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Steven Brem, MD, serves as Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania, where he serves as a senior member of the Penn Brain Tumor Center, and plays a major role in medical education across the educational spectrum from medical students at the Perelman School of Medicine to an annual Penn Brain Tumor CME at the Abramson Cancer Center (ACC). He also serves as the Medical Director for the Center for Precision Surgery and is a member of the Clinical Trials Scientific Review Monitoring Committee (ACC). Dr. Brem joined the Penn faculty in 2011 to lead the brain tumor program and has served as the site PI for a dozen innovative clinical trials including dendritic cell vaccine, cytokine immunomodulation, viral oncolytics, C.E.D., DNA vaccine, and Tumor Treating Fields. He has served as a co-investigator or co-PI on multiple NIH grants, and co-authored (with Dr. Kalil Abdullah) a book on glioblastoma. He served as the co-founder of the brain tumor Translational Center of Excellence and is working to translate the emerging technologies impacting neuro-oncology to improve the outlook for patients with brain tumors including advances in immuno-oncology, cancer neuroscience, mRNA science, biomarkers, AI/ML, and advanced neuroimaging.
Prior to joining Penn Medicine, Dr. Brem served as the neurosurgeon-in-chief and chair of the neuro-oncology department at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, where he was the site P.I. for the NCI-funded NABTT/ABTC clinical trials consortium, and also chaired the NCCN Brain Tumor Committee. He has received numerous awards, including selection as the Moffitt Physician-of-the Year. With over 200 peer-reviewed publications, and an h-index of 63, Dr. Brem was listed as an Avant-Garde All-Star in Neurosurgery research, being in the top 5% of neurosurgeons. He has had an active neurosurgical career, performing over 5,000 craniotomies for patients with brain tumors, and was the first Penn neurosurgeon to be selected for the Academy of Master Clinicians.
Dr. Brem pioneered the early, groundbreaking studies in angiogenesis and cellular immunotherapy for glioblastoma. He directed a translational laboratory for over 25 years, funded by federal grants and private foundations, training PhDs and neurosurgeons from around the world. He has been a site PI or co-investigator on over 150 clinical trials, including three trials that succeeded to show a significant advance in survival. He has served on multiple NIH grant committees, and is a staunch advocate for patients, working closely with the ABTA as a member of its Scientific Advisory Council. He has also served as the vice-president of the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States (CBTRUS). He was the first individual to receive the prestigious Joel A. Gingras Award of the ABTA. He received an extraordinary tribute by Congressman Young in the Congressional Record for his professional commitment to the brain tumor community.
Dr. Steven Brem received his medical, oncological, surgical, neurosurgical, and surgical leadership training at the Harvard Medical School, its teaching hospitals, and the National Cancer Institute. He received tenured professorships at Northwestern University and the University of South Florida/Moffitt Cancer Center. He has been a long-term supporter of the trailblazing work of the Musella Foundation and shares the vision of removing the barriers to clinical trial development and implementation. The past is prologue. Dr. Brem looks forward to exciting synergies with the Musella Foundation and the entire brain tumor community, as we work together to prolong survival and tame glioblastoma.