Leo Sugrue, MD, PhD

Dr. Leo Sugrue is a radiologist who cares for adults and children with conditions affecting the brain and spine; these range from brain tumors and epilepsy to stroke and dementia. He has a particular interest in medical imaging of the brain circuits responsible for complex thought and behavior, which are affected in a variety of mental illnesses, including addiction, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and mental health conditions related to chronic pain. He works closely with colleagues in psychiatry, neurology and neurosurgery to develop new brain circuit–based approaches to diagnosing and treating these conditions.

Sugrue directs the Laboratory for Precision Neuroimaging at UCSF, which focuses on integrating brain imaging with genetic, health and behavioral data to better understand, diagnose and treat brain disease. The lab operates from the perspective that brain disorders have different underlying causes in different people, with a goal of developing ways to identify these subgroups and target trials and treatments to individual illness.

Sugrue earned his medical degree at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and his doctorate in neuroscience at Stanford University. During his graduate and postdoctoral training, he used diverse neuroscience techniques and model systems to explore the neural basis of cognition. He completed a residency in diagnostic radiology and a fellowship in neuroradiology at UCSF.