Robert C. Rostomily, M.D.
Associate Professor

Dr. Rostomily is an Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Washington School of Medicine and an attending neurosurgeon at University of Washington Medical Center. He received his medical degree from Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in 1987 and completed his residency in Neurosurgery at University of Washington in 1995. After fulfilling his military obligation and completing a cranial-base microsurgical fellowship at George Washington University, Dr. Rostomily joined the faculty of the Department of Neurological Surgery at University of Washington in 1988.

Dr. Rostomily is currently director of the UW Skull Base Laboratory, Co-Director of the Gamma Knife Center at Harborview Medical Center, and the leader of the Neuro-oncology affinity group of the Fred Hutchinson/University of Washington Cancer Consortium. Additionally, he is a research affiliate of the Center on Human Development and Disability (CHDD) at the University of Washington and, since 2008, a faculty member of the UW’s Institute of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine.

Patient Care
Dr. Rostomily's clinical practice focuses on the surgical management of tumors and disorders of the skull base.

He has special expertise in management of tumors including meningiomas, chordomas, chondrosarcomas and acoustic neuromas, neurovascular compression syndromes and the use of minimally invasive endoscopic surgical approaches to anterior skull base tumors including pituitary adenomas.

He works closely with the Otolaryngology Head and Neck services to provide comprehensive multidisciplinary care of skull base lesions including acoustic neuromas, petrous bone/lateral skull base cancers and disorders and anterior sinonasal craniofacial cancers.

Research
Dr. Rostomily’s lab is housed at the Institute of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (ISCRM) at the University’s South Lake Union research campus, where he and his research assistants are investigating the molecular biology of brain tumor stem cells with a focus on mechanisms that govern age-related malignancy and invasion.

This lab’s long-term goal is to leverage connections between developmental and aging neural stem and progenitor cell biology and human brain cancers to develop new strategies for treatment that can be rapidly applied in the clinical setting. more about research in the Rostomily Lab >>>

Education and Training
1980 BS, Yale University, New Haven, CT

1987 MD, Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH

1987-88 Internship, General Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

1991-92 Registrar, Neurological Surgery, Atkinson Morley’s Hospital, St. George’s University, London England

1994-95 Acting Instructor, Neurological Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

1987 MD, Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH

1987-88 Internship, General Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

1988-1995 Residency, Neurological Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

1991-92 Registrar, Neurological Surgery, Atkinson Morley’s Hospital, St. George’s University, London England

1994-95 Acting Instructor, Neurological Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

1999 Clinical Fellowship, Cranial Base and Microneurosurgery, George Washington University, Washington DC

Honors and Awards
1984-87 Dana Foundation Training Grant in Environmental Health Sciences. Case Western Reserve University

1987 Daniel Raving Memorial Award, Excellence in Environmental Health Sciences, Case Western Reserve University of School of Medicine

1994 Blue Ribbon Award, Pediatric Poster Section, Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL. Permanent Low-Activity 125I Seed Implants as an Adjunct to Surgery in the Treatment of Pediatric Brain Tumors, Rostomily RC, Halligan J, Geyer R, Stelzer K, Berger MS.

1995-1996 Charles A. Elsberg Fellowship in Neurological Surgery, NY Academy of Medicine

2000-01 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Pilot Research Award, “Correlation of basic helix-loop-helix protein expression in glial progenitors with glial tumor histogenesis and aggressiveness”

2000-05 NIH/NINDS K08 Award, “The Role of bHLH Genes in Gliogenesis and Glioma Biology”

2003; 2005 – Best Doctors in America

2007-2010 NIH/NIA R21 Award, “Modeling Gliomagenesis with aging glial progenitor cells and hosts.”

Recent Publications for Rostomily, R on PubMed

Selected Publications:

Manuscripts:

1. Rostomily RC, Halligan J, Geyer R, Stelzer K, Lindsley K, Berger MS: Permanent Low-Activity (125)I Seed Placement for the Treatment of Pediatric Brain Tumors: Preliminary Experience. Pediatr Neurosurg 34:198-205, 2001. PubMed abstract

2. Grant GA, Rostomily RC, Kim DK, Mayberg MR, Farrell D, Avellino A, Duckert LG, Gates GA, Winn HR. Delayed Facial Palsy after Resection of Vestibular Schwannoma. J. Neurosurg. 97(1):93-6, 2002. PubMed abstract

3. Tralins KS, Douglas JG, Stelzer KJ, Mankoff DA, Silbergeld DL, Rostomily R, Hummel S, Scharnhorst J, Krohn KA, Spence AM. Volumetric analysis of 18F-FDG PET in glioblastoma multiforme: prognostic information and possible role in definition of target volumes in radiation dose escalation. J Nucl Med 43:1667-73, 2002. PubMed abstract

4. Silbergeld DL, Rostomily RC: Resection of Glioblastoma. J. Neurosurg. 96:809. Author reply 810. 2002.

5. Hevner RF, Vilela MD, Rostomily RC, Cohrs RJ, Mahalingam R, Wellish M, Gilden DH. Grand round: An unusual cause of trigeminal distribution pain and “tumor.” The Lancet Neurology 2:567-571, 2003. PubMed abstract

6. Vilela MD, Rostomily RC. Temporomandibular joint-preserving preauricular subtemporal-infratemporal fossa approach: Surgical technique and clinical application. Neurosurgery. 55:143-154, 2004. PubMed abstract

7. Mohit AA, Santiago P, Rostomily RC. Intramedullary tuberculoma mimicking primary CNS lymphoma. Mohit AA, Santiago P, Rostomily RC: Intramedullary tuberculoma mimicking primary CNS lymphoma. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry; 75:1636-1638, 2004. PubMed abstract

8. Spence A, Peterson R, Scharnhorst J, Silbergeld DL, Rostomily RC: Phase II Study of Concurrent Continuous Temozolomide (TMZ) and Tamoxifen (TMX) for Recurrent Malignant Astrocytic Gliomas. J Neuro-Onc 2004; 70(1):91-95. PubMed abstract

9. Mesiwala AH, Scampavia LD, Rabinovitch PS, Ruzicka J, Rostomily RC. On-line Flow Cytometry for Real-Time Surgical Guidance. Neurosurgery. 55(3):September 2004. PubMed abstract

10. Bobola MS, Emond MJ, Blank A, Meade EH, Kolstoe DD, Berger MS, Rostomily RC, Silbergeld DL, Spence AM, Silber JR: Apurinic endonuclease activity in adult gliomas and time to tumor progression after alkylating agent-based chemotherapy and after radiotherapy. Clin Cancer Res 10:7875-7883, 2004. PubMed abstract

Selected Chapters:
1. Britz GW, Vilela MD, Futran N, Rostomily RC: Cosmetic concerns in posterior fossa skull base surgery. Neurosurg Clin N Am 13:475-489, 2002. PubMed abstract

2. Vilela MD, Britz GW, Rostomily RC: Cerebellopontine angle tumors, in Rengachary R, Ellenbogen R (eds): Principles of Neurosurgery. Philadelphia, Elsevier Mosby, 2004, pp 521-531.

3. Rostomily RC, Spence AM, Silbergeld DL: Neurosurgical Management of high grade gliomas, in Moore AJ, Newell DW (eds): International Practices in Neurosurgery. London, Springer Verlag, 2004, Chap 10, pp 167-186.