Our Hydrocephalus and Cerebral Fluid Experts

At the Johns Hopkins Hydrocephalus and Cerebral Fluid Center, a team of doctors and advanced practitioners work together to provide the most effective and safest treatments possible for patients with cerebral spinal fluid disorders. The core members of the center include a neurosurgeon, neurologist and geriatrician, as well as advanced practitioners (physician assistants and nurse practitioners).

Research Director

Physicians

Advanced Practitioners

Jheesoo Ahn, M.S.N.

Specialty Neuroscience Nurse

Expertise: Cerebral fluid disorders

Jheesoo Ahn obtained her undergraduate degree in neurobiology and physiology at the University of Maryland, College Park. She has a graduate degree in biochemistry from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine as well as a graduate degree in nursing from the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. She worked as a clinical nurse on the neurology and neurosurgery step-down unit at The Johns Hopkins Hospital before joining the Johns Hopkins Hydrocephalus and Cerebral Fluid Center in 2021.

Jheesoo Ahn

Kristina Khingelova, M.S., P.A.-C.

Senior Physician Assistant

Expertise: intracranial hypertension/pseudotumor cerebri, normal pressure hydrocephalus, hydrocephalus, venous sinus stenosis, migraines, cerebrospinal fluid leak

Following the completion of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at the University of Delaware in 1999, Kristina Khingelova served as a registered nurse in various hospital settings, including Emory University Hospital and Duke University Medical Center. After graduating with a Master of Science degree from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2005, Kristina worked as an inpatient hospitalist physician assistant at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. In 2011, Kristina joined the Hydrocephalus and Cerebral Fluid Center at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center's Department of Neurology.

Kristina Khingelova

Yadi Xu, M.S., P.A.-C.

Physician Assistant

Expertise: hydrocephalus, intracranial hypertension, pseudotumor cerebri, cerebrospinal fluid leak

Yadi Xu is a physician assistant, who completed a bachelor of science degree in health science at Purdue University, followed by a two-year post-baccalaureate research fellowship at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke division of the National Institutes of Health. She has published research articles on the development of potential treatments for neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative conditions, such as multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

After graduating from Towson University with a master of science degree, she joined the Johns Hopkins Hydrocephalus and Cerebral Fluid Center as a physician assistant. She sees new and follow-up patients with hydrocephalus, intracranial hypertension/pseudotumor cerebri, and cerebrospinal fluid leak.

Yadi Xu