Deva Mahalingam

Background

About Deva Mahalingam

I am a physician-scientist (MD, PhD) and Professor of Medicine at Northwestern University, where I serve as Director of the Clinical Trials Office and the Developmental Therapeutics Clinical Research Unit. My work integrates the rigor of laboratory discovery with the urgency of clinical care, driving first-in-human and early-phase trials to bring novel therapies to patients with advanced cancers—particularly gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies.As a highly published researcher with over 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts and multiple patents, I am deeply engaged in translational cancer research. My scientific journey—from PhD work in apoptosis and autophagy to leading investigator-initiated trials—has spanned groundbreaking efforts in oncolytic virotherapy, GSK3 beta modulation, novel pro-apoptotic and anti-autophagic therapies, including precision medicine approaches for GI cancers.At the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, I lead the developmental therapeutics program that enrolls close to 300 patients annually into early-phase trials, ensuring that patients with molecularly driven or refractory cancers have access to the most promising therapies. I am also the institutional PI for national ETCTN trials and the proud director of a vibrant advanced hematology/oncology fellowship program, committed to mentoring the next generation of cancer researchers.