Funded by the Dick Vitale Pediatric Cancer Research Fund
Childhood brain tumors are a major cause of death for children. Medulloblastoma is one of the most common brain cancers in children and also one of the most difficult to treat. These children typically need extensive surgery, chemotherapy, and other treatments. Unfortunately, even with these treatments, many children with this cancer die from their disease. I am a pediatric neuro-oncologist, and it is my career hope to bring new therapies for medulloblastoma from the lab into the clinic.
My research studies why some children with medulloblastoma do not respond to treatment. I have made several discoveries that point toward new biology within the cancer cells that promote its growth. I have particularly focused on a new category of genes that we have recently described, called microproteins. These are small proteins that were missed in prior research on this cancer, and we have found that they are important for the ability for cancer cells to survive. I am optimistic that these discoveries are pointing towards new treatment options. To grow this vision, this V Foundation award will allow me to focus on studying certain new genes that we hope will lead to new treatments. Through this work, I hope to make new discoveries in medulloblastoma that are important for patients.
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