The pituitary gland is a tiny, pea-sized gland that controls the function of most other endocrine glands in the body. It is therefore sometimes called the master gland. It can over- or under-produce hormones that effect the thyroid, adrenal, testes and ovaries. It also controls growth and water balance. The gland is located at the base of your brain and can develop tumors that are almost always benign. Although the tumors are not generally cancerous, they can cause several difficulties, including vision problems, headaches and other health problems.
The experts at the USF Pituitary Center of Excellence offer highly specialized care for the management and treatment of pituitary disorders.
Conditions associated with pituitary dysfunction include:
The USF Pituitary clinic has been serving patients since 2003. Each year we provide around 250 outpatient consultations and perform more than 60 endoscopic and transcranial pituitary surgeries at Tampa General Hospital.
Tampa General Hospital (TGH) is one of the most comprehensive medical facilities in West Central Florida. TGH is an acute patient care facility with modern operating rooms and intensive care units where the neurosurgery and endocrine fellows spend a portion of their training. Our skull base surgery program has a national and international reputation. Each year, one fully trained neurosurgeon, joins our program as a skull base fellow for an in-depth training in complex cranial surgeries. Annual courses are hosted at the USF Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS) where surgeons from all over the world come train on simulators and learn advanced skull base techniques.
The USF Endocrinology Fellowship is a two-year program with three fellows positions per year. The program provides extensive supervised clinical training in different areas of the subspecialty of endocrinology and is committed to maintaining a diverse and inclusive learning and professional working environment. Patient care occurs in Tampa General Hospital, James A. Haley VA Hospital, Moffitt Cancer Center. At Tampa General Hospital, the USF endocrinology fellows and faculties collaborate with the USF Neurosurgery team and other subspecialties to provide multidisciplinary, highly specialized medical care in the management of pituitary disorders.
Every 3rd Friday of the month:
Marla E. Sevilla Alsina, MD
Pituitary Clinical Lead, Assistant Professor of Medicine
Yevgeniya Kushchayeva, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Bayan Mesmar, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Silvia Salgado Nunez Del Prado, MD
Assistant Professor
Dana Bassoumi, PA-C
Physician Assistant, Certified
Siviero Agazzi, MD
Pituitary Neurosurgery lead, Professor and Vice Chairman
Harry Van Loveren, MD
Professor and Chairman
Kunal Vakharia, MD
Assistant Professor
Mitchell Drucker, MD
Professor of Medicine
Brian Collins, MD
University of South Florida Professor of Radiation Oncology, Tampa General Hospital co-director of Radiosurgery
John David, MD
Assistant Professor, TGH Cancer Institute
Arjun Parasher, MD
Assistant Professor
Mark Tabor, MD
Associate Professor
Lindsey Ryan, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Division of Rhinology and Skull base Surgery
Patrick Malafronte, MD
TGH Cancer Institute
Nicole Riddle, MD
Associate Professor & Program Director for the Department of Pathology
