Mahua Dey is an American neurosurgeon and academic. She is associate professor of neurological surgery and director of the surgical neuro-oncology program at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.[1][2] Her research focuses on developing immunotherapies and personalized therapeutic vaccines for malignant brain tumors, particularly glioblastoma.[3]
Mahua Dey | |
|---|---|
| Born | Dehradun, India |
| Known for | Research on personalized vaccines and immunotherapies for glioblastoma |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Neurosurgery, Neuro-oncology, Cancer immunotherapy |
| Institutions |
|
Early life and education
editDey grew up in Dehradun, India.[4] She earned a B.A. (Hons.) in Economics from Jadavpur University in Kolkata in 1998.[5][6] She immigrated to the United States in 1999.[6] She subsequently earned a B.S. in economics, summa cum laude, from the University of Houston in 2003 and her M.D. from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, in 2007.[6][7][5]
Career
editDey completed her neurosurgery residency and a postdoctoral fellowship in neuro-oncology at the University of Chicago Medical Center.[7] She previously practiced as a surgical neuro-oncologist at Indiana University School of Medicine and Goodman Campbell Brain and Spine.[7]
She is board-certified in neurological surgery and specializes in the surgical management of benign and malignant brain and spinal cord tumors, including tumors in eloquent brain regions that require awake functional mapping.[1] At UW-Madison she directs the surgical neuro-oncology program while leading a translational research laboratory focused on brain tumor immunology.[2]
Research
editDey leads a translational laboratory investigating immune responses to primary and metastatic malignant brain cancers. Her work centers on developing personalized therapeutic vaccines and other immunotherapies for glioblastoma.[1][3][8]
A key project involves a personalized, gene-modified tumor vaccine (GIFT-7 fusokine approach) created from a patient's own glioblastoma cells. In preclinical mouse models, the vaccine has shown a 100% tumor response rate and induced lasting immunological memory that protects against tumor rechallenge.[1][2][8] The research is advancing toward early-phase clinical trials, including preparation of an Investigational New Drug application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.[2][8]
Progress toward human trials faces potential delays from federal funding uncertainties that affect NIH-supported laboratory infrastructure and regulatory processes.[2] The laboratory also develops biomarkers for real-time treatment monitoring and explores multimodal strategies that combine vaccines with standard therapies.[3]
Her publications have been cited more than 5,900 times.[9]
Awards and honors
edit- Nominated for the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) Innovation Award in 2023 for development of a personalized therapeutic vaccine for glioblastoma.[1]
- Recipient of the K12 Neurosurgery Research Career Development Award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).[5]
Selected publications
edit- Chang, Alan L.; Miska, Jason; Wainwright, Derek A.; Dey, Mahua; et al. (2016). "CCL2 produced by the glioma microenvironment is essential for the recruitment of regulatory T cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells". Cancer Research. 76 (19): 5671–5682. doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-16-0144. PMC 5050119. PMID 27530322.
- Wainwright, Derek A.; Chang, Alan L.; Dey, Mahua; et al. (2014). "Durable therapeutic efficacy utilizing combinatorial blockade against IDO, CTLA-4, and PD-L1 in mice with brain tumors". Clinical Cancer Research. 20 (20): 5290–5301. doi:10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-14-0514. PMID 24691018.
- Auffinger, Brenda; Tobias, Adam L.; Han, Yu; Lee, Gina; Guo, Dongmei; Dey, Mahua; et al. (2014). "Conversion of differentiated cancer cells into cancer stem-like cells in a glioblastoma model after primary chemotherapy". Cell Death & Differentiation. 21 (7): 1119–1131. doi:10.1038/cdd.2014.31. PMC 4207480.
- Filley, Anna C.; Henriquez, Mario; Dey, Mahua (2017). "Recurrent glioma clinical trial, CheckMate-143: the game is not over yet". Oncotarget. 8 (53): 91779–91794. doi:10.18632/oncotarget.21586. PMC 5710964.
References
edit- 1 2 3 4 5 "Pursuing a vaccine to treat glioblastoma - A Q&A with Mahua Dey". University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. May 14, 2025. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "UW-Madison glioblastoma vaccine research threatened by federal cuts". Wisconsin Public Radio. June 17, 2025. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Meet UW-Madison's Mahua Dey". Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- ↑ "Mahua Dey". University of Wisconsin-Madison. Badger Talks. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Mahua Dey, M.D. - K12 Neurosurgery Awardee". National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Mahua Dey, MD - Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. March 7, 2025. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Dey, Mahua - Department of Neurological Surgery". University of Wisconsin-Madison. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "UW Health neurosurgeon developing personalized vaccine for brain cancer". WKOW. 2025. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- ↑ "Mahua Dey - Google Scholar". Retrieved June 17, 2026.