Case Western Reserve University faculty member receives Sontag Foundation Distinguished Scientist Award to advance glioblastoma research

Case Western Reserve University physician-scientist Tyler Miller, MD, PhD (GRS ’16, pathology; MED ’18), has been recognized for his brain cancer research with a Sontag Foundation Distinguished Scientist Award—making him the university’s first recipient of the highly competitive honor in the award’s 23-year history.

As part of the award, Miller, the Paul and Betsy Shiverick Professor in Immuno-Oncology at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, will receive $750,000 over five years to advance research to diagnose and treat glioblastoma, a particularly aggressive form of brain cancer.

The Sontag Foundation supports bold, high-risk approaches to treating brain cancer. The foundation’s award is intended to be transformative for Miller's work, providing both critical and timely financial support paired with additional resources to accelerate his research—including access to a crucial network of peers. 

“The Sontag Foundation Distinguished Scientist award provides more than funding,” Miller said. “It provides an invaluable network of leading brain tumor researchers from around the country—accelerating our research and future clinical trials that stem from this work."

Overcoming the immune obstacle

Miller's core research focuses on addressing the primary barrier to effective immunotherapies for treating brain tumors. The large number of myeloid cells, a type of immune cell that can account for up to half of all cells in the tumor, actively suppresses the immune system's ability to mount an attack against glioblastoma.

“We are excited to welcome Dr. Tyler Miller as a Distinguished Scientist Award recipient," said Hilary Keeley, the Sontag Foundation's executive director. "His innovative work enriches our DSA community, and we look forward to supporting Dr. Miller as his project moves forward. We believe this project will result in meaningful contributions to the field of brain cancer research.”

"Our prior work redefined myeloid cells in glioblastoma,” Miller said. “We identified two immunosuppressive programs that these cells express, which we believe to be the biggest barriers to effective immunotherapy. This award will fund research to help us better understand and target these immunosuppressive programs, with the goal of combining new therapies that reduce immunosuppression and enable current immunotherapies to be effective for glioblastoma patients."