Dr. Aruna Ganju obtained her B.S. and M.D. degrees at the University of Miami in Miami, FL. She completed her residency training in neurological surgery at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, MI followed by a fellowship in complex spinal reconstructive surgery. Dr. Ganju joined the faculty at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine under the chairmanship of Dr. Hunt Batjer in 2001. During her tenure, she oversaw education at the undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels serving as medical student clerkship director and residency program director. In 2022, she launched a youth outreach initiative exposing middle and high school students to a career in medicine and, more specifically, in neurosurgery. 

Throughout her career, Dr. Ganju has been an active member in AANS/CNS Joint Sections on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerve and Women in Neurosurgery. She has held leadership roles in many national neurosurgical organizations including Society of Neurological Surgeons, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, and Congress of Neurological Surgeons. Since 2020, she has been the editor of the socioeconomic publication of the AANS, the AANS Neurosurgeon.

Dr. Ganju believes in the importance of both mentorship and sponsorship of neurosurgeons throughout their careers and gratefully acknowledges her many teachers, including her patients, over her career.