Dr. Tarik Tihan is a pathologist who cares for adults and children with brain tumors, particularly pilocytic astrocytoma and pilomyxoid astrocytoma, benign brain tumors that arises from the supportive cells in the nervous system.

Tihan's research seeks a better understanding of brain tumors. He is particularly interested in pediatric brain tumors, their distinctive subtypes and predictors for each subtype. His work has contributed to revealing the biological behavior and molecular features in tumors such as pilomyxoid astrocytomas. He collaborates with colleagues across UCSF, at other universities, and from national and international organizations to more clearly define tumor entities, their molecular signatures and new diagnostic or prognostic markers.

Tihan earned his medical degree from Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine, where he also completed a doctorate in biochemistry. He completed a residency in anatomic pathology at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He completed a fellowship in pathology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and a fellowship in pathology at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University.

Tihan is passionate about teaching and international outreach. He enjoys working with colleagues from other countries to close the technological and economic gaps that prevent doctors and researchers in the developing world from fully contributing to world science. He works with numerous individuals and organizations to create a more integrated world across the oceans and to advance science as one people and one world.