Gary Kohanbash, PhD, joined the faculty of the Department of Neurological Surgery at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh in January of 2017.
Dr. Kohanbash graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2007 with a bachelor of science honors degree in neuroscience, specializing in neurodegenerative diseases. He then earned his masters of science degree in infectious diseases and microbiology in 2009, and a doctorate in philosophy in 2012, both from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. While there, he identified novel pathways of immunosuppression in gliomas and participated in multiple phase I/II immunotherapy clinical trials.
Dr. Kohanbash subsequently completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurological Surgery in 2014. He continued his training as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Department of Neurological Surgery. While at UCSF, Dr. Kohanbash was privileged to complete a prestigious T32 training program in translational brain tumor research.
Dr. Kohanbash's publications can be reviewed through the National Library of Medicine's publication database.
Specialized Areas of Interest
Professional Organization Membership
Professional Activities
Education & Training
- BS, (hons), Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, 2007
- MS, Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, University of Pittsburgh, 2009
- PhD, Brain Tumor Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, 2012
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, 2014
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, 2016
Honors & Awards
- Research Travel Award, Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, 2014-15
- Honoree, The Annual Convocation of the University of Pittsburgh, 2010, 2014
- Best Dissertation Award, Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, University of Pittsburgh, 2013
- Top Oral Presentation, Translational Research Cancer Center Consortium (TRCCC), 2013
- International Research Travel Award, Japanese Society for Brain Tumor Pathology, 2012
- Best Graduate Thesis Award, Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, University of Pittsburgh, 2010
- Top Poster Award, Translational Research Cancer Center Consortium (TRCCC), 2009
Research Activities
It was an outstanding year for Dr. Kohanbash’s lab in evaluating and developing new PET tracers to monitor responses to immunotherapy for brain tumors and in developing a novel model to study devastating neuroblastoma tumors. Work from his lab has led to a new clinical trial which has been approved to open combining anti-TIGIT and anti-PDL1 therapy for patients with recurrent glioblastimas. He also continues to focus on translation of radiotherapies to the clinic.
Media Appearances
Pittsburgh researchers make breakthrough in T-cell cancer therapy, offering hope for young patients
WTAE-TV
March 28, 2025
Classifying childhood brain cancers by immune response may improve diagnostics and treatments
Science Daily
March 19, 2025
Bombarding Ependymomas with a “Giant Army of Cancer Fighters”
stbaldricks.org
November 5, 2018
New immunotherapy targets misshapen protein in rare childhood brain cancer
EurekAlert
December 4, 2017