Ian Pollack, MD, is chief of pediatric neurosurgery at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, A. Leland Albright Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and co-director of the Neurosurgical Oncology Program at the Hillman Cancer Institute.
Prior to joining the faculty of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh in 1992, he was awarded the 1991 Van Wagenen Traveling Fellowship, which afforded him a year of subspecialty training in the Department of Neurosurgery at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, the Neuro-Oncology Laboratory of the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, and the Laboratory of Tumor Biology of the University of Uppsala in Sweden.
Dr. Pollack graduated magna cum laude from Emory University in 1980, where he earned a BS degree in chemistry. He received his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1984, then completed a surgical internship and neurosurgical residency at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He also was a research fellow in neuropathology and neurobiology during some of that time.
Dr. Pollack has published more than 380 papers in refereed journals, numerous book chapters and invited papers, and has edited three books on childhood brain tumors. He is co-editor of the book Principles and Practice of Pediatric Neurosurgery—currently in its third edition—and an accompanying atlas Operative Techniques In Pediatric Neurosurgery as well as Brain and Spinal Tumors of Childhood, a multinational state-of-the-art text.
He is currently a principal investigator on NIH grants focusing on novel therapies for brain tumors, including immunotherapy in childhood brain tumors. Dr. Pollack was named vice chair of academic affairs for the department in July of 2008.
He also chaired the Children’s Oncology Group CNS Tumor Committee from 1999-2009, and co-chaired the National Cancer Institute Brain Malignancy Steering Committee between 2010 and 2017. He is currently vice-chair of the American Board of Pediatric Neurosurgery and a director on the Accreditation Council for Pediatric Neurosurgery Fellowships.
Specialized Areas of Interest
Board Certifications
American Board of Neurological Surgery
American Board of Pediatric Neurosurgery
Hospital Privileges
Professional Organization Membership
Education & Training
- BS, Chemistry, Emory University, Magna cum Laude, 1980
- MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 1984
- Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh, 1990
- Residency, University of Pittsburgh, 1991
- Fellowship, Hospital for Sick Children, 1991
- Fellowship, University of Lausanne, 1991
- Fellowship, University of Uppsala, 1992
Honors & Awards
- Pittsburgh’s Best Doctors, Pittsburgh Magazine, 2012-21
- Joan Venes Lectureship, University of Michigan, 2019
- Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, Marquis Who’s Who, 2018
- Castle Connolly’s America’s Top Doctors, 2002-20
- Who’s Who in America, Marquis, 2005-20
- Who’s Who in the World, Marquis, 2008-20
- Castle Connolly’s America’s Top Cancer Doctors, 2005-20
- Certificate of Appreciation for BMSC Co-chairship, National Cancer Institute, 2017
- E. Bruce Hendrick Visiting Professor in Pediatric Neurosurgery, University of Toronto, 2016
- Columbia Softball Charity Award, American Association of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting, 2016
- Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation, Award for Scientific Excellence, 2016
- Winn Prize, Society of Neurological Surgeons, 2015
- Van Wagenen Lecturer, American Association of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting, 2014
Selected Publications
Premkumar DD, Jane EP, Thambireddy S, Sutera P, Cavaleri J, Pollack IF. Mitochondrial dysfunction, RAD51 and Ku80 proteolysis promotes apoptotic effects of Dinaciclib in Bcl-xL silenced cells. Molec Carcinogenesis 57:469-482, 2018.
Müller S, Agnihotri S, Shoger KE, Myers MI, Smith N, Chaparala S, Villanueva CR, Chattopadhyay A, Lee AV, Butterfield LH, Diaz A, Okada H, Pollack IF, Kohanbash G. Peptide vaccine immunotherapy biomarkers and response patterns in pediatric gliomas. JCI Insight 3(7):e98791, 2018.
Jakacki RI, Cohen KJ, Buxton A, Krailo MD, Burger PC, Rosenblum MK, Brat DJ, Hamilton RL, Eckel SP, Zhou T, Lavey RS, Pollack IF. Phase 2 study of concurrent radiotherapy and temozolomide followed by temozolomide and lomustine in the treatment of children with high-grade glioma: A report of the Children’s Oncology Group ACNS0423 study. Neuro-Oncology 18:1442-1450, 2016.
Pollack IF, Jakacki RI, Butterfield LH, Hamilton RL, Panigrahy A, Normolle DP, Connelly AK, Dibridge S, Mason G, Whiteside TL, Okada H. Immune responses and outcome after vaccination with glioma-associated antigen peptides and poly-ICLC in a pilot study for pediatric recurrent low-grade gliomas. Neuro-Oncology 18:1157-1168, 2016.
Jane EP, Premkumar DR, Cavaleri JM, Sutera PA, Rajasekar T, Pollack I. Dinaciclib, a CDK inhibitor promotes proteasomal degradation of Mcl-1 and enhances ABT-737 mediated cell death in malignant human glioma cell lines. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 356(2):354-65, 2015.
Jakacki RI, Burger P, Kocak M, Boyett J, Goldwein J, Mehta M, Packer RJ, Tarbell N, Pollack IF. Outcome and prognostic factors for children with supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumors (SPNET) treated with carboplatin during craniospinal radiotherapy: A report from the Children’s Oncology Group. Pediatr Blood Cancer 62:776-783, 2015.
Pollack IF, Jakacki RI, Butterfield LH, Hamilton RL, Panigrahy A, Potter DM, Connelly AK, Dibridge SA, Whiteside TL, Okada H. Antigen-specific immune responses and clinical outcome after vaccination with glioma-associated antigen peptides and Polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid stabilized by lysine and carboxymethylcellulose in children with newly diagnosed malignant brainstem and nonbrainstem gliomas. J Clin Oncol 32:2050-2058, 2014.
Ater JL, Zhou T, Holmes E, Mazewski CM, Booth TN, Freyer DR, Lazarus KH, Packer RJ, Prados M, Sposto R,Vezina G, Wisoff JH, Pollack IF. Randomized study of two chemotherapy regimens for treatment of low grade glioma in young children: A Children’s Oncology Group Study. J Clin Oncol 30:2641-2647, 2012.
Pollack IF, Hamilton RL, Sobol RW, Nikiforova MN, Lyons-Weiler MA, LaFramboise WA, Burger PC, Brat DJ, Rosenblum MK, Holmes EJ, Zhou T, Jakacki RI. IDH1 mutations are common in malignant gliomas arising in adolescents: A report from the Children’s Oncology Group. Child’s Nerv Syst 27:87-94, 2011.
Jane EP, Premkumar D, Pollack IF. Bortezomib sensitizes malignant human glioma cells to TRAIL mediated by inhibition of the NF-ĸB signaling pathway. Molecular Cancer Ther 10:198-208, 2011.
Pollack IF, Stewart CF, Kocak M, Young-Poussaint T, Bronsicer A, Banerjee A, Douglas J, Kun LE, Boyett JM, Geyer JR. A phase II study of gefitinib and irradiation in children with newly diagnosed brain stem gliomas: A report from the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium. Neuro-Oncology 13:290-297, 2011.
Thaker NG, McDonald PR, Zhang F, Shun TY, Lewen MD, Pollack IF, Lazo JS. Identification of survival genes in human glioblastoma cells using siRNA screening. Molec Pharm 76:1246-1255, 2009.
A complete list of Dr. Pollack's publications can be reviewed through the National Library of Medicine's publication database.
Research Activities
The Role of QPRT and NAD Pathways in DIPG Treatment Resistance
Dr. Pollack’s group has continued to build on their recent studies designed to define the mechanisms underlying resistance in childhood and adult malignant gliomas. For these efforts, they have developed a series of “drug-resistance” tumor model systems, paired with treatment naïve counterparts. They have leveraged this unique resource to built a strong collaboration with the Drug Discovery Institute and the Systems Biology Program, through which they have characterized the NAD metabolic pathway as a key intermediate through which multiple cell lines achieve treatment resistance. Using RNA sequencing studies and pathway analysis they have identified several common molecular drivers of this process as well as downstream signaling pathways that are hijacked to promote a resistance phenotype. These observations have provided a basis for additional studies that examine pharmacological and RNA interference-based strategies for reversing resistance as well as metabolic manipulations that may provide novel approaches for promoting tumor cell killing. Planned studies will also examine whether the resistance phenotype reflects clonal selection or an epitranscriptomic phenomenon, which will have implications for how best to counteract this common process to achieve durable responses.
This project has been supported by The Cure Starts Now Foundation, The Cure Starts Now Australia, Brooke Healey Foundation, Aidan's Avengers, Aubreigh’s Army Foundation 328, Cure Brain Cancer, Jeffrey Thomas Hayden Foundation, Laurie’s Love Foundation, Melina Michelle Edenfield Foundation, Musella Foundation, Pray Hope Believe, Reflections Of Grace, RUN DIPG, Storm the Heavens Fund, Wayland Villars Foundation, Whitley’s Wishes, The Gold Hope Project, Love Chloe Foundation, The Isabella and Marcus Foundation, Lauren's Fight for Cure, Robert Connor Dawes Foundation, American Childhood Cancer Organization, Lily Larue Foundation, Marlee’s Mission, Ryan's Hope, The DIPG Collaborative, and Snapgrant.com.
Preliminary data for this work has also been funded by a grant from the Children’s Neuroscience Institute of the University of Pittsburgh, the Connor’s Cure Fund of the V Foundation, the Translational Brain Tumor Research Fund and the DIPG Research Fund of the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation.
NIH-Funded Brain Tumor Vaccine Studies
Dr. Pollack’s group has also continued their NIH-funded activities that focus on immunotherapy for pediatric brain tumors. They have applied RNA sequencing of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in their low-grade glioma cohort to characterize gene expression patterns associated with favorable response to vaccine therapy, and those associated with resistance to therapy. They are working to counteract the latter in preclinical therapeutic studies. Accrual continues on their ongoing clinical trials for recurrent low-grade gliomas and ependymomas.
Media Appearances
Immunotherapy
Fall 2014
UPMC Cancer Center 2014 Annual Report
Glioma: Pilot Trial Shows Peptide Vaccine Active in Pediatric Patients
May 25, 2012
Oncology Times
First-of-its-kind Study of Peptide Vaccine by Pittsburgh Researchers Shows Evidence of Immunological Response in Children with Gliomas
April 4, 2012
HealthCanal.com
Study Suggests Vaccine May Help Kids With Brain Cancer
April 3, 2012
U.S. News and World Report Health Day
Study Suggests Vaccine May Help Kids With Brain Cancer
April 3, 2012
Health.com
Study Suggests Vaccine May Help Kids With Brain Cancer
April 3, 2012
MSN Health
Peptide vaccine shows evidence of immunological, clinical activity in children with gliomas
April 3, 2012
MedicalExpress.com
Brain Tumor Vaccine for Children
April 2, 2012
WTAJ-TV (Johnstown)
Teen Has New Lease On Life After Brain Tumor Removal
July 22, 2009
WTAE TV-4 (Pittsburgh) Evening News
Study finds clue to deadly childhood brain cancers
February 7, 2002
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
UPMC On Topic Videos
Brain Care Institute: Expertise
Dr. Pollack talks about managing many of the unusual types of brain tumors.
Brain Care Institute: A Top-Notch Institution
Dr. Pollack talks about the advantages afforded by working at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Brain Care Institute: A Rewarding Experience
Dr. Pollack talks about the experiences that give him a great sense of satisfaction in his work.