Research Summary

Mitchel S. Berger M.D., F.A.C.S., F.A.A.N.S. is the Berthold and Belle N. Guggenhime Professor of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and Director of UCSF’s Brain Tumor Center. He is currently one of three members of the President’s Cancer Panel, appointed by President Biden to develop the scope of the National Cancer Program.

Dr. Berger is a pioneer of intraoperative brain mapping — a technique used to avoid functional areas of the brain during surgical resection of a tumor. His work has enabled surgeons to perform more extensive resection of tumor with less chance of producing sensorimotor or language deficit.

Dr. Berger is a leader of translational research and is the principal investigator of the UCSF Brain Tumor Research Center’s Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in neuro-oncology, funded by the National Cancer Institute. He has held this role for the 20 consecutive years that the SPORE has been funded at UCSF.

During his distinguished career, Dr. Berger has served as President of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), President of the Society of Neuro-Oncology, and President of the American Academy of Neurological Surgery. He has also been a director of the American Board of Neurological Surgery; a member of the Board of Directors of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons; a member of the National Football League’s Head, Neck and Spine Committee; and a member of the Blue Ribbon Panel for the National Cancer Moonshot Initiative. He has received the Cushing Award for Technical Excellence and Innovation in Neurosurgery from the AANS and is a past recipient of the Winn Prize – the highest honor awarded by the Society of Neurological Surgeons for scientific excellence in neurological surgery.

Research Funding

  • December 1, 2005 - July 31, 2024 - Noninvasive Metabolic Signatures to Improve Management of Molecular Subtypes of Glioma , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: P01CA118816
  • September 20, 2002 - August 31, 2023 - Brain Tumor SPORE Grant , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: P50CA097257
  • August 5, 1999 - May 31, 2023 - Cancer Center Support Grant , Co-Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: P30CA082103
  • April 1, 1979 - February 28, 2007 - PROGRAMS FOR TREATMENT OF MALIGNANT BRAIN TUMORS , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: P01NS042927
  • August 1, 1983 - June 30, 2003 - TRAINING IN BRAIN TUMOR BIOLOGY AND THERAPY , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: T32CA009291
  • April 1, 1979 - September 30, 2000 - CLINICAL THERAPY FOR MALIGNANT BRAIN TUMORS , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: P01CA013525
  • April 8, 1994 - December 31, 1997 - THERAPIES OF PRIMARY CNS MALIGNANCIES , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: U01CA062428
  • July 1, 1988 - June 30, 1993 - DRUG RESISTANCE AND DNA REPAIR IN BRAIN TUMORS , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: K08NS001253

Education

Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, A.B., 1975, Social Psychology
University of Miami, Miami, FL, M.D., 1979, Medicine
University of California, San Francisco, CA (UCSF), Dept. of Neurological Surgery, Brain Tumor Research Center (BTRC) Research Fellow 1983 - 1984 Neurosurgery
UCSF, BTRC, Neuro-Oncology Service, Clinical Fellow, 7/85 - 12/85, Neurosurgery
Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Pediatric Neurosurgery Fellow, 1/86 - 6/86, Neurosurgery

Honors & Awards

  • 2024: Cushing Award for Technical Excellence and Innovation in Neurosurgery, American Association of Neurological Surgeons
  • 2023: Cloward Award, Western Neurological Society
  • 2022: Member, President's Cancer Panel
  • 2021: Rosenblum Distinguished Service Award, AANS/CNS Join Section on Tumors
  • 2018: Fedor Krause Medal, German Neurosurgical Society
  • 2017: Honorary Doctorate Degree of the Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly
  • 2017: Byron Cone Pevehouse Distinguished Service Award, California Association of Neurological Surgeons
  • 2016: Member, Cancer Moonshot Blue Ribbon Panel
  • 2016: Charles B. Wilson Award, AANS/CNS Joint Section on Tumors
  • 2015: President, American Academy of Neurological Surgery
  • 2012: President, American Association of Neurological Surgeons
  • 2011: President Elect, American Association of Neurological Surgeons
  • 2010: Vice President, American Association of Neurological Surgeons
  • 2010-2013: Secretary, American Academy of Neurological Surgery
  • 2009: Winn Prize, Society of Neurological Surgeons 2009: Elected Member, UCSF Institute of Molecular Medicine
  • 2007-2010: Director, American Board of Neurological Surgery

Selected Publications

  1. Chen J, Oberheim Bush NA, Grabowsky JA, Kline C, Kroetz DL, Taylor JW, Villanueva-Meyer J, Molinaro AM, de Groot JF, Butowski NA, Tedesco M, Rabbitt J, Phillips JJ, Hervey-Jumper S, Aghi MK, Berger MS, Chang EF, Chang SM, Solomon DA, Clarke JL. A Genomically Tailored Multiagent Precision Medicine Clinical Trial for Adults with Recurrent Glioblastoma. Clin Cancer Res. 2026 May 01; 32(9):1652-1665. View on PubMed
  2. Bouget D, Faanes MG, Jakola AS, Barkhof F, Ardon H, Bello L, Berger MS, Hervey-Jumper SL, Furtner J, Idema AJS, Kiesel B, Widhalm G, Tewarie RN, Mandonnet E, Robe PA, Wagemakers M, Smith TR, De Witt Hamer PC, Solheim O, Reinertsen I. Automatic and standardized reporting of perioperative MRIs in patients with central nervous system tumors. Front Neurol. 2025; 16:1707481. View on PubMed
  3. Teske N, Dono A, Young JS, Jünger ST, Youssef G, Häni L, Sciortino T, Bruno F, Dietrich J, Mau CY, Weller M, Beck J, Hervey-Jumper S, Molinaro AM, Chang SM, van den Bent M, Vogelbaum MA, Ruge MI, Cahill DP, Rudà R, Bello L, Grau SJ, Schnell O, Huang RY, Wen PY, Tandon N, Berger MS, Tonn JC, Esquenazi Y, Karschnia P. Associations of supramaximal resection with outcome in glioblastoma across age groups: A report of the RANO resect group. Neuro Oncol. 2026 Feb 01; 28(2):470-484. View on PubMed
  4. Gerritsen JKW, Karschnia P, Bello L, Hervey-Jumper S, Young JS, Seidel K, Satoer DD, Schnell O, Parsons M, Nahed BV, Menna G, Teske N, External Rater Panel, Smith TR, Sanai N, Krieg SM, Schucht P, Broekman MLD, De Vleeschouwer S, Jakola AS, van den Bent MJ, Chang SM, Vogelbaum MA, Vincent AJPE, Tonn JC, Berger MS. A comprehensive framework for glioma surgery by the PIONEER Consortium and RANO resect group, part 1: intraoperative recommendations for mapping, monitoring, and decision making. Lancet Oncol. 2026 Jan; 27(1):e11-e23. View on PubMed
  5. Gerritsen JKW, Karschnia P, Bello L, Hervey-Jumper S, Young JS, Seidel K, Satoer DD, Schnell O, Parsons M, Nahed BV, Menna G, Teske N, External Rater Panel, Smith TR, Sanai N, Krieg SM, Schucht P, Broekman MLD, De Vleeschouwer S, Jakola AS, van den Bent MJ, Chang SM, Vogelbaum MA, Vincent AJPE, Tonn JC, Berger MS. A comprehensive framework for glioma surgery by the PIONEER Consortium and RANO resect group, part 2: perioperative recommendations for neurological, language, functional, and quality-of-life assessment. Lancet Oncol. 2026 Jan; 27(1):e24-e32. View on PubMed
  6. Kondapavulur S, Young JS, Berger MS. Radiation-induced sarcoma after glioma resection in patients with Li-Fraumeni syndrome: illustrative cases. J Neurosurg Case Lessons. 2025 Dec 08; 10(23). View on PubMed
  7. Chen JS, Oh JY, Hollon TC, Hervey-Jumper SL, Young JS, Berger MS. The Intraoperative Utility of Raman Spectroscopy for Neurosurgical Oncology. Cancers (Basel). 2025 Dec 08; 17(24). View on PubMed
  8. Karschnia P, Young JS, Wijnenga MMJ, Sciortino T, Teske N, Corell A, Wagner A, Youssef G, Park YW, Häni L, Jünger ST, Dono A, Ehret F, Mireles EEM, Neidert N, Bruno F, Tuchek CA, van der Vaart T, Rossi M, Nibali MC, Gay L, Gramelt A, Tandon N, Ahn SS, Chang JH, Weller M, Vincent AJPE, Goldbrunner R, Cahill DP, Huang RY, Raabe A, Meyer B, Beck J, Molinaro AM, Chang SM, Vogelbaum MA, Rudà R, Vik-Mo EO, Dietrich J, Esquenazi Y, Grau SJ, Wen PY, Jakola AS, Schnell O, Bello L, van den Bent MJ, Hervey-Jumper S, Berger MS, Tonn JC. A prognostic classification system for extent of resection in IDH-mutant grade 2 glioma: an international, multicentre, retrospective cohort study with external validation by the RANO resect group. Lancet Oncol. 2025 Dec; 26(12):1638-1650. View on PubMed
  9. Voong V, Beccari S, Hashemi E, Kriener B, Mathur R, Lafontaine M, Shai A, Lupo JM, Chang EF, Hervey-Jumper SL, Berger MS, Waszak SM, Costello JF, Phillips JJ. 3D spatial sampling to quantify morphologic heterogeneity in isocitrate dehydrogenase-wildtype glioblastoma. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol. 2025 Nov 01; 84(11):1053-1058. View on PubMed
  10. Rammeloo E, Young JS, Schouten JW, Bos EM, Hervey-Jumper SL, Jungk C, Krieg SM, Smith T, Rincon-Torroella J, Bettegowda C, Maruyama T, Wagner A, Schucht P, Broekman MLD, De Vleeschouwer S, Nahed BV, Berger MS, Vincent AJPE, Gerritsen JKW. Correction to: Preoperative assessment of tumor eloquence and resectability: an international survey. J Neurooncol. 2025 Oct; 175(1):61. View on PubMed
  11. Young JS, Berger MS, Lasocki A, Suwala AK, Niyazi M, Chang SM, Schnell O, Karschnia P. Point/counterpoint: The role of re-resection in recurrent glioblastoma. Neuro Oncol. 2025 Oct 01; 27(10):2524-2529. View on PubMed
  12. Herr S, Olshausen N, Pekmezci M, Kaur J, Sibih Y, Ambati V, Scotford K, Persad A, Picart T, Kondepudi A, Oberheim-Bush NA, Kim A, Young J, Berger MS, Sushil M, Hollon T, Hervey-Jumper SL. Optical Microscopy Predictions of Focal Recurrence in Glioblastoma. medRxiv. 2025 Sep 27. View on PubMed
  13. Pan S, Mirchia K, Payne E, Liu SJ, Al-Adli N, Peeran Z, Shukla P, Young JS, Gupta R, Wu J, Pak J, Ozawa T, Na B, Reddy AT, Braunstein SE, Phillips JJ, Chang S, Solomon DA, Perry A, Raleigh DR, Berger MS, Abate AR, Vasudevan HN. Tumor heterogeneity underlies clinical outcome and MEK inhibitor response in somatic NF1-mutant glioblastoma. JCI Insight. 2025 Sep 23; 10(18). View on PubMed
  14. Lin CA, Lin C, Rhodes CT, Moseley MC, Wang Y, Berger MS. Takeaways from meta-analysis: indications of combinational treatments for glioblastoma. J Neurooncol. 2025 Dec; 175(3):1199-1209. View on PubMed
  15. Ferles A, Majewska P, Holden Helland R, Kommers I, Pedersen A, Tranfa M, Ardon H, Bello L, Berger MS, Dunås T, Nibali MC, Furtner J, Hervey-Jumper SL, Idema AJS, Kiesel B, Tewarie RN, Mandonnet E, Robe PA, Rossi M, Sciortino T, Aalders T, Wagemakers M, Widhalm G, Zwinderman AH, Sagberg LM, Jakola AS, Thurin E, Reinertsen I, Bouget D, Solheim O, Eijgelaar RS, de Witt Hamer PC, Barkhof F. Estimating overall survival of glioblastoma patients using clinical variables, tumor size, and location. Neurooncol Adv. 2025 Jan-Dec; 7(1):vdaf154. View on PubMed
  16. Lin K, Zou C, Hubbard A, Sengelmann S, Goudy L, Wang IC, Sharma R, Pak J, Foster K, Ozawa T, de Groot JF, Phillips J, Vasudevan HN, Raleigh DR, Marson A, Murthy N, Gilbert LA, Berger MS, Liu SJ. Multiplexed epigenetic memory editing using CRISPRoff sensitizes glioblastoma to chemotherapy. Neuro Oncol. 2025 Jul 30; 27(6):1443-1457. View on PubMed
  17. Elguindy MM, Bernabei JM, Young JS, Berger MS. Ipsilateral tumor-side-down approach to mesial parietal and occipital gliomas: patient series. J Neurosurg Case Lessons. 2025 Jun 30; 9(26). View on PubMed
  18. Gerritsen JKW, Karschnia P, Young JS, van den Bent MJ, Chang SM, Smith TR, Nahed BV, Rincon-Torroella J, Bettegowda C, Sanai N, Krieg SM, Maruyama T, Schucht P, Broekman MLD, Tonn JC, Wen PY, De Vleeschouwer S, Vincent AJPE, Hervey-Jumper S, Berger MS, Mekary RA, Molinaro AM. Practical and statistical aspects of subgroup analyses in surgical neuro-oncology: A comprehensive review from the PIONEER consortium. Neuro Oncol. 2025 Jun 21; 27(5):1149-1164. View on PubMed
  19. Arvaniti CK, Brotis AG, Young JS, Sivanrupan S, Menna G, Nishide M, Schucht P, Berger M, Fountas KN. The role of Lobectomy in Glioblastoma management: A Retrospective series. Brain Spine. 2025; 5:104305. View on PubMed
  20. Rammeloo E, Young JS, Schouten JW, Bos EM, Hervey-Jumper SL, Jungk C, Krieg SM, Smith T, Rincon-Torroella J, Bettegowda C, Maruyama T, Wagner A, Schucht P, Broekman MLD, De Vleeschouwer S, Nahed BV, Berger MS, Vincent AJPE, Gerritsen JKW. Preoperative assessment of tumor eloquence and resectability: an international survey. J Neurooncol. 2025 Oct; 175(1):47-59. View on PubMed

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