Dr. Ian Carroll is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Management, and Chief of the Stanford CSF Leak Headache Program.
In 2015 Dr. Carroll collaborated With Stanford’s Neuroradiology and Neurology Headache divisions to create the Stanford CSF Leak Headache Program after his daughter suffered through an initially-undiagnosed CSF leak. This experience left him with a passion for helping patients experiencing CSF leaks around the world. He is board-certified in four different specialties: Headache Medicine by the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties; Addiction Medicine by the American Board of Addiction Medicine; Pain Medicine by the American Board of Anesthesiology; and Anesthesiology by the American Board of Anesthesiology. His primary focus is on spinal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks.
Dr. Carroll graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia University, and then graduated with an M.D. from Columbia University. He was a Research Fellow at the Experimental Immunology Branch at the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda Maryland. He completed his internship in Internal Medicine, residency in Anesthesiology, fellowship in Pain Medicine, and was elected Chief Resident of Anesthesiology from 2001-2002 at Stanford University Medical Center. He joined Stanford’s Department of Anesthesiology as a primary teaching and research faculty in the Pain Management clinic in 2004.
Dr. Carroll completed Stanford’s two-year Clinical Research training program earning a M.S. degree in clinical epidemiology from Stanford in 2006. He has published over 50 original articles including research funded by the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER); the National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA); and the Stanford Institute for Neuro-Innovation & Translational Neurosciences (SINTN).
He has been a member of the Spinal CSF Leak Foundation’s medical advisory board since 2016.
We recently asked Dr. Carroll to share with us a little about his life and work.
What first motivated you to focus on spinal CSF leaks?
My daughter’s CSF leak.
What do you wish more people knew about spinal CSF leaks?
There is no such thing as a safe needle in the back.
What are you most excited about right now regarding spinal CSF leak research?
Advances in imaging leading to better treatment.
What do you like to do when you’re not seeing patients or thinking about spinal CSF leak?
Play “monopoly deal” with my family.
Thanks, Dr. Carroll, for all you do to help patients, educate others, further research, and raise awareness about spinal CSF leak!