Massachusetts General Hospital

BiographyAs a neurosurgeon-scientist, Dr. Cahill's clinical practice is focused on the care of brain tumor patients, improving national clinical trials of therapy for these patients, and optimizing the training of neurosurgical residents to diagnose and treat these cancers.

Dr. Cahill was born and raised in Connecticut, attending Yale College and then Johns Hopkins Medical School in Baltimore, receiving his MD/PhD degrees in 2001.  He completed neurosurgery residency training at the Massachusetts General Hospital.  His first academic position (Assistant Professor) was in the practice of neurosurgical oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.  He was then recruited to re-join the faculty of the MGH Brain Tumor Center in 2011, where he is currently in active practice.  He sees patients in the Yawkey Center for Outpatient Care, and oversees the Translational Brain Tumor Genomics laboratory located in the Simches Research Building.

Dr. Cahill lives in Boston with his wife Jennifer and their five sons.

ResearchDr. Cahill's laboratory-based research effort aims to identify the molecular genetic alterations that underlie the development, progression and treatment resistance of brain tumors. By understanding the mechanism by which tumor genome alterations drive the growth of these cancers, therapeutic strategies can be designed to improve outcomes for these patients. This research effort has contributed key observations regarding the molecular mechanisms of chemoresistance in human glioblastomas, over the last decade as combined radiation and alkylating chemotherapy temozolomide have become the standard-of-care. This work has a track record of successful competitive peer-reviewed funding from the Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation, the Brain Tumor Society, the National Brain Tumor Foundation, the James S. McDonnell Foundation, and the Burroughs Wellcome Career Awards in the Medical Sciences.

Publications

View my most recent publications at PubMed