Congratulations Dr. Viviane Tabar — the New Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

On December 6, 2017, Dr. Viviane Tabar was named the Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, NY — an outstanding achievement for any surgeon and very much deserved when it comes to Dr. Tabar.

Dr. Tabar is originally from Lebanon and received her medical degree from the American University of Beirut. She then completed her neurosurgical residency at the University of Massachusetts before becoming a fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Tabar went on to work for the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke before joining the faculty at Memorial Sloan Kettering. Over the course of her career thus far, Dr. Tabar’s work has been recognized by organizations such as the American Association of Neurological Surgery and the American Brain Tumor Association.

In addition to research and clinical work, Dr. Tabar specializes in “mapping” the brain during surgery, allowing her to more precisely remove tumors. She also helped establish the Multidisciplinary Pituitary & Skull Base Tumor Center at Memorial Sloan Kettering which brings together doctors to work with state-of-the-art nonsurgical treatments for their patients.

Smart Girls spoke with Dr. Tabar over email to congratulate her on her new position and to find out more about her amazing work helping those who suffer from brain cancers and diseases.

Smart Girls: When did you become interested in medicine and why did you decide to pursue becoming a surgeon?

Dr. Tabar: I developed an early interest in biology and chemistry. I marveled at all forms of life and felt a need to know how they grow, develop such complex features, and what makes them die. My interests were wide-ranging, including everything from bacteria to butterflies, orchids, whales, as well as human beings. I was also very interested in chemistry which seemed to be far more orderly than biology. Once in college, I gravitated towards medicine at the urging of my parents and teachers. Within medicine, I quickly zeroed in on the brain because I find it so fascinating, and on surgery because I am impatient at heart.

I love being a neurosurgeon today. It is a highly challenging field that involves a great deal of risk-taking for both neurosurgeons and patients, but it is also a great responsibility and an immense privilege. Operating on the brain fills my heart with awe and anxiety at the same time. The brain is the most intimate organ a human being possesses; it is essentially the person.

You’re also a scientist. What kinds of research are you currently doing and what do you like about the research process?

My work in the lab focuses on stem cell research. We work in part on thinking up cell therapies to repair the brain. We make different types of specialized cells from human stem cells. Some of my current projects include making dopamine nerve cells to replace the ones that die in Parkinson’s disease. This is a large collaborative project that is at an exciting juncture as it is very close to going into clinical trials, where patients will help us determine its effectiveness.

Another one of my projects involves making specialized brain cells called oligodendrocytes. These are amazing cells that wrap themselves around our nerves to make them conduct information at greater speed. They also happen to be one of the most commonly injured cells in the brain, for example in radiation injury, a genetic disease called leukodystrophy, multiple sclerosis, and others.

The other half of the lab applies what we learn from normal stem cells to cancer. So for example, you can make a model of specific tumors using stem cells and learn exactly how cancers develop. This could translate into a better way of treating tumors.

“Being a scientist is immensely interesting. It connects me to very talented and bright people, and keeps my brain in a constant state of wonder.”

Congratulations on your new position at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center! What exactly are your responsibilities as the Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery?

My department is located within an amazing cancer hospital. We take care of patients with brain and spine tumors. My biggest responsibility is to make sure that my department delivers the very best and the kindest care to our patients. We also have a duty to take advantage of the most advanced technologies and the latest research so we can offer it to patients who struggle with aggressive tumors. Today, cutting-edge research and delivery of high-level healthcare for cancer are almost inseparable. A great department must also train future neurosurgeons who will carry the mission of excellent care throughout the world. Last but not least, a great department has to be a place where people feel satisfied, respected, able to grow and reach higher goals, and also enjoy coming to work every day. That is an important part of my responsibilities.

I feel like there’s so much to learn about the human brain. What do you find the most interesting about how our brains work?

Of course — what is most interesting about the brain are all the things we have yet to discover! And there are so many things we do not know about the brain: how it functions, ages, responds to insults, and defends itself against them.

Our field is still struggling to make major leaps in the treatment of one of the deadliest human cancers, one that occurs in the brain, and is known as glioblastoma. It is a monstrous tumor that takes over the brain, invades everywhere, inflicts terrible damage, and grows through some of the most aggressive treatments possible.

Earlier this year a New Yorker cover featured female surgeons and it created a movement of female surgeons posting similar photos along with statistics stating the low percentage of women in the field. Have you experienced challenges in your career because you are a woman and if so, how did you deal with them?

My career choice — being a neurosurgeon — is essentially an open invitation for challenges, regardless of gender. However, being a woman brings on additional challenges, such as balancing productivity at work and child care, facing overt or subconscious gender discrimination, unequal pay, poor representation in leadership groups in many professions, and significant attrition of talented and well-trained women who give up on their careers soon after the end of training. I dealt with these difficulties initially with single-mindedness. I felt as if I had blinders on and just forged forward, always convinced that hard work would prevail. This approach was very helpful in the beginning, but it is not sustainable in the long run. In order to become successful and remain so, you need help and support from supervisors, mentors, colleagues.

Becoming more engaged and building a supportive network is crucial. Some women are luckier than others, because by the time they reach this stage, they had been developing their self-confidence in parallel. That is the crux of the matter. Lack of self-confidence is a serious and common problem, especially among girls and young women, and should be addressed systematically. In addition, I think that women in positions of leadership and influence must openly advocate for the advancement of women; they must ensure that the work environment in their corporations is sensitive to women-specific challenges and they need to implement effective solutions to the lack of diversity in their workforce.

What advice would you give to your 12-year-old self?

Yes, you can!

Congratulations, Dr. Tabar on your new position as Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. You’re truly changing the world one patient at a time.