Viviane Tabar

Viviane Tabar, MD, is a neurosurgeon-scientist and Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). Her clinical expertise includes surgical management of brain tumors, such as gliomas, meningiomas, and skull base tumors. She specializes in minimally invasive techniques, intraoperative imaging, and brain mapping to preserve critical neural functions. Dr. Tabar is also a leading researcher in stem cell biology, focusing on regenerative therapies for brain repair (e.g., Parkinson’s disease) and modeling brain tumors using human pluripotent stem cells. Her lab investigates glioma biology, tumor heterogeneity, and radiation-induced brain injury.

Education and Training: MD from the American University of Beirut; residencies in General Surgery and Neurosurgery at Case Western Reserve University and University of Massachusetts; fellowship in Neurosurgical Oncology at MSKCC. Board-certified in Neurological Surgery.

Research Highlights
Her lab’s key projects include:

• Stem cell-derived grafts for radiation injury repair.
• Modeling pediatric gliomas (e.g., H3.3K27M mutations) using human embryonic stem cells.
• Developing clinical trials for stem cell therapies in Parkinson’s disease.

Awards and Recognition
Recipient of the American Brain Tumor Association Young Investigator Award (2016), Preuss Award (2010), and multiple Castle Connolly honors. Elected to the National Academy of Medicine.

Lab Collaborations
Collaborates with the Center for Stem Cell Biology and Gerstner Sloan Kettering Graduate School. Current lab members include postdoctoral fellows, research assistants, and a graduate student.

Publications span stem cell therapies, glioma models, and clinical innovations, with a focus on translational research to bridge surgical practice and scientific discovery.