Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern UniversityOur Investigators
The Northwestern Medicine Lou and Jean Malnati Brain Tumor Institute of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University at Northwestern Memorial Hospital unites teams of experts from related yet diverse disciplines to infuse new knowledge and perspectives into cancer care and to advance our basic, clinical and translational science efforts.
The institute's interdisciplinary approach holds promise for something greater than the sum of individual faculty member efforts. Our teams of faculty clinicians and investigators are focused on identifying and treating brain cancers early, determining factors that contribute to their development, researching new therapies and investigational drugs, developing effective new cancer treatments and enhancing our patients' quality of life.
The result of this commitment is the presence of some of the country's most esteemed clinical and basic research scientists, whose groundbreaking efforts are strengthened by the presence of Northwestern's widely recognized Stem Cell Research Lab and the Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence, a dynamic partnership between Northwestern’s International Institute for Nanotechnology and the Lurie Cancer Center.
Learn more about their work below.
Atique Ahmed, PhD
Associate Professor
My laboratory focuses on understanding the evaluation of therapeutic resistance and disease recurrence in brain cancer.
Irina Balyasnikova, PhD
Associate Professor
My research focuses on the development of novel targeted approaches for the treatment of malignant brain tumors with particular interest in developing and utilizing antibodies and genetically engineered variants against tumor-specific antigens in order to enhance and deliver therapeutics.
Daniel Brat, MD, PhD
Professor
We investigate mechanisms of progression to glioblastoma (GBM), the most malignant form of primary brain tumor, including genetics, hypoxia, the tumor micro-environment and glioma stem cells.Â
Shi-Yuan Cheng, PhD
Professor
My laboratory's work looks to improve our understanding of molecular mechanisms of cancer tumorigenesis, invasion, metastases and angiogenesis, and to translate our novel discoveries to clinical treatments.
Rintaro Hashizume, MD, PhD
Research Associate Professor
My primary research interests in understanding of the mechanisms of genetic and epigenetic changes that promote cancer development and progression, and identifying novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of brain cancer.
Amy Heimberger, MD, PhD
Professor
My scientific interest is focused on elucidating the mechanisms of tumor-mediated immune suppression and identifying actionable targets for immune therapeutics.
Craig Horbinski, MD, PhD
Professor
Our laboratory studies how mutant isocitrate dehydrogenase affects gliomas. Particular focus is on its suppression of Tissue Factor, a critical protein involved in blood clotting and tumor malignancy. We also provide MBTI researchers with high-quality biospecimens for their projects. My clinical specialty is molecular diagnostics in brain tumors.
Neil Kelleher, PhD
Professor
The Kelleher Team has expertise in technology development for complex mixture analysis using Fourier-Transform Mass Spectrometry for targeted applications in proteomics and metabolomics.
Priya Kumthekar, MD
Associate Professor
I am very active in leading and designing clinical trials in neuro-oncology from phase 0 to larger late phase studies. I also oversee the Neuro-oncology Clinical Trial Disease Team and clinical trial portfolio at the cancer center. A complete list of clinical trials offered can be found in on the Institute’s Clinical Trials page.
Maciej (Matt) Lesniak, MD
Professor
I have been overall principal investigator of over 25 multi-institutional clinical trials for recurrent and newly diagnosed malignant gliomas.
Chad Mirkin, PhD
Professor
My research focus is on the development and application of spherical nucleic acids (SNAs) in biology, the life sciences, and medicine.
Denise Scholtens,
Professor
I am a biostatistician with interests in high-dimensional and network data analyses. My group and I collaborate with brain tumor researchers on a wide range of studies spanning basic science to clinical trials.