• Press Release

Brain Cancer Expert Joins Neurosurgery Faculty at Mount Sinai

  • New York, NY
  • (January 13, 2020)

Dolores Hambardzumyan, PhD, MBA, has been appointed Senior Faculty in the Department of Neurosurgery and a member of The Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Her research focuses on developing novel therapeutic pathways for the treatment of glioblastoma, a type of brain tumor that is among the most deadly forms of human cancer. She is also exploring the relationship between cancer cells and immune cells within the tumor. Dr. Hambardzumyan’s laboratory explores the role of tumor-associated immune cells called macrophages in gliomas (a tumor that starts in the glial cells of the brain) using genetically engineered mouse models as well as cutting-edge imaging techniques and large-scale gene expression analysis.

“Our neurosurgery department fosters a close partnership between researchers and clinicians, and the addition of Dolores Hambardzumyan to our team further enhances our efforts to deliver cutting-edge treatments from the laboratory to the clinic,” said Joshua Bederson, MD, the Leonard I. Malis, MD / Corinne and Joseph Graber Professor of Neurosurgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Chair of Neurosurgery for the Mount Sinai Health System.  

“Despite the challenges in treating glioblastoma, the courage is getting up every day and working toward a cure,” said Dr. Hambardzumyan. “I am excited to join a world-class neurosurgery department that strives to make a difference in patient’s lives.”

Dr. Hambardzumyan received her PhD in Biochemistry from the Buniatian Institute of Biochemistry, part of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences. She received an MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. Her postgraduate training included fellowships in cancer biology and radiation oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and a fellowship in neuronal plasticity and transplantation at INSERM, the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research. She has ongoing R01 and R21 grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She has 67 peer-reviewed contributions and is author of the chapter “Malignant Glioma” in the textbook Neuroglia, 3rd edition (2012).

The Department of Neurosurgery at the Mount Sinai Health System is internationally recognized as a leader in clinical neurosurgery, neurosurgery education, and neurosurgery research. The department has the largest volume of neurological surgeries in New York City. Neurosurgery and Neurology at The Mount Sinai Hospital were ranked 14th in the nation for neurological surgery in to the 2019-2020 “Best Hospitals” issue of U.S. News and World Report.


About the Mount Sinai Health System

Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with more than 43,000 employees working across eight hospitals, over 400 outpatient practices, nearly 300 labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time — discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.

Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 7,300 primary and specialty care physicians; 13 joint-venture outpatient surgery centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and more than 30 affiliated community health centers. We are consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals, receiving high "Honor Roll" status, and are highly ranked: No. 1 in Geriatrics and top 20 in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Neurology/Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Pulmonology/Lung Surgery, Rehabilitation, and Urology. New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked No. 12 in Ophthalmology. U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Children’s Hospitals” ranks Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital among the country’s best in several pediatric specialties.

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