Soma Sengupta, Chair and Neurologist-in-Chief at Tufts Medicine, shared on LinkedIn:
“This is what real mentorship looks like – a generation of brain tumor researchers carrying the work forward.
Eric C. Holland, has helped shape brain cancer research through his work as a neurosurgeon and physician-scientist, developing genetically engineered models that help researchers understand tumor biology and test potential treatments.
His impact also lives in the scientists he has mentored and the wider research community he has helped build.
That community includes remarkable investigators:
- Dolores Hambardzumyan – studying how immune cells and the tumor microenvironment influence brain tumor progression and treatment resistance.
- Nduka Amankulor – connecting neurosurgical care with research into how glioma genetics shape the immune response.
- Praveen Raju – advancing pediatric brain tumor research and innovative approaches to delivering therapies across the blood-brain barrier.
- Oren Becher – developing pioneering models of diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma to understand this devastating childhood cancer and evaluate potential treatments.
- Prajwal Rajappa – bringing together precision oncology, brain tumor immunology, and molecular profiling to advance research and guide care for children and young adults with cancer.
I am personally grateful to Dr. Holland, as he gave me the opportunity to give my first data blitz talk at the SNO conference many years ago – my and Daniel Pomeranz Krummel, team’s work that is funded for bench to bedside translation by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
Mentorship is especially important in brain cancer because progress requires persistence, collaboration, and the exchange of knowledge across disciplines. It means teaching scientific rigor, encouraging independent ideas, and supporting researchers through difficult, unanswered questions.
As these investigators build teams and mentor others, that impact multiplies-with a shared purpose: better treatments and better lives for patients and families.”
Other articles from Soma Sengupta on OncoDaily.