Behnam Badie, M.D.

(877) 460-4673
Behnam Badie, M.D.
Neurosurgeon; Heritage Provider Network Professor in Gene Therapy
Clinical Expertise
  • Surgical Neuro-oncology
  • Skull Base Tumors
  • Acoustic Neuromas
  • Pituitary Tumors
  • Meningiomas and Other Nervous System Tumors
Research Area
  • Neurologic Oncology
  • Brain Tumor Immunology
  • Development of Minimally Invasive Techniques for Treatment of Both Benign and Malignant Brain Tumors
Other Languages Spoken
Farsi
Academic Appointments
  • Professor and Chief, Division of Neurosurgery
  • Co-Director, Brain Tumor Program
Clinical Teams
Brain Tumors
Pituitary Disorders and Tumors
Surgery
Surgery — Neurosurgery
Additional Contacts
  • Duarte patients
    (626) 256-4673
  • Referring Physicians/Colleagues
    (626) 218-7293

Behnam Badie, M.D., is an expert in surgical neuro-oncology. He is chief of the Division of Neurosurgery and co-director of the Brain Tumor Program at City of Hope®. He has personally performed thousands of brain tumor operations and has guided the design of and conducted several first-in-human clinical trials involving local delivery of therapeutics into the brain.

Dr. Badie is a physician-scientist with clinical interests in the surgical management of malignant and benign brain tumors, including gliomas, pituitary tumors, meningiomas, skull base tumors, acoustic neuromas and other nervous system tumors. In addition to caring for his patients, he also dedicates his time to basic and translational research toward finding a cure for malignant brain tumors. His research focuses on brain tumor immunotherapy, and he has been the principal investigator in several first-in-human clinical trials examining the safety and efficacy of CAR T cell therapies for malignant brain tumors. His research team is also attempting to develop novel immunotherapy approaches for brain tumors by activating microglia and macrophages by targeting unique receptors and using nanoparticles. His research is funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and various public and private foundations.

Dr. Badie has published more than 125 articles in peer-reviewed journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Cancer Discovery, JAMA Oncology, Science Translational Medicine, Clinical Cancer Research, Cancer Research, and Neuro-Oncology. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the NCI Experimental Therapeutics Program, and various review panels for the National Institutes of Health, and is an active member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, Society of Neuro-oncology and other medical societies. Dr. Badie has also been named on both the "Top Doctors of America" and "America's Top Doctors for Cancer" lists since 2002.

Behnam Badie Lab

Location

Education & Experience

Board Certifications

  • 2000, Fellow, American College of Surgeons
  • 1998, American Board of Neurological Surgery
  • 1996, State of Wisconsin
  • 1990, State of California

Degrees

  • 1985–1989, M.D., University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA
  • 1980–1984, Bachelor of Science, Division of Biochemistry, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

Residency

  • 1990–1996, Resident, Division of Neurological Surgery, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

Internship

  • 1989–1990, Intern, Department of Surgery, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

Professional Experience

  • 2018–present, The Heritage Provider Network Professor in Gene Therapy, City of Hope, Duarte, CA
  • 2011–present, Beckman Research Institute Board of Directors, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA
  • 2011–2020, Vice Chair, Department of Surgery City of Hope, Duarte, CA
  • 2012–present, Chair, Faculty Senate Executive Committee Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte CA
  • 2005–present, Professor and Chief, Division of Neurosurgery, City of Hope, Duarte, CA
  • 2005–2009, Associate Professor, Chief Division of Neurosurgery, City of Hope, Duarte, CA
  • 2005–present, Co-Director, Brain Tumor Program, City of Hope, Duarte, CA
  • 2004–2005, Member, Cellular and Molecular Pathology Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
  • 2003–2005, Vice-Chair, Academic Affairs, Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
  • 2002–2005, Associate Professor (Tenure), Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
  • 1996–2005, Member, University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center, Immunology/Biological Therapy Program
  • 1996–2005, Member, University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center, Immunology/Biological Therapy Program
  • 1996–2005, Director, Comprehensive Brain Tumor Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
  • 1996–2002, Assistant Professor, Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI

Awards & Memberships

Awards

  • 2012, Caltech-City of Hope Biomedical Initiative Award Recipient
  • 2011, City of Hope Excellence Award Winner
  • 2007–2012, "America's Top Doctors for Cancer" by Castle Connolly
  • 2007, Courage and Dedication Crystal Award, International Brain Mapping and Intraoperative Surgical Planning Society
  • 2002, Departmental Teaching Award in Neurosurgery, University of Wisconsin
  • 2003–2004, Best Doctors in America
  • 2002, Best abstract presentation, AANS/CNS Section on Tumors
  • 2002, Magna Cum Laude and Excellence in Design for education exhibit, The Radiological Society of North America
  • 2002, "Top Doctor" or "Best Doctor" by Castle Connolly and/or BestDoctors.com
  • 1988, Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Society
  • 1986, best abstract presentation, Medical Student Summer Research Program
  • 1984, Magna cum laude
  • 1984, UCLA Departmental Honors in Biochemistry

Memberships

  • American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • American Association for Cancer Research
  • American Association of Neurological Surgeons
  • American Society of Gene Therapy
  • Congress of Neurological Surgeons Society of Neuro-oncology
  • International Society for Biological Therapy of Cancer
  • North American Skull Base Society
  • Western Neurosurgical Society

Publications

  • Sahoo P, Frankel P, Ressler J, Gutova M, Annala AJ, Badie B, Portnow J, Aboody KS, D'Apuzzo M, Rockne RC. Early Changes in Tumor Perfusion from T1-Weighted Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MRI following Neural Stem Cell-Mediated Therapy of Recurrent High-Grade Glioma Correlate with Overall Survival.Stem Cells Int. 2018 Mar 14;2018:5312426. doi: 10.1155/2018/5312426. eCollection 2018.PMID:29731779
  • Alizadeh D, White EE, Sanchez TC, Liu S, Zhang L, Badie B, Berlin JM. Immunostimulatory CpG on Carbon Nanotubes Selectively Inhibits Migration of Brain Tumor Cells. Bioconjug Chem. 2018 May 16;29(5):1659-1668. doi: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.8b00146. Epub 2018 Apr PMID:29526082
  • Gao H, Zhang IY, Zhang L, Song Y, Liu S, Ren H, Liu H, Zhou H, Su Y, Yang Y, Badie B. S100B Suppression Alters Polarization of Infiltrating Myeloid-Derived Cells in Gliomas and Inhibits Tumor Growth. Cancer Lett. 2018 Aug 1. pii: S0304-3835(18)30498-1. doi: 10.1016/j.canlet.2018.07.034. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 30076898
  • Javanbakht A, D'Apuzzo M, Badie B, Salehian B. Pituitary metastasis: a rare condition.Endocr Connect. 2018 Aug 23. pii: EC-18-0338. doi: 10.1530/EC-18-0338. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 30139817
  • Fiani B, Quadri SA, Farooqui M, D'Apuzzo M, Rosser RJ, Berman BW, Noel J, Xin XS, Badie B, Ramachandran A, Siddiqi J. A brainstem mass of Müllerian type Epithelial Origin without any primary cancer source. J Clin Neurosci. 2019 Jan;59:325-332. doi: 10.1016/j.jocn.2018.10.016. Epub 2018 Oct 15.PMID:30337125
  • Mirzaei HR, Rodriguez A, Shepphird J, Brown CE, Badie B. Corrigendum: Chimeric Antigen Receptors T Cell Therapy in Solid Tumor: Challenges and Clinical Applications.Front Immunol. 2019 Apr 17;10:780. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.00780. eCollection 2019. PMID:31049049
  • Chaudhry AA, Naim S, Gul M, Chaudhry A, Chen M, Jandial R, Badie B. Utility of Preoperative Blood-Oxygen-Level-Dependent Functional MR Imaging in Patients with a Central Nervous System Neoplasm. Radiol Clin North Am. 2019 Nov;57(6):1189-1198. doi: 10.1016/j.rcl.2019.07.006. Review. PMID:31582044
  • Zhang IY, Zhou H, Liu H, Zhang L, Gao H, Liu S, Song Y, Alizadeh D, Yin HH, Pillai R, Badie B. Local and Systemic Immune Dysregulation Alters Glioma Growth in Hyperglycemic Mice. Clin Cancer Res. 2020 Feb 4. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-19-2520.PMID: 32019861
  • Wang D, Starr R, Chang WC, Aguilar B, Alizadeh D, Wright SL, Yang X, Brito A, Sarkissian A, Ostberg JR, Li L, Shi Y, Gutova M, Aboody K, Badie B, Forman SJ, Barish ME, Brown CE. Chlorotoxin-directed CAR T cells for specific and effective targeting of glioblastoma. Sci Transl Med. 2020 Mar 4;12(533). pii: eaaw2672. doi: 0.1126/scitranslmed.aaw2672.PMID: 32132216
  • Zhang IY, Zhou H, Liu H, Zhang L, Gao H, Liu S, Song Y, Alizadeh D, Yin HH, Pillai R, Badie B. Local and Systemic Immune Dysregulation Alters Glioma Growth in Hyperglycemic Mice. Clin Cancer Res. 2020 Jun 1;26(11):2740-2753. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-19-2520. Epub 2020 Feb 4. PMID: 32019861
  • Portnow J, Wang D, Blanchard MS, Tran V, Alizadeh D, Starr R, Dodia R, Chiu V, Brito A, Kilpatrick J, McNamara P, Forman SJ, Badie B, Synold TW, Brown CE. Systemic Anti-PD-1 Immunotherapy Results in PD-1 Blockade on T Cells in the Cerebrospinal Fluid. JAMA Oncol. 2020 Oct 8;6(12):1-5. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2020.4508. Online ahead of print. PMID: 33030521
  • Wang D, Prager BC, Gimple RC, Aguilar B, Alizadeh D, Tang H, Lv D, Starr R, Brito A, Wu Q, Kim LJY, Qiu Z, Lin P, Lorenzini MH, Badie B, Forman SJ, Xie Q, Brown CE, Rich JN. CRISPR Screening of CAR T Cells and Cancer Stem Cells Reveals Critical Dependencies for Cell-Based Therapies. Cancer Discov. 2020 Dec 16:candisc. 1243.2020. doi: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-20-1243. Online ahead of print. PMID: 33328215
  • Feldman L, Brown C, Badie B. Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy: Updates in Glioblastoma Treatment. Neurosurgery. 2021 Feb 11:nyaa584. doi: 10.1093/neuros/nyaa584. Online ahead of print. PMID: 33575786

Ratings & Reviews

Ratings and reviews below are gathered from the Press Ganey Clinician and Group Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CG CAHPS) survey. CG CAHPS is a standardized survey that is used to measure a patient's experience in the physician office setting. Ratings are an average of all responses to questions about a provider's care, with five stars being the highest.
5.0
Show respect for what you say
4.9
Recommend this provider office
4.9
Provider explain in way you understand
4.9
Provider listen carefully to you
4.9
Know important info medical history
4.9
Spend enough time with you
4.9
Rate provider 0-10
03/27/26
Again Excellent staff - Verified patient
03/18/26
Excellent surgeon. Personable and caring! - Verified patient
03/18/26
The entire campus is welcoming and homely. Staff is friendly and readily addresses patients' questions. - Verified patient
12/31/25
Amazing staff overall - Verified patient
11/12/25
Excellent explanation of my options. Very attentive. - Verified patient