Andrew Dhawan

Dr. Andrew Dhawan is a Physician Scientist at the Cleveland Clinic, holding appointments in the Lerner Research Institute and Taussig Cancer Center. He serves as Assistant Staff in the Rose Ella Burkhardt Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center, where he leads the Dhawan Laboratory focused on biomarker development for neuro-oncologic and neuro-genetic diseases that currently lack effective long-term treatments.

Dr. Dhawan's educational background includes:

• MD from Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario (2016)
• DPhil in Oncology from University of Oxford (2017)
• Residency in Neurology at Cleveland Clinic (completed 2022)
• Fellowship in Neuro-Oncology at Cleveland Clinic (completed 2023)

Dr. Dhawan's research is highly interdisciplinary, combining his background in mathematics and computer science with clinical neurology. His laboratory develops, validates, and implements biomarkers for neuro-oncologic and neuro-genetic diseases, with particular focus on glioblastoma, PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome, and tuberous sclerosis complex. The lab employs a multi-faceted approach integrating applied mathematics, computer science, data science, genomics, wet lab biology, and patient registry studies to identify and test biomarkers. This work aims to improve diagnosis, prognosis estimation, treatment monitoring, and clinical trial design for challenging neurological conditions.

Analysis of Dr. Dhawan's recent publications reveals a strong focus on neurogenetic disorders and sex differences in brain cancer. His work bridges computational biology with clinical neurology, developing gene signatures and non-coding RNA biomarkers. A significant portion of his research examines microRNA-mediated mechanisms in glioblastoma and the development of clinical risk models for rare neurologic disorders. His publications demonstrate an interdisciplinary approach that combines wet lab biology with computational analysis to address critical problems in neuro-oncology.

Dr. Dhawan has received numerous prestigious awards including:

• Early Stage Clinician Scientist Career Development Award from the Neurological Institute at Cleveland Clinic (2024-2027)
• Clinical Research Training Scholarship from the American Academy of Neurology (2023-2025)
• PTEN Research Young Investigator Award from the Developmental Synaptopathies Consortium (2022-2024)
• Futures in Neurologic Research Scholarship from the American Academy of Neurology (2022)

Dr. Dhawan actively mentors graduate students and postdoctoral candidates in his laboratory. His research is supported by multiple grants including the Early Stage Clinician Scientist Career Development Award and the PTEN Research Young Investigator Award. He collaborates extensively with researchers at Cleveland Clinic and other institutions on projects related to glioblastoma, glioma, meningioma, PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome, tuberous sclerosis complex, and leptomeningeal carcinomatosis. He serves on the editorial board of npj Genomic Medicine and is an active member of the Society for Neuro-Oncology and American Academy of Neurology.

The Dhawan Laboratory is a dynamic research environment that brings together experts from diverse fields including cancer biology, non-coding RNA biology, evolutionary biology, bioinformatics, data science, and applied mathematics. The lab has developed sigQC, an R package for the quality control assessment of gene signatures that is now used by researchers worldwide. Current research directions include investigating geographic conditions and neurologic disease, developing risk models using genomic profiling and wearable devices, and improving care for individuals with rare neurologic disorders through the development of clinical care guidelines.