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.

Translational Neurosciences

Current research projects include:

  • Olig2 biology in cancer
  • Targeting cancer stem cells
  • PDGFR signaling in glioblastoma
  • Biological mechanisms of drug resistance
  • Role of wnt signaling in chemoresistance 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