Manish Aghi, MD, PhD
Specialties: Adult brain tumors, including pituitary tumors, gliomas, chordomas, and meningiomas
Dr. Aghi is a neurosurgeon-scientist specializing in adult brain tumors, including pituitary tumors and gliomas.
For pituitary tumors, Dr. Aghi leads a large nationwide clinical research team that has published several dozen award-winning publications on the resection of pituitary tumors and other tumors of the anterior skull base through an endoscopic endonasal approach. This technique is a minimally invasive approach that involves removing the tumor through the nose—without the need for facial incisions. In 2017, Dr. Aghi was appointed to lead a national Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) taskforce that formulated ten published manuscripts summarizing guidelines for the neurosurgical management of pituitary tumors.
For gliomas, Dr. Aghi leads a scientific laboratory studying how the tumor microenvironment contributes to therapeutic resistance in glioblastoma. These research efforts complement his neurosurgical treatment of glioblastoma patients, for which he uses intraoperative mapping of brain function and 5-Aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) to optimize tumor resection. The research efforts in Dr. Aghi’s lab have also been brought from the bench to the bedside on several occasions, as Dr. Aghi has been and is currently principal investigator of several clinical trials for recurrent glioblastoma, including a phase I clinical trial studying convection-enhanced delivery of a replicating retrovirus for recurrent glioblastoma.
1993: BS, MS, Stanford University
2000: MD, PhD, Harvard Medical School
2000-2007: Residency, Neurological Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital
2007: Instructor, Department of Neurological Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
2008-2012: Assistant Professor in Residence, Department of Neurological Surgery, UCSF
2012-Present: Associate Professor in Residence, Department of Neurological Surgery, UCSF
2013-Present: Faculty Member, Graduate Division in Biomedical Sciences, UCSF
2016-Present: Professor in Residence, Department of Neurological Surgery, UCSF
2018: UCSF Pathways to Discovery Long-Term Mentor Award
2016: Elected to the American Academy of Neurological Surgeons, honorary society for neurosurgeons
2014: Elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI), physician-scientist honorary society
2014: Journal of Neuro-Oncology Award, American Association of Neurologic Surgeons
2013: Young Investigator Award, Society for Neuro-Oncology
2011: Harold Rosegay Teaching Award, UCSF Neurological Surgery
2009: American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) Young Investigator Award, Congress of Neurologic Surgeons
2007: Synthes Skull Base Award, Congress of Neurologic Surgeons
2006: Integra Foundation Award, Congress of Neurologic Surgeons
2006: Mahaley Award, American Association of Neurologic Surgeons
2005: American Academy of Neurologic Surgeons Resident Research Award
2005: Congress of Neurologic Surgeons (CNS) Resident Research Award
2005: William Scoville Resident Research Award, New England Neurosurgery meeting
2005: Ronald L. Bittner Award, American Association of Neurologic Surgeons (AANS)
2004: Preuss Resident Research Award, American Association of Neurologic Surgeons