Translational Neurosciences

The Translational Neurosciences department is committed to accelerate the development of novel therapies for brain cancers and neurological disorders through drug innovations and precision medicine.

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Our Vision

Translational Neurosciences - Saint John's Cancer Institute — Saint John’s Cancer Institute Translational Neurosciences department supports a multidisciplinary and collaborative research approach

Make an impact on brain and metastatic cancers
Develop innovative, efficient, and transformational treatment strategies
Develop early disease detection approaches for cancer and brain disorders
Optimize stem cell therapies for cancers and brain disorders
Optimize Brain Health by preventing neurotoxicity, and developing new therapies to regenerate the brain
Optimize patient and caregiver quality of life

Partnership & Collaboration

The Saint John’s Cancer Institute maintains global academic and industry partnerships.

The department of Translational Neurosciences partners and collaborates with academic, institutions, industry organizations, and cancer centers worldwide to optimize therapies for brain cancer and disorders. These collaborations have resulted in promising new cancer therapies that aim to to extend the lives of people with brain cancer and bridge the gap in neurotherapeutic discovery and development.

Collaborators

Institute for Systems Biology

Computational modeling and network pharmacology

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount-Sinai

Plexin-B2 Function in Glioma Invasion and Glioma Stem Cell Maintenance (Roland Friedel)

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

The role of Nrf2 in mediating resistance to EGFR inhibition in glioblastoma

Translational neuroscience — Clinical trials are conducted by the Saint John’s Cancer Institute and Pacific Neuroscience Institute of Providence Saint John’s Health Center.

Current Research Topics

Neuroscience clinical trials are conducted for:

Brain Cancer (Primary) Studies
Brain Metastasis
Solid Tumors
Neurology
Quality and Outcomes Research

Cancer Therapeutic Studies

More than 18,000 Americans develop a tumor in the brain or central nervous system annually, and the number of patients with metastatic brain tumors continues to grow. Although progress has been made, many brain tumors do not respond to standard treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy and surgery remains the only approved option for patient with brain cancer. Therefore, there is an urgent need for better treatments and management strategies for brain cancer. In the Translational Neurosciences Laboratory, we take a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach to gain a better molecular and biological understanding of malignant gliomas and other brain tumors. We integrate studies on tumor genetics, tumor microenvironment, and chemoresistance in brain tumors, as well as other type of cancers (i.e., colon, ovarian, breast, and prostate), and translate them into practical application and novel therapies for patients.

Current projects include:

Olig2 biology in cancer
Targeting cancer stem cells
PDGFR signaling in glioblastoma
Biological mechanisms of drug resistance
Role of wnt signaling in chemo-resistance and design of new treatment strategies
New drug discovery
Preclinical pipelines for drug screening
Early cancer detection and biomarkers
Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers
Identification of biomarkers using genomics and proteomics in brain cancer
Analysis of immune microenvironment in brain cancers/ identifying potential drug targets
Immunotherapy for brain cancers

Neuroscience Research Studies

Neurological disorders affect almost one billion people worldwide. There are more than 600 diseases of the nervous system including stroke, tumors, developmental disorders, metabolic disorders, and hereditary diseases, as well as degenerative diseases. The Translational Neurosciences Laboratory has established cross-disciplinary collaborative research programs with the goal of improving health care for neurological illness. In addition to the identification and development of new classes of therapeutic compounds targeting neuronal pathways, processes, and proteins, we study stem cell technologies in efforts to reverse neural tissue damage and to recover neurological deficits that eventually can be used as new clinically efficacious regenerative therapy. The Saint John’s Cancer Institute works directly with the Pacific Neuroscience Institute, collaborating with physicians who provide precision, leading-edge care for patients with a wide spectrum of neurological and cranial disorders.