Research Summary

I am a neurosurgeon-scientist, and I have been running a neurosurgical practice caring for brain tumor patients and a basic science lab in the UCSF Brain Tumor Research Center (BTRC) since my initial faculty appointment at UCSF in 2008. Throughout that time, my lab has been well funded by the NIH and numerous private foundations, with the central focus of the lab being mechanisms of angiogenesis, invasion, and therapeutic resistance in brain tumors like glioblastoma, metastases, and pituitary tumors. My clinical practice has developed in parallel with my laboratory, with my glioblastoma and pituitary tumor surgical cases often providing valuable tissue for lab research as part of my clinical and translational research programs. The expertise from my scientific and clinical research has been supplemented by numerous successful collaborations with academic and industry investigators in the past eight years. As a neurosurgeon-scientist, I have mentored numerous medical and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and neurosurgery residents on scientific and clinical projects, as well as assisting them developing their careers integrating dual roles combining neurosurgical practices with scientific investigation. My position as a neurosurgeon and scientist specializing in the care of patients with aggressive brain tumors and the role of the tumor microenvironment in driving this aggressive biology and therapeutic resistance uniquely positions me to serve as PI for a variety of grants.

Research Funding

  • September 17, 2018 - August 31, 2023 - Modeling and druggable-genome screening of glioblastoma invasion using regional biopsy-guided biomaterials systems , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA227136
  • September 30, 2013 - June 30, 2022 - Tumor cell and microenvironment changes causing antiangiogenic therapy resistance , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01NS079697
  • July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2014 - Characterizing and Targeting Tumoral Factors Recruiting Perivascular Progenitors , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: K02NS064167

Education

Stanford University (Stanford, CA), BS, 1993, Biological Sciences
Stanford University (Stanford, CA), MS, 1993, Biological Sciences
Harvard Medical School (Boston, MA), MD, 2000, Medicine
Harvard Medical School (Boston, MA), PhD, 2000, Neuroscience

Honors & Awards

  • 2004
    Preuss Award, best basic science brain tumor research, American Association of Neurologic Surgeons (AANS) meeting, "Generation of Brain Tumor Neovasculature from Transplanted Bone Marrow."
  • 2005
    Ronald L. Bittner Award, best brain tumor research, American Association of Neurologic Surgeons (AANS) meeting
  • 2005
    William Scoville Resident Research Award, New England Neurosurgery meeting, "Generation of Glioma Neovasculature from Transplanted Bone Marrow."
  • 2005
    Congress of Neurologic Surgeons (CNS) Resident Research Award, "Enhanced Replication of Oncolytic HSV in Glioma Cells that Evade Temozolomide Chemotherapy Through DNA Repair."
  • 2005
    American Academy of Neurologic Surgeons Resident Research Award, "Stromal Derived Factor-1 Interacts with Environmental Cues to Induce Bone Marrow-Derived Cells to Differentiate into Tumor Endothelium and Pericytes."
  • 2006
    Mahaley Award, best clinical study in neuro-oncology, presented at American Association of Neurologic Surgeons (AANS) meeting
  • 2006
    Integra Foundation Award, best benign brain and peripheral nerve tumor research, presented at Congress of Neurologic Surgeons (CNS) meeting
  • 2007
    Synthes Skull Base Award, Congress of Neurologic Surgeons (CNS) meeting
  • 2009
    American Brian Tumor Association (ABTA) Young Investigator Award, Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) meeting

Selected Publications

  1. Shukla PD, Nguyen MP, Lui A, Catalan T, Young JS, Berger MS, Theodosopoulos PV, Hervey-Jumper SL, Huppert LA, Aghi MK, Vasudevan HN, Morshed RA. Association of lower tumor mutation burden with rapid local progression in patients with brain metastases. J Neurosurg. 2025 Feb 14; 1-9.  View on PubMed
  2. Hu M, Weldy A, Lovalvo I, Akins E, Jain S, Chang A, Sati A, Lad M, Lui A, Rajidi A, Kothekar A, Ding E, Kumar S, Aghi MK. Druggable genome CRISPRi screen in 3D hydrogels reveals regulators of cortactin-driven actin remodeling in invading glioblastoma cells. bioRxiv. 2025 Jan 24.  View on PubMed
  3. Young JS, Semonche A, Morshed RA, Al-Adli NN, Haddad AF, Gerritsen JKW, Saggi S, Narsinh K, de Groot J, Aghi MK. Focused ultrasound therapy as a strategy for improving glioma treatment. J Neurosurg. 2025 Jan 24; 1-10.  View on PubMed
  4. Narsinh KH, Kumar K, Bankiewicz K, Martin AJ, Berger M, Clarke J, Taylor J, Bush NAO, Molinaro AM, Aghi M, Butowski N. A phase I study of convection-enhanced delivery (CED) of liposomal-irinotecan using real-time magnetic resonance imaging in patients with recurrent high-grade glioma. J Neurooncol. 2025 Mar; 172(1):219-227.  View on PubMed
  5. Bueno-Alvarez A, Chandra A, Aghi MK. In Reply to the Letter to the Editor Regarding: "The Path to U.S. Neurosurgical Residency for Foreign Medical Graduates: Trends from a Decade 2007-2017". World Neurosurg. 2024 Dec 27; 194:123527.  View on PubMed
  6. Ramesh R, Quintana D, Osorio RC, Jimenez CJ, Aghi MK, McDermott MW, Theodosopoulos PV, Goldschmidt E. Symptomatic Progression, Recurrence, and Long-Term Follow-Up of Patients With Intracranial Epidermoid Cysts. Neurosurgery. 2024 Dec 19.  View on PubMed
  7. Lucas CG, Al-Adli NN, Young JS, Gupta R, Morshed RA, Wu J, Ravindranathan A, Shai A, Oberheim Bush NA, Taylor JW, de Groot J, Villanueva-Meyer JE, Pekmezci M, Perry A, Bollen AW, Theodosopoulos PV, Aghi MK, Chang EF, Hervey-Jumper SL, Raleigh DR, Molinaro AM, Costello JF, Diaz AA, Clarke JL, Butowski NA, Phillips JJ, Chang SM, Berger MS, Solomon DA. Longitudinal multimodal profiling of IDH-wildtype glioblastoma reveals the molecular evolution and cellular phenotypes underlying prognostically different treatment responses. Neuro Oncol. 2025 Jan 12; 27(1):89-105.  View on PubMed
  8. Osorio RC, Kabir A, Haddad AF, Badani A, Khela H, Saha A, Juncker R, Peeran Z, Theodosopoulos P, Kunwar S, Gurrola J, El-Sayed IH, Blevins L, Aghi MK. Preoperative predictors of biochemical remission in somatotroph adenoma resections: a single-institution retrospective review. J Neurosurg. 2025 Mar 01; 142(3):756-765.  View on PubMed
  9. Carvalho EM, Ding EA, Saha A, Garcia DC, Weldy A, Zushin PH, Stahl A, Aghi MK, Kumar S. Viscoelastic High-Molecular-Weight Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels Support Rapid Glioblastoma Cell Invasion with Leader-Follower Dynamics. Adv Mater. 2024 Dec; 36(50):e2404885.  View on PubMed
  10. Chen JS, Haddad AF, Chung JE, Tang OY, Ho WS, Hervey-Jumper SL, Aghi MK. A propensity score-matched cost-effectiveness analysis of magnetic resonance-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy versus craniotomy for brain tumor radiation necrosis. Neurosurg Focus. 2024 11 01; 57(5):E2.  View on PubMed
  11. Terry M, Nguyen MP, Tang V, Guney E, Bharani KL, Dahiya S, Choutka O, Borys E, Reis G, Blevins L, Aghi MK, Kunwar S, DeGroot J, Raleigh DR, Pekmezci M, Bollen AW, Cha S, Joseph NM, Perry A. High-Grade Progression, Sarcomatous Transformation, and/or Metastasis of Pituitary Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (PitNENs): The UCSF Experience. Endocr Pathol. 2024 Dec; 35(4):338-348.  View on PubMed
  12. Lad M, Beniwal AS, Jain S, Shukla P, Kalistratova V, Jung J, Shah SS, Yagnik G, Saha A, Sati A, Babikir H, Nguyen AT, Gill S, Rios J, Young JS, Lui A, Salha D, Diaz A, Aghi MK. Glioblastoma induces the recruitment and differentiation of dendritic-like "hybrid" neutrophils from skull bone marrow. Cancer Cell. 2024 Sep 09; 42(9):1549-1569.e16.  View on PubMed
  13. Cha J, Ding EA, Carvalho EM, Fowler A, Aghi MK, Kumar S. Collagen VI deposition primes the glioblastoma microenvironment for invasion through mechanostimulation of β-catenin signaling. PNAS Nexus. 2024 Sep; 3(9):pgae355.  View on PubMed
  14. Caldwell DJ, Scheer JK, Umbach G, Aghi MK. Acute hyponatremia post craniotomy resulting in a unilateral fixed and dilated pupil: A case study on diagnosis and management. Surg Neurol Int. 2024; 15:160.  View on PubMed
  15. Kidwell RL, Aghi MK. Lymphatic endothelial-like cells in the glioblastoma tumor niche drive metabolic alterations that promote stem cell proliferation and survival. Neuro Oncol. 2024 05 03; 26(5):783-784.  View on PubMed
  16. Carvalho EM, Ding EA, Saha A, Weldy A, Zushin PH, Stahl A, Aghi MK, Kumar S. Viscoelastic high-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid hydrogels support rapid glioblastoma cell invasion with leader-follower dynamics. bioRxiv. 2024 Apr 06.  View on PubMed
  17. Tripathi S, Najem H, Dussold C, Pacheco S, Miska J, McCortney K, Steffens A, Walshon J, Winkowski D, Cloney M, Ordon M, Gibson W, Kemeny H, Youngblood M, Du R, Mossner J, Texakalidis P, Sprau A, Tate M, James CD, Horbinski CM, Wadhwani NR, Lesniak MS, Lam S, Sati A, Aghi M, DeCuypere M, Heimberger AB. Cancer-associated fibroblast-secreted collagen is associated with immune inhibitor receptor LAIR1 in gliomas. J Clin Invest. 2024 Feb 15; 134(4).  View on PubMed
  18. Chandra A, Lopez-Rivera V, Ryba B, Chandran AS, Brandel MG, Dono A, Sheinberg DL, Esquenazi YL, Aghi MK. Survival outcomes and prognostic factors of infratentorial glioblastoma in the elderly. Clin Neurol Neurosurg. 2024 01; 236:108084.  View on PubMed
  19. Cha J, Ding EA, Carvalho EM, Fowler A, Aghi MK, Kumar S. Glioma Cells Secrete Collagen VI to Facilitate Invasion. bioRxiv. 2023 Dec 12.  View on PubMed
  20. Hadad S, Gupta R, Oberheim Bush NA, Taylor JW, Villanueva-Meyer JE, Young JS, Wu J, Ravindranathan A, Zhang Y, Warrier G, McCoy L, Shai A, Pekmezci M, Perry A, Bollen AW, Phillips JJ, Braunstein SE, Raleigh DR, Theodosopoulos P, Aghi MK, Chang EF, Hervey-Jumper SL, Costello JF, de Groot J, Butowski NA, Clarke JL, Chang SM, Berger MS, Molinaro AM, Solomon DA. "De novo replication repair deficient glioblastoma, IDH-wildtype" is a distinct glioblastoma subtype in adults that may benefit from immune checkpoint blockade. Acta Neuropathol. 2023 12 11; 147(1):3.  View on PubMed

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