Umamaheswar Duvvuri

About

Umamaheswar Duvvuri, MD, PhD, is the Mendik Foundation Professor of Otolaryngology in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. He specializes in head and neck cancer and treats both adults and children. Dr. Duvvuri was born in India, moved to Jamaica at a young age where he completed his high school education, and later migrated to the United States to attend college. He chose the specialty of head and neck cancer because he wanted to make a significant difference in this field and to give back to the community as an immigrant. His clinical focus is on providing personalized treatment plans for head and neck cancer patients, utilizing genetic testing to understand each patient's cancer and tailor therapies accordingly. Dr. Duvvuri's research centers on understanding the biology of head and neck cancer and developing minimally invasive techniques, such as robotic surgery, to improve treatment outcomes. His work has contributed to the development and testing of novel cancer therapies, with recent investigations focusing on understanding patient sensitivity to immunotherapy and other treatments, aiming to create better combination therapies. As a physician–scientist, he is committed to expanding cancer research and clinical care, with the goal of changing how head and neck cancer is treated, aiming for cures while maintaining patients' functional outcomes. He has published more than 150 research studies and is a member of…

Research topics

• Medicine
• Cancer research
• Internal medicine
• Oncology
• Surgery

Selected publications

• Immune Landscape of Viral- and Carcinogen-Driven Head and Neck Cancer

  Immunity · 2020-01-01 · 677 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• B cell signatures and tertiary lymphoid structures contribute to outcome in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

  Nature Communications · 2021-06-07 · 358 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Current immunotherapy paradigms aim to reinvigorate CD8 + T cells, but the contribution of humoral immunity to antitumor immunity remains understudied. Here, we demonstrate that in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) caused by human papillomavirus infection (HPV + ), patients have transcriptional signatures of germinal center (GC) tumor infiltrating B cells (TIL-Bs) and spatial organization of immune cells consistent with tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) with GCs, both of wh…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Investigating immune and non-immune cell interactions in head and neck tumors by single-cell RNA sequencing

  Nature Communications · 2021-12-17 · 291 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is characterized by complex relations between stromal, epithelial, and immune cells within the tumor microenvironment (TME). To enable the development of more efficacious therapies, we aim to study the heterogeneity, signatures of unique cell populations, and cell-cell interactions of non-immune and immune cell populations in 6 human papillomavirus (HPV) + and 12 HPV – HNSCC patient tumor and matched peripheral blood specimens using single-c…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Epidrug screening identifies type I PRMT inhibitors as modulators of lysosomal exocytosis and drug sensitivity in cancers

  Cell Death and Disease · 2025-08-08 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Epigenetic changes drive gene expression alterations, contributing to oncogenesis and drug resistance. Lysosomes play a key role in cell signaling and sequestering toxins, including chemotherapeutic agents, which are then expelled through lysosomal exocytosis-a process linked to drug resistance. However, the epigenetic regulation of lysosomal exocytosis is poorly understood. We hypothesize that epigenetic modifier drugs (epidrugs) inhibiting this exocytosis could serve as potential cancer therap…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Da Vinci 5 in transoral robotic surgery: first impression

  Journal of Robotic Surgery · 2025-11-05 · 1 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Postdoctoral Training in Head and Neck Oncology

  NIH · $3.0M · 1994–2026

• NIH Grant F30MH011960

  NIH · $110k

• Novel targets to treat head and neck cancer in Veterans

  NIH · 2016–2021

Frequent coauthors

• Jennifer R. Grandis

  294 shared

• Robert L. Ferris

  255 shared

• Seungwon Kim

  University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

  199 shared

• Raja S. Seethala

  166 shared

• Daniel J. Shiwarski

  Carnegie Mellon University

  164 shared

• Vivian Wai Yan Lui

  National Cancer Center of Georgia

  159 shared

• Carol A. Bertrand

  141 shared

• Ann Marie Egloff

  140 shared

Awards & honors

• Mendik Foundation Professor of Otolaryngology, Department of…

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