Prasad Adusumilli

Bio

Prasad Adusumilli, M.D., often gives patients new life with his work as a general thoracic surgeon at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

He gives even more people hope with his work in the research laboratory, where he also is making a difference.

When he is not in the operating room, Adusumilli has been at the forefront of the development of gene therapies for thoracic cancers like mesothelioma, winning acclaim – and much-needed research money – with the advances he has made.

Adusumilli was awarded a grant from the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation in 2009, then received another in 2011 from the United States Department of Defense (DoD), to continue his work in the lab.

The Department of Defense first began allocating funds toward mesothelioma research in 2008, giving Adusumilli its Technology/Therapueutic Development Award earlier this year. An estimated one-third of mesothelioma patients in the United States are military veterans, stemming from the prevalent use of asbestos in all divisions of the Armed Forces.

Adusumilli's research has been focusing on immunotherapy, enhancing a patient's immune system through genetic engineering to fight off the disease; and oncolytic viral therapy, the killing of cancer cells by injecting a genetically engineered virus. Both are relatively new approaches to the battle against mesothelioma.

"His approach was something we believed in," said Erica Ruble, whose family raised the money for the MARF grant to Adusumilli. Her father died of mesothelioma in 2008, leaving the family determined to help find better strategies for fighting the cancer. They visited with him in New York at Memorial Sloan-Kettering and listened to a presentation before the grant was awarded. "Conventional medicine just isn't working."

The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center is the oldest and largest private cancer facility in America. It is known for innovative research and treatment. As part of its mesothelioma treatment, it has introduced a program that focuses on psychological, emotional and spiritual aspects of cancer.

Adusumilli's research also has been supported financially by the American Geriatric Society, the Susan Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the American Association for Cancer Research.

In addition to mesothelioma, Adusumilli handles lung cancer, esophageal cancer, metastases and mediastinal tumors. He specializes in minimally invasive surgery for early-stage cancers and palliative surgery for advanced-stage cancers.

Adusumilli was educated in India, getting his M.D. from Guntur Medical College before doing his residencies at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (New Delhi, India) and the Southampton University Hospitals (United Kingdom).

Adusumilli had fellowships at the University of Pittsburgh and Sloan-Kettering, where he then began his medical practice.