Contact
Email: mbredel@miami.edu
Roles
Chairman and Sylvester Professor of Radiation Oncology
Service Chief, Radiation Oncology, University of Miami Health System Hospitals and Clinics
Clinical Service Leader, Radiation Oncology, Oncology Service Line, Sylvester CCC
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Biography
Dr. Bredel is Chairman and Sylvester Professor of Radiation Oncology of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Bredel is a board-certified, German-American physician-scientist who focuses clinically and scientifically on central nervous system (CNS) tumors and movement and other functional disorders of the brain. Dr. Bredel previously held academic faculty positions at Stanford University School of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, the University of Freiburg in Germany, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine. In his role as Chairman, Dr. Bredel leads efforts to strategically position the Department for a successful future, making new inroads, maintaining and expanding its preeminent role in international radiation oncology, promoting and advancing career development, and supporting the tripartite mission of Sylvester and the Miller School of Medicine in life-changing and compassionate cancer care, groundbreaking and transformative research, and educating the next generation of radiation oncologists and scientists.
An NIH R01-funded physician-scientist, Dr. Bredel’s nationally acclaimed work has contributed greatly to the understanding of brain tumor genetics, with a particular focus on human gliomas. He served as the Billy Grey Chair of Research of the National Brain Tumor Society (NBTS). The principal investigator on high-impact studies published in esteemed journals, including The New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, The Lancet Oncology, The Journal of Clinical Investigation, the Journal of Clinical Oncology, and Cell Reports Medicine, his research team’s characterization of a novel tumor suppressor gene in brain cancer was named one of the top clinical cancer research advances of the year by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
Dr. Bredel served on The Lancet Oncology editorial board and associate editor of multiple other peer-reviewed scientific journals. He chaired the Central Nervous System Tumors Program Subcommittee of ASCO. As a member of the NRG Oncology Brain Tumor Working Group, he has led groundbreaking research identifying prognostic and predictive biomarkers in glioma patients.
Dr. Bredel has unique clinical expertise in CNS tumors and a particular interest in advanced radiosurgery for brain metastases and movement disorders. He is part of the CNS Radiation Oncology group, which led the development of HyperArc, an advanced radiosurgery technology for treating brain metastases. In addition to all forms of fractionated external beam radiation therapy, including proton beam therapy and adaptive radiation therapy, he performs a large number of radiosurgery procedures for brain and spine tumors and developed an advanced stereotactic radiosurgery program for movement disorders. The Food and Drug Administration’s 510(K) approval of the Varian TrueBeam/Edge radiosurgery platform for the treatment of essential tremor stemmed from a clinical trial for which he was principal investigator. Dr. Bredel also performed the world’s first frameless radio surgical pallidotomy for dystonia.
An acclaimed educator who values inclusive excellence, Dr. Bredel is part of the Graduate Faculty and intensively involved in the mentoring, education, and training of students of various academic levels, including undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research assistants and associates in his laboratory. He also serves as an American Board of Radiology (ABR) examiner, mentors clinical residents in U Miami’s ACGME-accredited Radiation Oncology Residency Program, and welcomes students to shadow him during in-clinic procedures. He has been a strong advocate of eliminating disparities in cancer research and has prepared students from underrepresented groups for cancer research and education programs. -
Education & Training
Education
Post Graduate Training
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Honors & Awards
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Teaching Interests
I am highly committed to teaching and education. As a clinical faculty member, I’m devoted to the mentoring and training of our 12 clinical residents in the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited Radiation Oncology Residency Program at U Miami Miller School of Medicine, with an emphasis on CNS radiation oncology and advanced brain and spine radiosurgery techniques. Our residency program has a strong emphasis not only on the clinical but also on the basic and translational research training of our residents, as evidenced by the successful enrollment of multiple residents in the American Board of Radiology (ABR) Holman Research Pathway. I received the 2018 Residents’ Faculty Choice Award from the UAB Department of Radiation Residents for my involvement in their training and education. I serve on the International Education & Training Committee of the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and the Central Nervous System and Pediatric Diseases Category Committee of the American Board of Radiology (ABR). I do have students of various academic levels shadow me in the clinic and while doing radiosurgery procedures for brain and spine metastases and movement disorders such as essential tremor and tremor-dominant Parkinson’s disease. I frequently have radiation oncologists from all over the world observe radiosurgery procedures on the Varian Edge® as part of a quarterly three-day SRS/SBRT training course and a monthly tour of excellence (TOE) course at UAB.
I have been intensively involved in the mentoring, education, and training of more than 60 students of various academic levels, including undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research associates, residents, and research assistants during my faculty appointments at Stanford University, Northwestern University (NU), University of Freiburg, and The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). I have lectured in Tumor Cell Biology Seminar series and served on Ph.D. thesis committees. At Northwestern, I have been a member of the Integrated Graduate Program (IGP) in Life Sciences and participated in mentoring students enrolled in the Feinberg School of Medicine (FSM) Research Thesis Program (RTP), the FSM Medical Student Summer Research Program (MSSRP), the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center (RHLCCC) Continuing Umbrella of Research Experience (CURE) Program, the NU Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP). At the University of Freiburg, I have been a member of the Spemann Graduate School of Biology and Medicine (SGBM), an international graduate school promoting interdisciplinary education in the life sciences with PhD and MD/PhD graduate programs. At the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), I am a member of the Graduate Faculty, an extension of the basic UAB academic appointment that is reserved for faculty members who are fully involved in graduate student training. I am also a mentor in the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)-sponsored UAB (T32) Training Program in Brain Tumor Biology, the National Cancer Institute (NCI)-sponsored UAB (T32) Research Training Program in Basic and Translational Oncology, and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)-sponsored UAB MERIT (K12) Training Program.
I do understand the critical importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion. I have been highly committed to diversity and equity by promoting opportunity in my laboratory regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation. I strongly believe diversity should not only include characteristics that make one person different from another but also cognitive diversity, where individuals accelerate through different values, ideas, opinions, and perspectives. I truly believe that recognizing bias and creating a supportive and inclusive environment that embraces differences in opinion and offers respect for everyone -
Research Interests
My NIH-funded basic and translational research is dedicated to understanding the genetics of brain tumors with a particular focus on human gliomas. This incredibly challenging disease highlights both the application of cutting-edge scientific medicine and its limitations as these tumors evade the most targeted therapies. Yet, advances in genome-wide analyses, an ever-increasing production of molecularly targeted/immune directed therapies, and building momentum for understanding the stem-cell component of this disease all mark the present as a time of great promise for new treatment benefits to arise.
Our work integrates complex molecular tumor data generated by the complementary and iterative application of data-driven (systems biology) and hypothesis-drive research (functional genetics/molecular biology) approaches and corresponding clinical patient profiles. Our work aims to translate to the clinic. Our focus lies on the characterization of cooperative and compensatory gene alterations and their roles and mechanisms in sign align pathway deregulation and pathogenesis of brain tumors. We combine complex genomic network analysis from patient tumor samples with both in vitro and in vivo models to identify new therapeutic strategies. We also aim to use high-dimensional tumor profiling to benefit the patient in providing prognostic information and adding in therapeutic decision-making.
As a member of the NRG Brain Tumor Working Group, I have been involved in the profiling of glioma study patient samples for prognostic and predictive biomarkers. I have been the PI on high-impact medical publications in The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, The Lancet Oncology, The Journal of Clinical Investigation, and Journal of Clinical Oncology. My research has been honored by multiple research awards, including awards from ASCO, AACR, and AANS. Our characterization of a novel tumor suppressor gene in brain cancer (published in NEJM) has been named one of the top clinical cancer research advances of the year by ASCO. Our research is highly collaborative in nature as we maintain a very interactive network of national and international research alliances and work within the brain tumor field to offer patients new hope, educate and train the next generation of brain tumor scientists, and advance the general body of knowledge concerning the origins and nature of these challenging neoplasms.
In terms of clinical research, I’m particularly interested in advanced radiosurgery applications for brain metastases and movement disorders. As such, I’m currently leading a prospective phase I dose escalation/de-escalation study of pre-operative stereotactic radiosurgery for brain metastases that has been completed and showed a substantially reduced risk of leptomeningeal dissemination compared to post-operative radiosurgery. I have also developed an advanced stereotactic radiosurgery program for movement disorders at UAB that couples novel, frameless linear-accelerator-based radiosurgery technologies and cutting-edge image-guided targeting.
I am currently the Principal Investigator of an investigator-initiated, funded functional radio surgery clinical trial for patients with medically refractory essential tremor and tremor-dominant Parkinson’s Disease. This trial led to the FDA 510(K) approval of the Varian TrueBeam/Edge radiosurgery platform for the treatment of essential tremor. I have performed the first frameless radio surgical pallidotomy for dystonia worldwide. -
Publications
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Professional Activities
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