Peter Salovey President | Yale University
Peter Salovey President | Yale University
Roel Verhaak, an internationally accomplished researcher recognized for his field-leading work in the study of brain tumors, was recently appointed the Harvey and Kate Cushing Professor of Neurosurgery. The appointment, approved retroactive to April 1, 2023, is for a term of 10 years, renewable by the dean of the Yale School of Medicine (YSM).
Verhaak leads a 14-member research team at Yale focused on using advanced high-throughput sequencing and computational analyses to study tumor evolution and therapy resistance.
He received his M.Sc. in biomedical sciences from Radboud University and obtained his Ph.D. at Erasmus University Medical Center, both in the Netherlands. He completed his fellowship in 2010 in Matthew Meyerson's laboratory at the Dana-Farber Institute/Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. After a notable career with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, Verhaak joined Yale’s Department of Neurosurgery in 2023.
Verhaak’s efforts to sub-classify glioblastoma based on transcriptional programs have been influential in the field. Glioblastoma subtypes are commonly referred to as "Verhaak subtypes" by the community. His contributions to understanding molecular characteristics of brain tumors and pioneering work on extrachromosomal DNA amplifications have had pan-cancer implications.
In addition to his track record in glioma research, Verhaak founded and leads the Glioma Longitudinal Analysis Consortium — an international organization aiming to better understand glioma tumor evolution and expose therapeutic vulnerabilities — and maintains an active role in setting its goals and direction. He also brings experience from The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network, where he was an instrumental member of the Glioma Working Group.
His ability to collaborate toward a better understanding of glioma demonstrates his commitment to improving outcomes for patients with brain tumors. Complementing these achievements is a substantial track record in training graduate students and postdoctoral associates.
Verhaak has published more than 196 manuscripts featured in high-impact scientific journals including New England Journal of Medicine, Cell, Nature, Nature Genetics, and Cancer Cell. These include over 20 senior-author publications. His papers are highly cited (H index of 91) and his datasets are extensively used by the international community. Verhaak’s research is supported by numerous government agency grants where he is principal investigator.
###
Alerts Sign-up