Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a fatal childhood cancer with very poor prognosis. Currently, no cure or effective treatment is available. One of the main problems with treating such an invasive tumor involves poor drug delivery to the brain, as most therapeutics cannot cross the tightly regulated blood-brain barrier.
Project Goal
Principal Investigator Name:
Umberto Tosi
Project Title:
A Novel Drug Delivery Method for the Treatment of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma
Infantile leukemia (IL) is the most fatal form of childhood leukemia, which arises in utero due to mechanisms that are incompletely defined. The MLL gene is rearranged in about 70% of IL cases. However, in a lab setting, introducing MLL mutations into model organisms does not recreate IL, suggesting there are other genetic factors at work.
Principal Investigator Name:
Nishanth Uli
Project Title:
A Computational Analysis of Altered Chromatin Structure and Hematopoietic Development in Infant Leukemia
Epigenetics refer to heritable changes in gene expression that are not associated with changes in the DNA sequence. DNA methylation is a key epigenetic mark responsible for regulating gene expression. When present in high levels, functions to repress gene expression. The aberrant distribution of DNA methylation is associated with the development of many forms of cancer. Thus the ability to modulate oncogenic epigenetic marks would prove advantageous in developing novel prevention and treatment options.
Performing Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) in a Mouse Model Expressing Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma (ASPSCR1-TFE3) to Understand Mechanisms of Cancer Progression
Synovial sarcoma (SS) remains a deadly soft-tissue malignancy with a predilection for younger patients. The tumor is associated in most cases with the SS18-SSX fusion oncogene. Our mouse models of synovial sarcomagenesis, driven by conditional expression of the human SS18-SSX cDNA, faithfully recapitulate characteristics of human SSs. They imply a causative role for SS18-SSX expression in SS.
Principal Investigator Name:
Dakota Nollner
Project Title:
Understanding SS18-SSX chromatin binding that facilitates synovial sarcomagenesis
This project will seek to understand adolescents' perspectives on weight changes during cancer therapy and early survivorship. This qualitative study will seek to identify, from the adolescent's perspective, what aspects of the cancer experience worsened or ameliorated their weight changes and their view of their weight change.
Project Goal
Principal Investigator Name:
Hannah Lerner
Project Title:
Understanding Weight Change in Adolescent Cancer Survivors
The treatment of childhood acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is based on the use of high dose chemotherapies, with significant toxicity and varied prognosis. The emergence of targeted therapy strategies in cancer treatment has enlightened the hope for developing new drugs with higher potency and reduced toxicity in patients.
Principal Investigator Name:
April Solon
Project Title:
Study the Activity of Small Molecule Inhibitor AI-10-49 in Combined Treatment of Childhood Inv(16) AML
Treatment protocols used in the treatment of pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are based on chemotherapy drugs, often resulting in side effects due to significant toxicity. In recent years, the emergence of targeted therapy strategies in cancer treatment has enlightened the hope for developing new drugs with higher potency and reduced toxicity in patients.
Principal Investigator Name:
Melanie Barbini
Project Title:
Toxicity and Efficacy of Small Molecule Inhibitor AI-10-49 and Chemotherapy Drugs in the Treatment of Childhood Inv(16) AML
Chris loves baseball – he has a history of playing for his high school team and is a longtime fan of the San Francisco Giants. However, when he was in high school, Chris began having strange symptoms. Today, Chris is a three-time survivor of glioblastoma.
