UofL, UofL Health neurosurgeon-scientist receives prestigious NCI award to advance brain cancer care

A University of Louisville and UofL Health neurosurgeon-scientist has received a highly competitive National Cancer Institute (NCI) award to study whether a long-standing treatment used in brain tumor surgery may affect how well cancer therapies work afterward. 

Akshitkumar Mistry, assistant professor of neurological surgery in the UofL School of Medicine and a neurosurgeon with both UofL Health – Brain & Spine Institute and the multidisciplinary neuro-oncology team at UofL Health – Brown Cancer Center, will lead a five-year clinical research program supported by a National Cancer Institute Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award, known as a K08. The award provides more than $1 million to support clinical trials and translational studies focused on patients with glioblastoma and brain metastases. 

Based on a review of the NIH RePORTER database, the award is believed to be the first NCI K08 awarded to a UofL faculty member and the first within the Department of Neurological Surgery. Mistry’s proposal received an exceptional third-percentile score during NIH peer review. 

For more than 60 years, corticosteroids have been routinely used to reduce potentially life-threatening brain swelling in patients undergoing surgery for malignant brain tumors. While the practice is common, it has not been rigorously evaluated in modern clinical trials to determine whether it improves outcomes or may unintentionally reduce the effectiveness of treatments such as radiation and immunotherapy. 

Mistry’s research will evaluate whether some patients can safely undergo brain tumor surgery with less steroid exposure and whether an investigational drug may control swelling without the same degree of immune suppression. The work combines clinical trials at UofL Health – Brown Cancer Center with advanced MRI analysis and single-cell spatial profiling to better understand how treatments given around the time of surgery influence the tumor microenvironment. 

“Our goal is not simply to remove tumors. We want to make every subsequent therapy work better,” Mistry said. “For decades, steroids have helped patients by controlling brain swelling, but growing evidence suggests they may also weaken the immune system and reduce the effectiveness of treatments such as radiation and immunotherapy. This award gives us the opportunity to generate the high-quality clinical evidence needed to determine when steroids are truly necessary and whether better alternatives exist.” 

The award comes as Kentucky faces a significant need for innovative brain cancer research and expanded access to clinical trials. A nationwide analysis published in JAMA Neurology identified Kentucky as having the highest age-standardized incidence of brain and central nervous system cancers in the United States. 

Jason Chesney, director of Brown Cancer Center and Mistry’s primary mentor, said the award reflects the importance of the scientific question and Mistry’s promise as an emerging national leader. 

“Dr. Mistry represents the very best of academic medicine. He’s a physician-scientist whose research questions arise directly from the needs of his patients,” Chesney said. “This exceptionally competitive NCI award recognizes his vision, scientific rigor and commitment to improving outcomes for patients with brain tumors.” 

Joseph Neimat, chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery, said the award also reflects Mistry’s ability to bridge demanding clinical work with high-impact research. 

“Building a career that combines complex neurosurgical practice with high-impact translational research is extraordinarily challenging,” Neimat said. “Dr. Mistry has demonstrated the curiosity, discipline and leadership needed to succeed in both, and this award marks the beginning of what we believe will be a transformative research career.” 

The award builds on earlier support from the Louisville Clinical and Translational Research Center and the UofL Presidential Scholars Program, both of which helped advance Mistry’s research development. 

“Career development requires mentorship, protected time and an environment that allows science to flourish,” said Jon Klein, executive vice president for research and innovation. “This prestigious NCI award demonstrates what can happen when institutional commitment and scientific talent come together.” 

Beyond the operating room, Mistry leads investigator-initiated clinical trials, applies computational biology and biostatistics to cancer research, and has developed one of the nation’s largest publicly available transcriptomic resources for brain tumors. Through the K08 award, he aims to build an internationally recognized research program that integrates surgery, clinical trials, immunology and computational science — advancing discovery that matters for patients in Kentucky and beyond.