Meet Chibawanye Ene, M.D., Ph.D.
Chibawanye I. Ene, M.D., Ph.D
Department of Neurosurgery, Division of Surgery
About Dr. Chibawanye I. Ene
Chibawanye I. Ene, M.D., Ph.D. is an assistant professor and physician-scientist in the Department of Neurosurgery with a clinical focus on complex brain tumors and research expertise in the field of immuno-oncology, particularly macrophage based therapeutic approaches for brain tumors.
He received his M.D. from Indiana University School of Medicine and his Ph.D. in biochemistry from Cambridge University, where he explored epigenetics of neural and cancer stem cells. He subsequently completed his residency in neurosurgery at the University of Washington School of Medicine, during which he developed novel mouse models to study brain tumor immunity.
Dr. Ene completed a fellowship in Neurosurgical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2022, distinguishing himself both as a surgeon and scientist and joined the faculty the same year.
His surgical practice primarily focuses on advanced neurosurgical procedures for primary and metastatic tumors of the brain. Novel treatments for brain tumors developed in his laboratory will eventually be brought to the clinic for brain tumor patients.
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Assistant Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, Division of Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
2013 | Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA, MD, Medicine |
2012 | University of Cambridge, Cambridge, GBR, PHD, Biochemistry |
2004 | Wayne State College, Wayne, NE, USA, BS, Biology |
Honors & Awards
2021 | Thomas H. and Mayme P. Scott Fellowship in Cancer Research (Endowed Fellowship), MD Anderson Cancer Center |
2020 | Caroline Ross Distinguished Trainee Award in Brain Cancer Research, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
2020 | Best Clinical Research Award for Abstract, Congress of Neurological Surgery (CNS) Annual Scientific Meeting |
2020 | Silver Medal Award in Basic Sciences, American Academy of Neurological Surgery (AANS) /Congress of Neurological Surgery (CNS) Tumor Satellite Meeting |
2019 | Ronald Bittner Award for best abstract paper on brain tumor research, American Academy of Neurological Surgery (AANS) /Congress of Neurological Surgery (CNS) Annual Scientific Meeting |
2019 | Alpha Omega Alpha (AΩA) National Honor Medical Society, University of Washington |
2012 | Best Poster in Biochemistry, National Institutes of Health |
2008 | Cambridge Research Scholarship, NIH |
2007 | Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Scholarship, Howard Hughes Medical Institute |
2007 | Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Scholarship, Howard Hughes Medical Institute |
Professional Memberships
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Shin DH, Jiang H, Gillard AG, Kim D, Fan X, Singh SK, Nguyen TT, Sohoni SS, Lopez-Rivas AR, Parthasarathy A, Ene CI, Gumin J, Lang FF, Alonso MM, Gomez-Manzano C, Fueyo J. Chimeric oncolytic adenovirus evades neutralizing antibodies from human patients and exhibits enhanced anti-glioma efficacy in immunized mice. Mol Ther 32(3):722-733, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38311852.
- Noll KR, Asman P, Tasnim I, Hall M, Connelly K, Swamy C, Ene C, Tummala S, Grasu RM, Liu HL, Kumar VA, Muir M, Prinsloo S, Michener H, Wefel JS, Ince NF, Prabhu SS. Intraoperative language mapping guided by real-time visualization of gamma band modulation electrocorticograms: Case report and proof of concept. Neurooncol Pract 11(1):92-100, 2024. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 38222047.
- Haider AS, Ene CI, Palmisciano P, Haider M, Rao G, Ballester LY, Fuller GN. Concurrent IDH1 and IDH2 mutations in glioblastoma: A case report. Front Oncol 13:1071792, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37077830.
- Hasanov E, Yeboa DN, Tucker MD, Swanson TA, Beckham TH, Rini B, Ene CI, Hasanov M, Derks S, Smits M, Dudani S, Heng DYC, Brastianos PK, Bex A, Hanalioglu S, Weinberg JS, Hirsch L, Carlo MI, Aizer A, Brown PD, Bilen MA, Chang EL, Jaboin J, Brugarolas J, Choueiri TK, Atkins MB, McGregor BA, Halasz LM, Patel TR, Soltys SG, McDermott DF, Elder JB, Baskaya MK, Yu JB, Timmerman R, Kim MM, Mut M, Markert J, Beal K, Tannir NM, Samandouras G, Lang FF, Giles R, Jonasch E. An interdisciplinary consensus on the management of brain metastases in patients with renal cell carcinoma. CA Cancer J Clin 72(5):454-489, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35708940.
- Chen SR, Chen MM, Ene C, Lang FF, Kan P. Perfusion-guided endovascular super-selective intra-arterial infusion for treatment of malignant brain tumors. J Neurointerv Surg 14(6):533-538, 2022. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34824133.
- Jiang B, Murray C, Cole BL, Glover JNM, Chan GK, Deschenes J, Mani RS, Subedi S, Nerva JD, Wang AC, Lockwood CM, Mefford HC, Leary SES, Ojemann JG, Weinfeld M, Ene CI. Mutations of the DNA repair gene PNKP in a patient with microcephaly, seizures, and developmental delay (MCSZ) presenting with a high-grade brain tumor. Sci Rep 12(1):5386, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35354845.
- Ene CI, Ferguson SD. Surgical Management of Brain Metastasis: Challenges and Nuances. Front Oncol 12:847110, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35359380.
- Muir M, Prinsloo S, Michener H, Shetty A, de Almeida Bastos DC, Traylor J, Ene C, Tummala S, Kumar VA, Prabhu SS. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) seeded tractography provides superior prediction of eloquence compared to anatomic seeded tractography. Neurooncol Adv 4(1):vdac126, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36128584.
- Palmisciano P, Haider AS, Nwagwu CD, Wahood W, Yu K, Ene CI, O'Brien BJ, Aoun SG, Cohen-Gadol AA, El Ahmadieh TY. The Role of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Leptomeningeal Disease: A Systematic Review. Anticancer Res 41(11):5333-5342, 2021. PMID: 34732403.
- Wang S, Sun MZ, Abecassis IJ, Weil AG, Ibrahim GM, Fallah A, Ene C, Leary SES, Cole BL, Lockwood CM, Olson JM, Geyer JR, Ellenbogen RG, Ojemann JG, Wang AC. Predictors of mortality and tumor recurrence in desmoplastic infantile ganglioglioma and astrocytoma-and individual participant data meta-analysis (IPDMA). J Neurooncol 155(2):155-163, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34613581.
- Abecassis IJ, Zeeshan Q, Feroze AH, Ene C, Vellimana AK, Sekhar LN. Subtemporal, Transapical, and Transcavernous Approach to Clip Low-Lying Basilar Tip Aneurysm: 2-Dimensional Operative Video. Oper Neurosurg (Hagerstown) 20(6):E436, 2021. PMID: 33548927.
- Ene CI, Fueyo J, Lang FF. Delta-24 adenoviral therapy for glioblastoma: evolution from the bench to bedside and future considerations. Neurosurg Focus 50(2):E6, 2021. PMID: 33524949.
- Srinivasan VM, Ene C, Kerrigan BP, Lang FF. Window of Opportunity Clinical Trials to Evaluate Novel Therapies for Brain Tumors. Neurosurg Clin N Am 32(1):93-104, 2021. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 33223031.
- Ene CI, Kurnik N, Vellimana AK, Liu Y, Susarla SM, Sekhar LN. Microsurgical Resection of a Primary Intraosseous Meningioma Encasing the Superior Sagittal Sinus. J Craniofac Surg 31(7):2012-2014, 2020. PMID: 32657980.
- Ene CI, Cimino PJ, Fine HA, Holland EC. Incorporating genomic signatures into surgical and medical decision-making for elderly glioblastoma patients. Neurosurg Focus 49(4):E11, 2020. PMID: 33002863.
- Brempelis KJ, Cowan CM, Kreuser SA, Labadie KP, Prieskorn BM, Lieberman NAP, Ene CI, Moyes KW, Chinn H, DeGolier KR, Matsumoto LR, Daniel SK, Yokoyama JK, Davis AD, Hoglund VJ, Smythe KS, Balcaitis SD, Jensen MC, Ellenbogen RG, Campbell JS, Pierce RH, Holland EC, Pillarisetty VG, Crane CA. Genetically engineered macrophages persist in solid tumors and locally deliver therapeutic proteins to activate immune responses. J Immunother Cancer 8(2), 2020. PMID: 33115946.
- Ene CI, Wang AC, Collins KL, Bonow RH, McGrath LB, Durfy SJ, Barber JK, Ellenbogen RG. Expansile duraplasty and obex exploration compared with bone-only decompression for Chiari malformation type I in children: retrospective review of outcomes and complications. J Neurosurg Pediatr 27(1):1-8, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 33126216.
- Pan J, Barros G, Greil ME, Meyer RM, Ene CI, Chesnut RM. Pseudoaneurysm of the Superficial Temporal Artery After Intracranial Pressure Monitoring Device Placement: Case Report of a Rare Complication. Oper Neurosurg (Hagerstown) 19(3):288-291, 2020. PMID: 32503046.
- Ene CI, Kreuser SA, Jung M, Zhang H, Arora S, White Moyes K, Szulzewsky F, Barber J, Cimino PJ, Wirsching HG, Patel A, Kong P, Woodiwiss TR, Durfy SJ, Houghton AM, Pierce RH, Parney IF, Crane CA, Holland EC. Anti-PD-L1 antibody direct activation of macrophages contributes to a radiation-induced abscopal response in glioblastoma. Neuro Oncol 22(5):639-651, 2020. PMID: 31793634.
- Ma Z, Niu B, Phan TA, Stensjøen AL, Ene C, Woodiwiss T, Wang T, Maini PK, Holland EC, Tian JP. Stochastic growth pattern of untreated human glioblastomas predicts the survival time for patients. Sci Rep 10(1):6642, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32313150.
- Feroze AH, McGrath M, Williams JR, Young CC, Ene CI, Buckley RT, Cole BL, Ojemann JG, Hauptman JS. Laser interstitial thermal therapy for pediatric atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor: case report. Neurosurg Focus 48(1):E11, 2020. PMID: 31896085.
- Parker Kerrigan BC, Ledbetter D, Kronowitz M, Phillips L, Gumin J, Hossain A, Yang J, Mendt M, Singh S, Cogdell D, Ene C, Shpall E, Lang FF. RNAi technology targeting the FGFR3-TACC3 fusion breakpoint: an opportunity for precision medicine. Neurooncol Adv 2(1):vdaa132, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 33241214.
- Yoda RA, Marxen T, Longo L, Ene C, Wirsching HG, Keene CD, Holland EC, Cimino PJ. Mitotic Index Thresholds Do Not Predict Clinical Outcome for IDH-Mutant Astrocytoma. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 78(11):1002-1010, 2019. PMID: 31529048.
- Zhang F, Parayath NN, Ene CI, Stephan SB, Koehne AL, Coon ME, Holland EC, Stephan MT. Genetic programming of macrophages to perform anti-tumor functions using targeted mRNA nanocarriers. Nat Commun 10(1):3974, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31481662.
- Ene CI, Macomber MW, Barber JK, Ferreira MJ, Ellenbogen RG, Holland EC, Rockhill JK, Silbergeld DL, Halasz LM. Patterns of Failure After Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Recurrent High-Grade Glioma: A Single Institution Experience of 10 Years. Neurosurgery 85(2):E322-E331, 2019. PMID: 30576476.
- Wirsching HG, Zhang H, Szulzewsky F, Arora S, Grandi P, Cimino PJ, Amankulor N, Campbell JS, McFerrin L, Pattwell SS, Ene C, Hicks A, Ball M, Yan J, Zhang J, Kumasaka D, Pierce RH, Weller M, Finer M, Quéva C, Glorioso JC, Houghton AM, Holland EC. Arming oHSV with ULBP3 drives abscopal immunity in lymphocyte-depleted glioblastoma. JCI Insight 4(13), 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31292299.
- Wang AC, Jones DTW, Abecassis IJ, Cole BL, Leary SES, Lockwood CM, Chavez L, Capper D, Korshunov A, Fallah A, Wang S, Ene C, Olson JM, Geyer JR, Holland EC, Lee A, Ellenbogen RG, Ojemann JG. Desmoplastic Infantile Ganglioglioma/Astrocytoma (DIG/DIA) Are Distinct Entities with Frequent BRAFV600 Mutations. Mol Cancer Res 16(10):1491-1498, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30006355.
- Zhang F, Stephan SB, Ene CI, Smith TT, Holland EC, Stephan MT. Nanoparticles That Reshape the Tumor Milieu Create a Therapeutic Window for Effective T-cell Therapy in Solid Malignancies. Cancer Res 78(13):3718-3730, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29760047.
- Morton RP, Abecassis IJ, Hanson JF, Barber JK, Chen M, Kelly CM, Nerva JD, Emerson SN, Ene CI, Levitt MR, Chowdhary MM, Ko AL, Chesnut RM. Timing of cranioplasty: a 10.75-year single-center analysis of 754 patients. J Neurosurg 128(6):1648-1652, 2018. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28799868.
- Ene CI, Morton RP, Kelly CM, Levitt MR, Ghodke B. Angiographic perfusion imaging of intracranial stenting. J Clin Neurosci 48:100-102, 2018. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 29183679.
- Ene C, Kaul A, Kim L. Natural history of cerebral cavernous malformations. Handb Clin Neurol 143:227-232, 2017. PMID: 28552144.
- Morton RP, Abecassis IJ, Hanson JF, Barber J, Nerva JD, Emerson SN, Ene CI, Chowdhary MM, Levitt MR, Ko AL, Dellit TH, Chesnut RM. Predictors of infection after 754 cranioplasty operations and the value of intraoperative cultures for cryopreserved bone flaps. J Neurosurg 125(3):766-70, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 26771856.
- Ene CI, Xu D, Morton RP, Emerson S, Levitt MR, Barber J, Rostomily RC, Ghodke BV, Hallam DK, Albuquerque FC, McDougall CG, Sekhar LN, Ferreira M, Kim LJ, Chang SW. Safety and Efficacy of Preoperative Embolization of Intracranial Hemangioblastomas. Oper Neurosurg (Hagerstown) 12(2):135-140, 2016. PMID: 29506092.
- Ene CI, Nerva JD, McGrath L, Flanagan ME, Chamberlain MC, Silbergeld DL. Flow-Related Aneurysm within Glioblastoma: A Case Report and Review of Literature. World Neurosurg 89:729.e1-6, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 26851739.
- Ene CI, Nerva JD, Morton RP, Barkley AS, Barber JK, Ko AL, Silbergeld DL. Safety and efficacy of carmustine (BCNU) wafers for metastatic brain tumors. Surg Neurol Int 7(Suppl 11):S295-9, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27217968.
- Ene CI, Morton RP, Ferreira M, Sekhar LN, Kim LJ. Spontaneous Hemorrhage from Central Nervous System Hemangioblastomas. World Neurosurg 83(6):1180.e13-7, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25727302.
- Ene CI, Silbergeld DL. Predicting prognosis of brain metastasis using molecular and clinical variables. World Neurosurg 83(4):490-1, 2015. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 25219584.
- Chowdhary MM, Ene CI, Silbergeld DL. Treatment of Gliomas: How did we get here?. Surg Neurol Int 6(Suppl 1):S85-8, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25722937.
- Ene CI, Holland EC. Personalized medicine for gliomas. Surg Neurol Int 6(Suppl 1):S89-95, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25722938.
- Ene CI, Edwards L, Riddick G, Baysan M, Woolard K, Kotliarova S, Lai C, Belova G, Cam M, Walling J, Zhou M, Stevenson H, Kim HS, Killian K, Veenstra T, Bailey R, Song H, Zhang W, Fine HA. Histone demethylase Jumonji D3 (JMJD3) as a tumor suppressor by regulating p53 protein nuclear stabilization. PLoS One 7(12):e51407, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 23236496.
- Ene CI, Fine HA. Many tumors in one: a daunting therapeutic prospect. Cancer Cell 20(6):695-7, 2011. PMID: 22172718.
- Edwards LA, Woolard K, Son MJ, Li A, Lee J, Ene C, Mantey SA, Maric D, Song H, Belova G, Jensen RT, Zhang W, Fine HA. Effect of brain- and tumor-derived connective tissue growth factor on glioma invasion. J Natl Cancer Inst 103(15):1162-78, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 21771732.
- Lee J, Son MJ, Woolard K, Donin NM, Li A, Cheng CH, Kotliarova S, Kotliarov Y, Walling J, Ahn S, Kim M, Totonchy M, Cusack T, Ene C, Ma H, Su Q, Zenklusen JC, Zhang W, Maric D, Fine HA. Epigenetic-mediated dysfunction of the bone morphogenetic protein pathway inhibits differentiation of glioblastoma-initiating cells. Cancer Cell 13(1):69-80, 2008. PMID: 18167341.
Book Chapters
- Ian McCutcheon and Chibawanye Ene. Neurosurgical Malignancies: Treating Tumors of Brain and Spine and Their Effects on the Nervous System. In: MD Anderson Surgical Handbook, 2022.
- Ene C, Feroze A, Holland EC.. Molecular Genetics and the Development of Targets for Gliomas. In: Youmans Neurological Surgery, 2019.
- Ene C, Kaul A, Kim L.. Natural history of cerebral cavernous malformations. In: Handbook of Clinical Neurology, 2017.
- Ravanpay A, Ene C, Holland EC.. Molecular Genetics and the Development of Targets for Gliomas. In: Youmans Neurological Surgery, 2014.