Rhodes Center for Glioblastoma

Brain cancers are a significant and increasing cause of cancer-related illness and deaths among adults and children in the United States. In fact, malignant brain tumors are the most common cause of cancer-related deaths among adolescents and young adults, age 15 to 39. The potential effects on cognition, strength, vision, and other aspects of neurological function make brain cancer uniquely devastating among cancers.

Glioblastomas, a subset of gliomas that arise from astrocytes, represent about 15 percent of all primary brain tumors. These tumors are highly aggressive because the cells reproduce quickly and are fed by a large network of blood vessels.

Despite the aggressive nature of this deadly disease, advances in care lag far behind those of other cancers. In the last three decades, treatment and the prognosis for glioblastoma has remained stagnant. This is unacceptable in this age of dramatic medical advances and breakthroughs in the battle against other cancers.

NewYork-Presbyterian created the William Rhodes and Louise Tilzer-Rhodes Center for Glioblastoma to advance the care and treatment of glioblastomas. With the generous donation from the Rhodes family, NewYork-Presbyterian — in collaboration with our Ivy League academic partners, Weill Cornell Medicine and Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons — can build on it’s position as a top-tier neurological care program.

Our neurology and neurosurgery departments are ranked among the top 50 medical programs for NIH-funded research. Our investigators direct and participate in major clinical trials that help advance care offered, and publish a large volume of articles in peer-reviewed journals each year. A 2011 academic research study published in JAMA Neurology found the departments at Columbia and Cornell are among the top 10 programs in the nation producing academically active neurologists.

A national leader in cancer care with highest volume brain tumor treatment in the city, NewYork-Presbyterian is one of the top-ranked neurology and neurosurgery programs in the country. This is due to our world-class physicians, our ability to relatively quickly bring treatments from the laboratory bench to our patients’ bedsides, and our deeply ingrained culture of patient-focused care.

Our care philosophy

The William Rhodes and Louise Tilzer-Rhodes Center for Glioblastoma at NewYork-Presbyterian aims to advance care for glioblastoma and other brain cancers via a three-pronged approach.

• Providing the best multi-disciplinary, research-driven patient care for brain cancers and brain tumors: Emphasizing compassionate treatment of the “whole patient;” prioritizing same-day care for both new and established patients; and applying advanced genomic and precision medicine to help select specific treatments for individual patients.
• Translational Research: Driving new scientific discovery to improve our diagnostic and therapeutic tools.
• Education: Training junior clinicians and scientists in the optimal treatment of and research into brain tumors, preparing them to lead the next generation of care and research.

Our team

The Rhodes Center for Glioblastoma is led by four renowned experts in neuro-oncology.

Dr. Jeffrey Bruce, co-director of the Brain Tumor Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, neuro-oncology program leader in the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, director of the Bartoli Brain Tumor Research Laboratory and the Edgar M. Housepian Professor of Neurological Surgery Research at Columbia University Medical Center.

Dr. Andrew Lassman, chief of the division of neuro-oncology in the Department of Neurology and co-director of the Brain Tumor Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, medical director for the Clinical Protocol Data Management Office of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the John Harris Associate Professor of Neurology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Associate Dean of Clinical Trials at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Dr. Howard Fine, the founding director of the Brain Tumor Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medicine, and recruited as the Louis and Gertrude Feil Professor of Medicine and associate director for translational research at the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Dr. Rohan Ramakrishna, a surgical neuro-oncologist in the Brain Tumor Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medicine, and the Alvina and Willis Murphy Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Department leadership

Departmental leadership in neurology and neurosurgery at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medicine will also play a guiding role at the center.

Dr. Richard Mayeux, neurologist-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and the Gertrude H. Sergievsky Professor of Neurology, Psychiatry, and Epidemiology, chair of the Department of Neurology at Columbia University Medical Center, and co-director of the Taub Institute.

Dr. E. Sander Connolly Jr., MD, FACS, neurosurgeon-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

Dr. Matthew Fink, neurologist-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and the Louis and Gertrude Feil Professor in Clinical Neurology and chairman of the Department of Neurology at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Dr. Philip Stieg, neurosurgeon-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and professor and chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine.