Meet Pediatric Neurosurgeon Jeffrey Greenfield

Meet Pediatric Neurosurgeon Jeffrey Greenfield

Jeffrey Greenfield is a pediatric neurosurgeon on the MSK Kids team who cares for patients with brain and spine tumors. Learn about how he combines compassionate care with leading scientific advances.
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 Jeffrey P. Greenfield, MD, PhD

Jeffrey P. Greenfield, MD, PhD

Pediatric Neurosurgeon

Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Pediatric brain tumors
  • Pediatric spinal tumors

My Specialties

  • Neuroendoscopy
  • Minimally invasive surgery
  • Brain mapping
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Dr. Greenfield's Office Information
Languages: English
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Get to Know Me

I am pediatric neurosurgeon on the MSK Kids team who has advanced training in caring for patients with brain and spine tumors. My goal is the compassionate care of children paired with leading scientific advances in these tumors.

I have special expertise caring for children with astrocytomas. Some of these tumors, called low-grade gliomas, look very much like normal brain tissue to the naked eye. I use MRI during surgery to distinguish between normal tissue and tumor tissue, which enables me to remove the tumor tissue precisely and effectively. We also use advanced techniques to map the parts of the brain responsible for language and movement before and during surgery. We can avoid these areas during an operation and safely remove tumors without harming vital brain tissue.

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Whenever possible, I try to use minimally invasive endoscopic approaches to operate on tumors at the base of the skull, such as those in or near the pituitary gland, like craniopharyngiomas and adenomas. Using this innovative technique, I can remove these tumors through the nose. This leaves no external scars, is less uncomfortable, and is easier for children to tolerate than conventional neurosurgery.

In addition to caring for young patients, I direct a research laboratory. I am seeking to understand several connected scientific questions. One major focus is exploring the events that turn noncancerous tumors, such as low-grade astrocytomas, into cancerous tumors. We have shown that certain cells from the bone marrow travel to the brain and promote the development of tumors. Treating these interactions is known as immunotherapy. The basic science underlying this idea forms the center of our research. 

Another focus of the lab is to understand how tumor cells move through the brain. We study a rare tumor called gliomatosis cerebri to better understand this phenomenon and prevent tumor invasion. Finally, we are interested in what is known as precision medicine. This means developing tools and algorithms to better tailor therapy to target mutations we have discovered through biopsies.

I truly draw inspiration from my young patients every day. As we make treatment decisions with our patients and their families, we always keep in mind the goal of a happy, productive childhood and their continued physical, emotional, and intellectual development.

What I Do at MSK

I'm a pediatric neurosurgeon, a doctor with special training in surgery on the central nervous system. This includes the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. I treat children and adolescents.

  • Associate Attending Neurosurgeon
Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Pediatric brain tumors
  • Pediatric spinal tumors

My Specialties

  • Neuroendoscopy
  • Minimally invasive surgery
  • Brain mapping
Education & Honors

Education

  • MD, Weill Cornell Medical College
  • PhD, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences

Residencies

  • Neurosurgery - Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center/NewYork-Presbyterian

Fellowships

  • Pediatric Neurosurgery - Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Board Certifications

  • Neurological Surgery
  • Pediatric Neurological Surgery

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Contact and Location

Dr. Greenfield sees patients at one location.

Office Phone
Location
New York, NY
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
1275 York Avenue New York NY 10065
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Colleagues

Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering work as teams, with specialists from all different areas. This allows us to consider all your needs together, and to give you the best possible care.

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Clinical Trials

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Research and Publications

Publications on PubMed

Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Greenfield’s journal articles. Pubmed is an online index of research papers and other articles from the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

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