(Los Angeles, CA) 'Robert Knutzen, CEO of the Pituitary Network Association is pleased to announce that Dr. Daniel F. Kelly, Director of the Brain Tumor Center at Saint John's Health Center and the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica California, has joined the PNA Board of Governors.  'Dr. Kelly has already made a tremendous impact on the quality and comprehensive approach to pituitary patient care.  Having worked with Dr. Kelly for many years, I am aware of his total immersion in awareness and educational issues both for patients and physicians. We look forward to continuing a long and fruitful working relationship for many years to come,' states Knutzen. 

The newly created Board of Governors will be made up of 100 individuals, families or corporations across North America who will serve as spokespersons on behalf of the PNA.  Olympic Gold Medalist Scott Hamilton serves as the Honorary Chairman of the Board of Governors.

The Board is being strategically formed with distinguished business leaders and patients, as well as leading members of the medical community and university hospitals.  Each Board of Governor will work within their communities to act as the 'eyes, ears and voice' for outreach and fundraising on behalf of pituitary patients. 

Dr. Kelly is internationally recognized in the field of minimally invasive transsphenoidal and transcranial removal of brain, pituitary and skull base tumors. He has published extensively on the topics of surgical outcomes, patient satisfaction and complication avoidance for a wide range of brain and skull base pathology including pituitary adenomas, craniopharyngiomas, meningiomas, Rathke's cleft cysts, chordomas, schwannomas and sinus carcinomas. Combining keyhole surgical approaches, endoscopy and surgical navigation techniques, he has helped push this highly specialized area of neurosurgery toward progressive minimalization and better patient outcomes. He has one of the largest patient series world-wide using the direct endonasal transsphenoidal approach for pituitary and brain tumors.

Dr. Kelly is the author or co-author of more than 60 peer-reviewed publications and a dozen book chapters. He is a member of the editorial board of the journal Neurosurgery.  He is an active member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. He is also a member of the recently appointed Pituitary Adenoma Treatment Guidelines Committee of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

His research interests are in the fields of minimally invasive surgery, quality of life studies, pituitary hormonal recovery and traumatic brain injury.  He was the principal investigator of a study funded by the National Institute of Health that assessed pituitary hormonal loss after head injury and is currently studying the impact of concussion on pituitary hormonal function. He is also active in fostering the development of neurosurgical training programs in under-served areas of the world and is on the Board of the Foundation for International Education in Neurological Surgery (FIENS).

Dr. Kelly completed neurosurgical residency training at George Washington University Medical Center in 1993. He joined UCLA and Harbor-UCLA Medical Centers that same year and in 1998 became director of the UCLA Pituitary Tumor and Neuroendocrine Program. Before leaving UCLA in June 2007, he was Professor of Neurosurgery and Vice-Chief of Clinical Affairs for the Division of Neurosurgery and Co-Director of the UCLA Clinical Brain Injury Program.

As Director of the Brain Tumor Center at Saint John's Health Center and the John Wayne Cancer Institute, Dr. Kelly continues to focus his efforts on developing innovative treatments for patients with brain and pituitary tumors and post-traumatic pituitary failure, and providing fellowship training in minimally invasive intracranial surgery.

Dr. Kelly states, "It is a great honor to join the PNA Board of Governors and help further their outstanding effort in educating the public about pituitary hormonal disorders."