She completed her Master’s of Science at Seton Hall University as a Physician Assistant in 2005 and served as a teaching assistant for neuroscience classes for the Physician Assistant Program for two years. Battiato also enhanced her knowledge base and clinical experience as a medical assistant in an orthopedic practice for 4 years while completing her physician assistant training. Jennifer began her career in orthopedics and then was recruited to create a new Physician Assistant Surgical Program which provided surgical coverage and support for the surgical subspecialists at St. Peter’s University Hospital.  She was the first Physician Assistant hired for the hospital and quickly grew the program to provide day and evening coverage for community physicians in a variety of specialties such as general surgery, surgical oncology, hepatobiliary surgery, urology, ENT, vascular surgery, breast surgery, plastic surgery, pediatric general surgery and neurosurgery. Jennifer was acting chief of the program for seven years where she managed fellow physician assistants, trained nurses and staff and provided comprehensive surgical care to surgical patients.  She was a member of the Medical Credentialing Committee specifically for hiring of Advanced Practice Providers and created the privilege forms and guidelines for hire in the hospital.  Jennifer served on the Ethics Committee and worked for the IT Department creating EMR templates and protocols for the surgical specialties.  Lastly, she moonlighted in the Emergency Room for the Medicine Department for hospital admissions for private community physicians. After working closely with Advanced Neurosurgery Associates at St. Peter’s University Hospital for a few years she decided to focus solely on neurosurgery and officially joined Advanced Neurosurgery Associates in 2013.  She has cultivated a vast knowledge base of neurosurgery including neuro-oncology, neurocritical care, neurovascular, and complex spine in both adult and pediatric neurosurgery.  She is a member of the New Jersey State Society of Physician Assistants, American Academy of Physician Assistants, the American Academy of Surgical Physician Assistants and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. She is the recipient of nearly a dozen awards and honors in the academic and medical field, and the author of multiple research publications. Jennifer continues to teach physician assistant students and prospective students. She has also provided educational programs for medical staff for the pediatric and adult intensive care units on the management of neurosurgical patients and helped develop protocols at various hospitals in the state for the management of neurosurgical patients.  Jennifer is currently the Chief Physician Assistant at Advanced Neurosurgery Associates with more than 15 years of experience.

When Jennifer is not taking care of neurosurgery patients she enjoys traveling, cooking, and especially enjoys spending time with her husband Jerry and two children Isabella and Leo.