About Gary Brenner, MD, PhD

Clinical Interests:

Treats:

Locations

Mass General Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
55 Fruit St.
Gray Bigelow Building
Suite 444
Boston, MA 02114
Phone: 617-726-8810

Medical Education

  • MD, University of Rochester, School of Medicine and Dentistry
  • Residency, Massachusetts General Hospital
  • Fellowship, Massachusetts General Hospital

American Board Certifications

  • Pain Medicine, American Board of Anesthesiology

Note: This provider may accept more insurance plans than shown; please call the practice to find out if your plan is accepted.


Research

Research Areas

  • Development animal models and gene therapy for the neurofibromatoses.
  • Investigation of nociceptive circuits in the brain utilizing behavioral testing and functional imaging in the context of optogenetic modulation.

Description of Research   

My laboratory currently focuses efforts on two projects.  The first involves the development of novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of Schwann-cell derived nerve sheath tumors.  In particular, we are utilizing adenovirus associated vectors to deliver caspase-1 to tumor cells.  Delivery of this apoptosis-generating transgene both directly kills tumor cells in which it is expressed and activates anti-tumor host responses.  We are investigating the mechanisms through which our vector kills tumor and are developing the therapeutic strategy for translation into phase 0/1 clinical trials.

The second project utilizes optogenetic modulation of brain circuits to investigate nociceptive processing that occurs in the context of nociceptive sensitization associated with peripheral nerve injury.  This approach may improve the positive predictive value for preclinical modeling of clinical pain.

Publications

  • Select Publications:

    • Brenner GJ, Felten SY, Felten DL, Cohen N and Moynihan JA.  Chemical sympathectomy is associated with increased pulmonary metastases.  Journal of Neuroimmunology.  1992;37:191-202.
    • Brenner GJ, Cohen N and Moynihan JA.  Similar immune response to nonlethal infection with Herpes Simplex virus-1 in sensitive (BALB/c) and resistant (C57Bl/6) mice.  Cellular Immunology.  1994;157:510-24.
    • Ji RR, Baba H, Brenner GJ and Woolf CJ. Nociceptive specific activation of ERK in spinal neurons contributes to pain hypersensitivity.  Nature Neuroscience. 1999;2:1114-9.
    • Prabhakar S, Brenner GJ, Tannous BA, Sena-Esteves M and Breakefield XO.  Imaging and therapy of experimental schwannomas using HSV amplicon vector encoding apoptotic protein under control of a Schwann cell promoter.  Cancer Gene Therapy.  2010;17(4):266-74.
    • Saydam O, Ozdener GB, Senol O, Mizrak A, Prabhakar  P, Stemmer-Rachamimov AO, Breakefield XO and Brenner GJ.  A novel imaging-compatible sciatic nerve schwannoma model.  Journal of Neuroscience Methods. 2011:195(1)75-77.
    • Brenner GJ, Nemark JL and Raemer D. A Curriculum and Cases for Pain Medicine Crisis Resource Management Education.  Anesthesia and Analgesia. In press.
    • Prabhakar S, Taherian M, Gianni D, Conlon TJ, Fulci J, Brockmann J, Stemmer-Rachamimov A, Sena-Esteves M,  Breakefield XO and Brenner GJ. Regression of Schwannomas induced by AAV-Mediated Delivery of Caspase-1. Human Gene Therapy. In press.

     

Reviews: Comments and Ratings

4.8out of 5(35 Ratings, 10 Comments)

January 2025

It was very professional. They were very friendly. They were very nice people. I'm really thankful very much for the way they treat me and the way they take care of me, especially Dr. Brenner.


December 2024

Dr. Brenner and his assistants are always excellent. This appointment too was just the same, very, very good. I have zero complaints and only a ton of praise for how I'm treated. Thank you.


December 2024

The care provider is always very thorough, thoughtful, compassionate, knowledgeable.


December 2024

Well done


December 2024

He was very caring and understanding to what was going on and how to approach me


November 2024

Very knowledgeable and very caring. Got to the root of the matter quickly.


November 2024

Awesome


October 2024

Dr. Brenner is a wonderful, pleasant doctor. He took time to listen to what I had to say, explained what they possibly would be doing if they had to do a procedure, and I was very, very happy. He was very knowledgeable of why I was there. And I would highly recommend him to everybody. Thank you.


October 2024

nice, understanding, helpful, communicates well with other drs. In 1999 I was on vigil with Muscular Dystrophy Assoc. families in end stages. I would visit so family could go home, sleep. The ICU had cameras above thee privacy curtains and at a nurses station a monitor we saw the cleaning crew, lookie loos, watching. I vowed to never go to MGH. ... Read More


July 2024

An excellent experience with Dr. Brenner. He has been my provider of care for four years and is always very responsive, quick to respond to questions and requests, and has offered excellent clinical work.

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