Ingo K. Mellinghoff

Ingo K. Mellinghoff, MD is Chief of the Department of Neurology, Chair of the Brain Tumor Center, and Member of the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He is internationally recognized as a leading expert in IDH-mutant glioma biology and therapy, and led the pivotal INDIGO trial that established vorasidenib as the first targeted therapy to demonstrate clinical benefit specifically in IDH-mutant diffuse glioma. His research bridges signal transduction biology, cancer genetics, and clinical trial science. Dr. Mellinghoff's laboratory has made seminal contributions to understanding the molecular basis of glioma, including the mechanistic characterization of IDH1/2 mutations in glioma pathogenesis—particularly the oncometabolite 2-hydroxyglutarate and its effects on epigenetic reprogramming. He has led translational studies of IDH inhibitors from preclinical development through early-phase clinical trials, culminating in leading the INDIGO phase III trial. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2023, INDIGO demonstrated that vorasidenib—a brain-penetrant dual IDH1/2 inhibitor—significantly improved progression-free survival in patients with residual or recurrent grade 2 IDH-mutant glioma following surgery, representing the most important advance in lower-grade glioma treatment in decades. Prior to his focus on IDH-mutant glioma, Dr. Mellinghoff contributed foundational work on PTEN loss and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway activation as mechanisms of EGFR inhibitor resistance in GBM. He trained at UCLA and UCSF before joining MSKCC, where he has been a central figure in the neuro-oncology program. He serves on the editorial board of Cancer Cell and has received numerous honors for his contributions to glioma biology and translational oncology.