Brian Vala Nahed, MD
Not currently accepting new patients
4.816216 average rating from 74 patient reviews
Specialties
Affiliation
Mass General Brigham
Provider Locations
- Boston, MA
Dr. Brian Nahed is Professor and Vice-Chair of Neurosurgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital / Mass General Brigham. Dr. Nahed is a brain tumor specialist and expert using intra-operative technology to ensure the best patient outcomes. He is an internationally recognized expert in brain mapping, awake surgery, language and motor mapping, subcortical stimulation, and minimally invasive procedures to treat brain tumors aggressively and safely. He has pioneered the use of intraoperative ultrasound to maximize patient outcomes and co- founded the international intraoperative ultrasound society which leads educational efforts in intraoperative imaging.
He completed his neurosurgery residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and a postdoctoral fellowship with Drs. Daniel Haber and Shyamala Maheswaran in the MGH Cancer Center. Dr. Brian Nahed was recruited to the MGH Department of Neurosurgery, MGH Brain Tumor Center, and Harvard Medical School in 2011. Dr. Nahed research was the first to develop a blood test to identify and capture circulating tumor cells in the blood of patients with glioblastoma. Together with Dr. Shannon Stott, Nahed runs an NIH funded laboratory developing the first blood test for patients with brain tumors. He has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles
Dr. Nahed serves as the Director of the Mass General Brigham Neurosurgery Residency Program which is the largest training program in the world spanning both the Mass General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Boston Children’s Hospital. Nationally, he serves as the President-elect of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and President of the CNS/AANS National Tumor Section. He co-founded and developed the CNS Leadership Institute designing leadership courses for junior, mid, and senior neurosurgeons training over 250 neurosurgeons internationally. He developed the CNS+ app, launched a chatbot, and is a leader in digital biomarkers for brain health. Dr. Nahed also serves as a lead neurotrauma consultant for the National Football League (NFL).
Education & Training
- Fellowship: New England Baptist Hospital, Spine Surgery, 2012
- Residency: Massachusetts General Hospital, Neurosurgery, 2011
- Residency: Massachusetts General Hospital, General Surgery, 2006
- Medical Education: Yale University School of Medicine, 2005
Board Certifications
- Neurological Surgery, American Board of Neurological Surgery
Languages Spoken
- English
Age Group Treated
- Adults
Patient Feedback
4.816216 average rating from 74 reviews
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Dr. Nahed provided us positive feedback for my case and gave us much more confidence and emotional support. My wife was crying for two days after learned my diagnosis but felt much relieved after the initial visit with him. Looking forward to working with him and his team for the next step
2026-06-02
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Excellently explains things and answers questions very well.
2026-05-18
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Dr Nahed is an exceptional provider and I am very pleased with the operation that he performed on me [redacted]
2026-05-02
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I found him very honest and knowledgeable.
2026-04-29
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I really enjoyed the conversation, and I'm happy the Dr. Nahed will be taking care of me from now on.
2026-04-16
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Very professional. Clear explanation. Nurse practitioner was excellent.
2026-04-16
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Dr. Nahed is exceptional. Not only as a doctor where he is amazing but also as a human being with an passion for what he does and a care for his patients that goes beyond the norm. I can't tell you how BLESSED I am to have Doctor Brian Nahed as my Neurosurgeon.
2026-04-09
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Is very interested in patient's best care
2026-03-19
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Had a great appointment. He is truly relatable. Even got my bad joke.
2026-03-18
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Excellent caring and professionalism.
2026-02-18
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I appreciate how quickly Dr. Nahed reacted after seeing my scans and expressed a concern for me to have this surgery as quickly as possible. He explained things very thoroughly, even though this is a very scary situation. He kept me very well informed and answered any of my questions very well.
2026-02-09
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Hi, Dr. Brian was very easy to talk to. He fully understood my questions, answered all of them, and I look forward to seeing him tomorrow, not tomorrow, next week. Thank you.
2026-01-23
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Could not be happier, the were professional and have done an excellent job with everything
2025-12-26
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Dr. Brian Nahed was respectful and through throughout the duration of my appointment.
2025-12-24
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Dr. Nahed was very thoughtful, very caring, very sensitive to the experience I was going through, and I felt very heard, seen, and taken care of by him. And I'm extremely, extremely grateful for the work that he does. Thank you so much, Brian. I appreciate it.
2025-12-24
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Dr Nahed is an amazing Dr as well a person . He is exceptional in his field and has an amazing bedside manner. He is very compassionate, listens and easy to talk to. This world needs more drs like him!
2025-12-16
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Dr. Nyev was very professional and caring and I think he did a very good job. I felt very confident with his talk with me about my condition.
2025-12-12
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I had a second opinion with the dr. Nahed. He answered all my questions and getting the appointment was pretty quick.
2025-11-28
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Great experience, great doctor.
2025-11-28
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Dr. Nahed was excellent. He answered all my questions and made me feel less anxious out MRI results.
2025-11-25
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My experience with Dr. Nahed was 10 out of 10. He is educated, caring, timely, and very patient, and very knowledgeable. I would rate him 10 out of 10.
2025-11-28
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Dr Nahed was very highly recommended! Very knowledgeable and personable!
2025-11-01
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Dr Brian Nahed and his staff are amazing, I am sorry thankful to be in their care!
2025-10-09
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Dr Nahed was very accommodating after an unexpected diagnosis for me. He was professional and provided me with some reassurance about my condition and the treatment plan
2025-10-01
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Dr. Brian Nehad was very accommodating to provide me with a consultation, without delay. I am so appreciative that he took the time to discuss my health situation.
2025-09-24
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Dr. Nahed was amazing. He met with me on a Saturday morning so I didn't have to wait through the weekend for additional follow up and answered every question. He was reassuring and couldn't have been more patient or knowledgable about next steps. He was so kind and it was really one of the better experiences I've had with any doctor in recent memory. I feel very lucky to be working with him.
2025-09-20
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This was a good experience but it was also serious information that he relayed to me.I was glad that my niece was there. We talked about the information later - several times,
2025-09-10
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Very nice doctor and provide best care
2025-09-03
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Provider supplied a consultation for an existing condition. He was very interested and engaged in my dossier. I will definitely consider him should my situation not resolve itself.
2025-09-03
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The GOAT
2025-08-28
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Dr. Nahed is an amazing person! He truly cares about me as a person, not just a patient. He is thorough, professional, knowledgeable, courteous, polite, honest, and most of all truly caring. I greatly appreciate him not only as a surgeon, but as a person. I feel so incredibly blessed that he is my physician!
2025-08-28
Accepted Insurance
- Tufts Medicare Preferred
- Medicaid CT
- Wellpoint
- Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare
- Medicaid NH
- Coventry
- United Health Care
- Senior Whole Health
- Beech Street
- Mass General Brigham Health Plan
- Cigna
- Medicaid RI
- Medicaid VT
- TriCare
- Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
- Tufts Health Plan
- WellSense NH
- Blue Cross Blue Shield - Indemnity
- Fallon Health
- Medicare
- MassHealth
- Multiplan
- Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Humana
- Maine Community Health Options
- WellSense
- Railroad Medicare
- Medicaid ME
- Aetna
- Commonwealth Care Alliance