Tarik Tihan, M.D., Ph.D.

Roles

• Biography

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  Dr. Tarik Tihan, M.D., Ph.D., is a Professor of Clinical Pathology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. He received his medical degree from Istanbul University School of Medicine and completed a Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the same institution. Following residency training in Pathology at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, he pursued subspecialty fellowships in Oncologic Pathology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and in Neuropathology at the State University of New York. Dr. Tihan is board-certified in both Anatomic Pathology and Neuropathology. He has held academic appointments at several leading institutions, including Johns Hopkins University and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where he served as a faculty member and active contributor to the Brain Tumor Research Center for over two decades.
  Dr. Tihan’s work has significantly contributed to the understanding and classification of central nervous system tumors. He is co-editor of Diagnostic Pathology: Neuropathology and the Atlas of Pediatric Brain Tumors, both of which are widely recognized as essential resources in the field. During his tenure at UCSF, his leadership in the Division of Neuropathology played a key role in advancing translational research and shaping diagnostic practices in oncologic neuropathology. Over the past three decades, his peer-reviewed research on gliomas, pediatric brain tumors, and molecular diagnostics has informed important updates in the World Health Organization (WHO) Classification of Central Nervous System Tumors. He has contributed to the WHO Classification of Tumors series through work in the Central Nervous System, Endocrine System, and Pediatric Tumor working groups. In addition to his academic and clinical roles, Dr. Tihan remains actively engaged in promoting neuropathology education globally, with a particular focus on capacity building in low- and middle-income countries. At the University of Miami, he continues to integrate excellence in clinical service, research, and education, while fostering national and international collaborations in neuropathology training.
  
  

• Education & Training

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  Education

  1985: Istanbul University School of Medicine

  MD, Medicine

• Teaching Interests

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  My teaching interests can be summarized as follows: Developing content and learning strategies for medical education in low-and-middle income countries. Developing international collaborations and visiting scholar programs in neuropathology. Creating content to facilitate student-centered and interactive learning in neuropathology. Creating teaching programs for self-directed learning of pathology across the globe. Being a life-long learner and improving the skill set in teaching neuropathology

• Research Interests

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  The evolving role of the Neuropathologist and the Neuropathology Divisions require a dynamic and pro-active perspective to the research activities in Neuropathology. My research activities are focused in Neuro-oncology, while I actively collaborate with researchers to study neurogenesis, seizure disorders and cerebrovascular pathology. My long terms goals serve the conviction that significant advances are currently possible if we can realistically apply our skills to multi-institutional collaborations to understand the complex and poorly predictable world of CNS neoplasia. My focused area of research is pediatric brain tumors, particularly pilocytic astrocytomas and other gliomas. Our understanding of pediatric brain tumors are more limited than those in adults, yet the average potential life lost per patient is a magnitude higher in pediatric brain tumors. My efforts in this field include collaboration with molecular epidemiology and pediatric neuro-oncology experts to highlight the necessity of multi-institutional and consortia studies coordinated at the national and hopefully international level.

• Publications

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