2025 Dr. Lawrence M. Kushner Memorial Award

For their work on neurosurgical and translational approaches to patients with brain tumors.

Ryota Tamura

Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery
Keio University School of Medicine, Japan

Biography

After graduating from Keio University School of Medicine in 2010, Dr. Tamura started translational research in 2017 and completed graduate school in 2021.

Dr. Tamura's clinical and research interests focus on neurosurgical and translational approaches to patients with brain tumors. He is dedicated to management of patients with refractory benign brain tumors including NF2-related schwannomatosis and malignant glioma. As a neurosurgeon, he specializes in skull base techniques for posterior cranial fossa tumors. Active areas of research include anti-angiogenic immunotherapy for the treatment of unresectable benign tumors including NF2-related schwannomatosis.

Previously, he led a clinical trial using a vascular endothelial growth factor receptors peptide vaccine in patients with progressive NF2-related schwannomatosis-driven schwannomas returning positive, i.e., hearing improvement and tumor volume reduction. That is the first immunotherapeutic approach for the patients with NF2-related schwannomatosis. Randomized double blind placebo control study is planned in 2025. Another area of his research involves stem cell-based gene therapy using iPS cells for the treatment of malignant glioma and regenerative medicine. He serves as a co-PI leading multiple preclinical studies evaluating the treatment effect of genome-edited iPS cells utilizing orthotopic immunocompetent glioblastoma models. In 2026-2027, clinical trial using genome-edited iPS cell-derived neural stem cells is planned for the patients with malignant gliomas. These novel treatment strategies may lead to improve the prognosis of patients with refractory benign and malignant brain tumors.

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