellowship
University of Washington Seattle, WA
Professional Experience and Academic Appointments
2015-2019 Assistant Professor, Full Time Staff
Department of Neurological Surgery
University of Washington Medical Ctr/ Harborview Medical Ctr
2017- Feb 2019 Associate Program Director
UW Neurological Surgery Residency Program
2015-Feb 2019 Director of UW Skull Base Laboratory
Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Washington
2017- Feb 2019 Director of UW Spine Cadaver Laboratory
Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Washington
2016- Feb 2019 Director of UW Spine Sawbones Course
Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Washington
Research Activities
Peer- Reviewed Publications
Cecchini, M., Levitt, M., Taneja, M., Hallam, D., Ghodke, R. Embolization of carotid-cavernous fistula via direct percutaneous puncture of the inferior ophthalmic vein. Technical note. J Neuroradiol. 2011 Jul 21.
Morton RP, Abecassis IJ, Hanson JF, Barber J, Nerva JD, Emerson SN, Ene CI, Chowdhary MM, Levitt MR, Ko AL, Dellit TH, Chesnut RM. Predictors of infection after 754 cranioplasty operations and the value of intraoperative cultures for cryopreserved bone flaps. J Neurosurg. 2016 Jan 15:1-5.
Chowdhary MM, Ene CI, Silbergeld DL. Treatment of Gliomas: How Did We Get Here? Surg Neurol Int. 2015 Feb 13;6(Suppl 1):S85-8.
Morton RP, Abecassis IJ, Hanson JF, Barber JK, Chen M, Kelly CM, Nerva JD, Emerson SN, Ene CI, Levitt MR, Chowdhary MM, Ko AL, Chesnut RM. Timing of Cranioplasty: a 10.75 year single-center analysis of 754 patients. J Neurosurg. 2018 Jun; 128(6): 1648-1652.
Abstracts, Oral Presentations, Poster Presentations and Exhibits Presented at Professional Meetings
Ali Ravanpay MD, PhD, Michelle Cecchini MD, Richard Ellenbogen MD, Michael Jensen MD, Targeted Cytotoxic Killing of Glioblastoma by Genetically Engineered Central Memory T cells Expressing Monoclonal Antibody 806 Chimeric Antigen Receptor, Poster, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, September 2013
Larry R. Shannon, II, MD, Richard W. Byrne, MD, Michelle Cecchini, BS, George Selas BS, Matthew Morin, Andres Kanner, Michael Smith MD, Complications of Subdural Electrode Epilepsy Recording, Abstract, AANS, April 2008
Musacchio, M., Cecchini, M., Boco, T., Deutsch, H., Clinical outcomes after minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion with unilateral pedicle screw fixation, Abstract, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, September 2007
Cecchini, M., Delcomyn, F., Insect leg hair plate encodes velocity, not position, Abstract and Poster, Midwest Neurobiology Society, June 2004
Book Chapters
Ellenbogen, RG., Lucas, T., Chowdhary, M., Microsurgical Approaches to the Ventricle. In Principles of Neurological Surgery, 4th Edition: Richard G. Ellenbogen, MD, FACS, Laligam N Sekhar, MD, FACS and Neil Kitchen
Grants
T32 NIH Training Grant, P.I.: M. Jensen, M. Zhang Topic: Production of chimeric antigen receptor transduced CD8+ T cells against overexpressed EGFR for glioblastoma.
Professional Societies and National Meetings
AANS, active member, 2008- present
CNS, active member, 2008- present
SNS Western Region Intern Boot Camp
Invited Faculty- Lecturer, Skills Proctor 2016, 2017, 2018
SNS Western Region R2 Boot Camp
Invited Faculty- Lecturer, Skills Proctor 2016, 2017, 2018
Spanish 
English