Biosketch

Dr. Jawad Fares is a neurosurgeon-scientist at Northwestern University whose work focuses on the biology and treatment of primary and metastatic brain tumors. By integrating clinical neuro-oncology, molecular therapeutics, and quantitative imaging, he seeks to develop precision approaches for glioblastoma and brain metastases. He also contributes to public health scholarship and science policy, particularly in Lebanon and the Middle East.

Dr. Fares earned his B.S. in Biology and M.D. from the American University of Beirut and a postgraduate certificate in Cancer Biology and Therapeutics from Harvard Medical School. He subsequently completed four years of postdoctoral training in neuro-oncology and gene therapy at Northwestern University under the mentorship of Maciej S. Lesniak before joining Northwestern’s neurological surgery residency program.

His research has helped advance the understanding of metastatic brain cancer as a biologically distinct central nervous system disease. He discovered the antineoplastic activity of metixene, a repurposed neuroactive drug that suppresses brain tumor growth by inducing incomplete autophagy. He also co-led the first-in-human clinical study of neural stem cell-mediated delivery of oncolytic virotherapy for malignant glioma, establishing the safety and feasibility of this therapeutic platform. His imaging research uses diffusion tensor analysis to characterize directional glioblastoma invasion and inform more individualized surgical strategies. His review, “Molecular Principles of Metastasis: A Hallmark of Cancer Revisited,” has received more than 3,000 citations and remains a foundational reference in metastasis biology. He is widely published in top-tier journals, including The Lancet, Lancet Oncology, Lancet Neurology, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Science Translational Medicine, and PNAS.

Dr. Fares has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and has been recognized among the top 2% of cited scientists worldwide in the Stanford–Elsevier database. His honors include the AANS Robert L. Bittner Award, election as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, the American Society for Clinical Investigation Emerging-Generation Award, the Society for Neuro-Oncology Neurosurgery Award, and the King Hussein Award for Cancer Research. His scientific work and leadership have also received recognition from organizations including Forbes, Time magazine, Nature, the Asia Society, InterAcademy Partnership, World Economic Forum, and World Government Summit.

Dr. Fares is a founding member of the Lebanese Academy, established in 2022.