Dr. Raymond Sawaya

2019, San Francisco, CA

We are proud to present Dr. Raymond Sawaya as our 2019 Honored Guest.

Dr. Sawaya was the founding chair of Neurosurgery at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, ultimately building the department into the most comprehensive and best recognized neurosurgical oncology program in the country. He also served as director of the Brain Tumor Center, an advisor to the leaders of the Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) Moon Shot™, and is currently holder of the Anne C. Brooks & Anthony D. Bullock III Distinguished Chair in Neurosurgery.

Dr. Sawaya is an internationally recognized leader in neurosurgery, with particular expertise in primary and metastatic brain tumors. On the clinical side, he has helped identify brain metastases as a major threat to the well-being of cancer patients, and was the first to promote the treatment of patients with multiple brain metastases (J Neurosurg 79: 210-6, 1993; 368 citations). Dr. Sawaya is renowned for his great strides in enhancing the accessibility and safety of brain tumor surgery. This can best be demonstrated in his landmark paper on the importance of extent of resection on the survival of glioblastoma patients (J Neurosurg 95: 190-8, 2001; 1440 citations). He has also conducted the first prospective trial on the use of intraoperative MRI to maximize the extent of resection (Neurosurgery 64: 1073- 81, 2009; 105 citations). His laboratory work helped identify molecular determinants of brain tumor invasiveness, and in particular, the role of serine proteases in glioma oncogenesis (over 60 publications).

Dr. Sawaya will deliver lectures during the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday General Sessions, host the Resident/Honored Guest Luncheon on Monday afternoon, and hold a meet and greet session Monday morning in the CNS Xperience Lounge.