Rachel M. Pruitt, MD
MEET OUT TEAM
Rachel M. Pruitt, MD
- Pediatric Neurosurgeon – Long Island Neurosurgical Associates
- Investigator – Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research (Barnes' Lab)
Quick Facts
- Joined LINA in 2024 following Johns Hopkins fellowship
- Expanded practice to Staten Island University Hospital
- Active brain tumor researcher at Feinstein Institutes
Training & Education
- Undergraduate: UC Davis (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Honors)
- Medical School: Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
- Neurosurgery Residency: Hofstra/Northwell
- Pediatric Neurosurgery Fellowship: Johns Hopkins Hospital
- Neuro-Oncology Fellowship: Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Activities
- Investigator, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research (Barnes' Lab)
- Brain tumor immunotherapy research
- Tumor banking program for pediatric brain tumor treatment development
Conditions Treated
- Hydrocephalus
- Brain tumors
- Spasticity
- Tethered spinal cord
- Chiari malformations
- Skull lesions
- Craniosynostosis
- Plagiocephaly
Hospital Privileges
- Cohen Children's Medical Center
- Long Island Jewish Medical Center
- North Shore University Hospital
- Lenox Hill Hospital
- Staten Island University Medical Center
Publications & Press Releases
Dr. Pruitt is actively involved in brain tumor research at the Feinstein Institutes.
Awards & Recognition
- Castle Connolly Top Doctor — 16 consecutive years
- Newsday Long Island Top Doctor — every year since inception
- NY Magazine Best Doctors
- Featured on CBS News
Comprehensive Bio
Dr. Rachel M. Pruitt grew up in Half Moon Bay, California, just outside San Francisco. She graduated in the honors program from the University of California, Davis with a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology before relocating to Long Island to attend the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. During medical school, her passion for neuroscience and pediatrics quickly emerged, culminating in her selection for the Neuro-Oncology Fellowship at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles—her first significant exposure to neurosurgery.
After graduating as part of the second class of the Zucker School of Medicine, Dr. Pruitt matched into the Hofstra/Northwell Neurosurgery Residency Program. Early in her training, she gravitated toward Pediatric Neurosurgery. She completed more than a full year of dedicated training at Cohen Children’s Medical Center and conducted research at the Feinstein Institute’s Symons Lab, investigating immune–tumor interactions in a mouse model of glioblastoma, with additional work focused on medulloblastoma.
Dr. Pruitt went on to complete the prestigious Pediatric Neurosurgery Fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital, further refining her expertise in tumor surgery, spasticity management, endoscopic skull base surgery, and epilepsy surgery.
After fellowship, she was thrilled to return to Cohen Children’s Medical Center, joining Long Island Neurosurgical Associates (LINA) in 2024 to pursue her passion for treating pediatric patients with neurosurgical conditions. She has expanded the practice to Staten Island, and now sees patients there on a frequent basis, assuring that high quality care reaches the region.
In conjunction with her clinical interests, she has been able to continue her research interests at the Feinstein Institute where she works as part of the Barnes’ Lab exploring ways to use the immune system to target pediatric brain tumors. Through this program, most brain tumor patients are able to have their tumors banked and specimen taken from the operating room is able to be grown in the lab, hopefully leading to new and better treatment options.
Outside of medicine, Dr. Pruitt enjoys wakeboarding, snowboarding, live theater, and spending time with her family. Although originally from Northern California, she is excited to call herself a New York transplant, and lives with her husband, and their young daughter.