Dr. Iskandar is Professor of Neurosurgery and Pediatrics, and Director of the Pediatric Neurosurgery program at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, where he has built a career at the intersection of congenital surgical care and translational research. He completed his medical studies at the University of Pennsylvania, a neurosurgical residency at Duke University, and a pediatric neurosurgery fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Alabama.
His laboratory leads investigations into CSF dynamics, shunt function, and the epigenetic role of folate in spina bifida and CNS repair. In particular, his research has uncovered how folate metabolism influences DNA methylation and axonal regeneration, establishing an epigenetic framework for central nervous system development and repair, and showing one of the first examples of transgenerational inheritance of regenerative traits in response to a beneficial intervention.
Most recently, Dr. Iskandar has taken scientific leadership of a naturally occurring, heritable spina bifida model in sheep. This large-animal model closely mimics human myelomeningocele and provides a platform for testing fetal repair strategies with greater clinical relevance than traditional induced models.
He has held leadership roles in the North American Pediatric Neurosurgery, including Chair of the AANS/CNS Section on Pediatric Neurosurgery and Chair of the American Board of Pediatric Neurological Surgery, and serves as co-editor of the Congenital Section of the ISPN Guide.