Mahesh B Shenai, MD

Dr. Mahesh B. Shenai, MSE, MBA, is a specialty care physician board certified and fellowship trained in neurosurgery at Inova Health System, with more than 15 years of clinical and surgical experience. He serves as the Inova Neurosurgery Practice Director and as the Medical Director for Functional and Restorative Neurosurgery. Dr. Shenai specializes in deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy, and also has significant experience in the treatment of all spinal conditions, brain tumors and conditions, brain/spine trauma, and minimally-invasive techniques.

Dr. Shenai has a special interest in bringing new surgical technologies to Inova and to provide the Northern Virginia community with cutting-edge care. He has been on the forefront of intraoperative imaging and computer-aided surgical navigation for complex spine instrumentation, allowing for maximum precision and accuracy during spinal surgery. In 2017, Dr. Shenai performed an "asleep" brain surgery directly in an MRI scanner – the first procedure of its kind in the DC metro area. Inova is now only one of approximately 50 centers worldwide that can offer this unique type of procedure. Dr. Shenai also performed the first brain tumor laser therapy at Inova in 2019. His guiding principle is that the newest technology and sound clinical judgment will produce superior outcomes.

Before arriving at Inova in 2013, Dr. Shenai served as a clinical instructor in neurosurgery at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where he also directed the charity care clinic. He completed his residency and fellowship at UAB after graduating from the University of Michigan Medical School. Prior to a medical training, Dr. Shenai completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees in biomedical engineering at the Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Shenai has been featured on WUSA9, and currently serves as an independent neurological consultant for the NFL. Dr. Shenai lives in Northern Virginia with his wife, two daughters and a labradoodle.

Blog Posts

Inova Begins Era of MRI-guided Neurosurgery with Implantation of Deep Brain Stimulator. May 2016.

Awards/Associations

• Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, 1998
• USA Today College Academic All-American, 2000
• Howard Hughes Medical Student Fellowship, 2002
• Augustus McCravey Research Award, 2009
• Diplomate, American Board of Neurological Surgeons, 2016
• Adjunct Faculty, Department of Bioengineering, George Mason University, 2017
• Finalist, Virginia Catalyst Grant Competition, for spinal robotic surgery, 2019