SPOTLIGHT on Dr. Linda M. Liau

Dr. Linda M. Liau was inducted into the Asian Hall of Fame in 2021.

As chair of the UCLA Department of Neurosurgery, Dr. Linda M. Liau is the first Asian-American woman, and only the second woman, to chair an academic neurosurgical department in the United States.

The internationally renowned neurosurgeon and neuroscientist, with her focus on helping patients combat glioblastoma, the most aggressive and lethal kind of brain tumor, is also the first person to have developed a vaccine for brain cancer. Her pioneering custom-tailored vaccines use a sample of a patient's own tumor and white blood cells to activate an immune response against the cancer. Dr. Liau, who is also director of the Brain Tumor Program at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, was galvanized to pursue a career in neurosurgery after her mother died from breast cancer that had metastasized to her brain. Her innovative medical breakthroughs have saved the lives of many patients who have come from around the world for care.

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