Sunit Das

MD, PhD, MA, BA

Scientist

Biography

Sunit Das is a neurosurgeon and scientist at St. Michael’s Hospital and the Hospital for Sick Kids, and Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto. He currently serves as the CNS Tumours Lead at Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario). Dr. Das studied English Literature at the University of Michigan and Philosophy at Harvard University before moving to Chicago for medical school at Northwestern University. He completed his doctoral studies in Neurobiology at the National Institutes of Health, where he studied the molecular processes that underlie adult neurogenesis in the lab of Dr. ZuHang Sheng. He returned to Chicago for his neurosurgical residency, during which time he also began work on cancer stem cells in primary brain tumours in the lab of Dr. John Kessler. He was recruited to the University of Toronto in 2010. Dr. Das’s clinical practice is focused on the care of patients with benign and malignant brain tumours. His laboratory in the Arthur and Sonia Labatt Brain Tumour Centre at the Hospital for Sick Kids focuses on the molecular and genetic mechanisms that regulate cellular plasticity, fate specification and treatment resistance in glioblastoma. His research group at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute is focused on using real-world data and meta-analysis for knowledge translation. His work has been published in many high impact journals, including Nature, Nature Genetics, Cell Stem Cell, Cancer Cell, JAMA, JAMA Neurology, and the New England Journal of Medicine. In 2017, Dr. Das joined the Centre for Ethics at the University of Toronto. His work at the Centre for Ethics focuses on the interface of AI with medicine, issues that underlie professional identity in medical practice, and the ethics of surgical innovation. Dr. Das was recently named a Senior Fellow at Massey College.

Recent Publications

  1. Moore-Palhares, D, Chen, H, Keith, J, Wang, M, Myrehaug, S, Tseng, CL et al.. Re-irradiation for recurrent high-grade glioma: an analysis of prognostic factors for survival and predictors of radiation necrosis. J Neurooncol. 2023; :. doi: 10.1007/s11060-023-04340-4. PubMed PMID:37256526 .
  2. Lim-Fat, MJ, Das, S. Unique molecular, clinical, and treatment aspects of gliomas in adolescents and young adults: a review. J Neurosurg. 2023; :1-9. doi: 10.3171/2023.4.JNS221800. PubMed PMID:37243561 .
  3. Ganesh, S, Dharmalingam, P, Das, S, Venkatakrishnan, K, Tan, B. Mapping Immune-Tumor Bidirectional Dialogue Using Ultrasensitive Nanosensors for Accurate Diagnosis of Lung Cancer. ACS Nano. 2023;17 (9):8026-8040. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.2c09323. PubMed PMID:37093561 .
  4. Yan, M, Lee, M, Myrehaug, S, Tseng, CL, Detsky, J, Chen, H et al.. Hypofractionated stereotactic radiosurgery (HSRS) as a salvage treatment for brain metastases failing prior stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). J Neurooncol. 2023;162 (1):119-128. doi: 10.1007/s11060-023-04265-y. PubMed PMID:36914878 .
  5. Li, AY, Gaebe, K, Zulfiqar, A, Lee, G, Jerzak, KJ, Sahgal, A et al.. Association of Brain Metastases With Survival in Patients With Limited or Stable Extracranial Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6 (2):e230475. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.0475. PubMed PMID:36821113 PubMed Central PMC9951042.
  6. Harish, V, Samson, TG, Diemert, L, Tuite, A, Mamdani, M, Khan, K et al.. Governing partnerships with technology companies as part of the COVID-19 response in Canada: A qualitative case study. PLOS Digit Health. 2022;1 (12):e0000164. doi: 10.1371/journal.pdig.0000164. PubMed PMID:36812643 PubMed Central PMC9931354.
  7. Patel, Z, Cho, M, Das, S. Correction: The role of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with intracranial metastatic disease. J Neurooncol. 2023;161 (3):479. doi: 10.1007/s11060-023-04273-y. PubMed PMID:36811766 .
  8. Patel, Z, Cho, M, Das, S. The role of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with intracranial metastatic disease. J Neurooncol. 2023;161 (3):469-478. doi: 10.1007/s11060-023-04263-0. PubMed PMID:36790654 .
  9. Sharma, AE, Corbett, K, Soliman, H, Sahgal, A, Das, S, Lim-Fat, MJ et al.. Assessment of Phase 3 Randomized Clinical Trials Including Patients With Leptomeningeal Disease: A Systematic Review. JAMA Oncol. 2023;9 (4):566-567. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2022.7364. PubMed PMID:36757707 PubMed Central PMC9912161.
  10. Udwadia, FR, Zhu, J, Khan, HM, Das, S. Futility considerations in surgical ethics. Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2023;85 (1):1-5. doi: 10.1097/MS9.0000000000000114. PubMed PMID:36742120 PubMed Central PMC9893435.
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Affiliations & Other Activities

  • Associate Professor, Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, St. Michael’s Hospital
  • Adjunct Scientist, Brain Tumour Research Centre, Hospital for Sick Children